By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, October 14, 2010
BROOKSVILLE — County Commissioner Jeff Stabins has built a reputation as a scrappy fighter when an issue inspires him. Now, he faces the most important fight of his life.
This week, he learned that he has malignant melanoma. He got the diagnosis just moments before he walked into Tuesday's County Commission meeting.
Wednesday, he had a third surgery to remove suspicious patches on his chest and he expects news in a few days about whether the entire cancer has been removed.
Thursday, he said he has decided to deal with the serious illness "in the sunshine.''
Ironically, the sunshine is what he blames for his skin cancer.
"I was an idiot,'' Stabins said of his many years of sun worship. It began when he was a boy in New York and the family would go to Lake Ontario on holiday. In his early 20s, he spent a year in Newport Beach, Calif., where he said he didn't miss a day on the beach.
He'd visit relatives in Florida, then finally moved to the Sunshine State, where his pursuit of the perfect tan continued. When he was heading up to New York during the holidays to see relatives, he would hit the tanning salon beforehand to rub his tan in the noses of his pale relatives.
"I'm not looking for sympathy from anyone,'' he said. "I'm a fighter, and I just want other people to learn from my mistakes.''
Stabins, 50, said in an e-mail to friends late Wednesday, "Thanks for your great friendship over the years. I'm not going away any time soon. I'm way too mean to die. Only the good die young.''
Stabins, also known for his blog Rusty's Tale, said in his message that he had to fight on because he didn't want his beloved dogs, Rusty and Casey, to become orphans. "I don't want my dogs to outlive me,'' he said.
After his surgery Wednesday, Stabins had planned to attend homecoming festivities at Springstead High School, but he landed instead at Spring Hill Regional Hospital, light-headed and bleeding from the incision site. He was treated and released. Before he left, he said he caused a bit of a stir when a staff member asked for his religious preference on a form.
He asked her to write "all of the above.'' She said that wasn't an available option. Stabins explained to her that, now that he was stricken with cancer, he'd be open to prayers from whatever faith wanted to pray for him.
Stabins said he will use every opportunity to give his public service announcement about the dangers of exposure to the sun. And he is going to seek out the best medical assistance to fight the cancer. He has several speaking engagements at various schools in the coming weeks and his warning will be part of the program.
His next task will be to concentrate on doing the right things to get himself healthy again. He will have additional testing because he said he has other odd-looking marks on his skin and he wants to be sure there are no other obvious melanomas.
"I'm going to fight the fight the way I fight all my battles: tough, hard and with humor,'' he said. "I'm not going to hide from it.''
Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1434.