Fundraiser for Andre Catlett

Teaming up to help ex-football standout

As a defensive tackle, Andre Catlett has battled his share of tough offensive linemen.

For nearly eight years, he's been fighting something even tougher: a group of tumors that paralyzed the member of the 1996 James Monroe High School football state champs.

The struggle isn't cheap.

When he went through two rounds of chemotherapy, Catlett took anti-nausea prescriptions that cost $500 each.

Since doctors found tumors in his lungs when he was 20, Catlett has had five surgeries and has another on the way. Even with insurance, Catlett owes tens of thousands of dollars.

"The biggest part of recovering from cancer is to be stress-free," he said. "And it's hard to be stress-free when you owe $20,000 or $30,000."

A local charity group hopes to help Catlett with some of those costs.

The Crusaders, a Christian motorcycle club, will donate proceeds from its Valentine's Day dance to Catlett's cancer fund.

Catlett is a friend of a friend, said Leon Pratt, club president. And the group often holds events to raise money for individuals and groups.

Catlett said The Crusaders and others who've helped are a blessing to a cancer patient. In December, Catlett, a special events promoter, held a gospel concert that raised $5,000 for his medical bills. Hundreds attended the event at Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) in Fredericksburg.

A few weeks later on Jan. 8, Catlett spent the morning chasing his young stepdaughter around the house. By that evening, he couldn't walk.

An 8-pound tumor pressing on his spine had compressed vertebrae in his spine. Catlett had been trying to raise money for a risky surgery to remove that tumor. Doctors feared the surgery would leave him paralyzed. Catlett, who also played college and semipro football, was worried about that, too.

Once he lost the ability to walk, the surgery was moved up. Catlett had the procedure at Georgetown University Hospital on Jan. 10. After surgery, he woke up able to move his feet.

He was euphoric.

Now that he's had the large tumor removed, he still faces surgery to remove other tumors on his lungs. Doctors tell him this surgery could kill him.

"Anytime somebody's telling you it's life threatening, it's going to worry you a little bit," said Catlett, but he's determined to have the surgery.

Catlett said he'd take the risky surgery over chemo. He's been through two rounds of the intensive therapy. The first made him so ill he vomited 10 times a day.

The second round--which he had just after his honeymoon in 2006--left him feeling numb and weak.

But losing his hair was the worst part, he said. When he looked in the mirror then and didn't recognize himself.

Still, it was during chemo that Catlett found a positive approach to cancer. He was diagnosed as a college student, and Catlett first asked, "Why me?"

He didn't smoke, had never drunk alcohol, he said.

But while receiving his chemo, Catlett saw those who had to be wheeled in and stay in the hospital, people who were much sicker than he.

He also realized the cancer made him appreciate his life more. As a child, he used to worry about dying so much he had to talk to a counselor about his fears. But cancer gave him a new perspective.

"This made me focus on living instead of dying," Catlett said. "It made me mature so fast. It made me appreciate every single day."