U.S. Campus Life Urgent call for help By Masako Yamada	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
至急、助け乞う アイダリアさん(右)が元気だったころ、彼女が主事を務めた展覧会にお邪魔した筆者。

A couple of weeks ago, one of my labmates hosted a farewell picnic at his home. Many members of our group are moving away in the fall, so a lot of people attended. Notably absent were Gene and Idahlia Stanley, my advisor and his wife. They are a constant presence at lab social events, but Idahlia wasn't feeling well that week. She had pneumonia and was resting at home.

Idahlia's pneumonia didn't get better after about a week, so she had more tests. That is when we heard the awful news: Idahlia has lung cancer that has already spread to her pelvis, spine, liver and brain. She has several tumors in her brain, including a large tumor about 3 cm by 2.5 cm. Idahlia understands the extent of her disease, and she is actively pursuing treatment because she wants to live.

Gene has sent thousands of e-mail messages asking his friends and colleagues for advice. When I asked if I could write about her, they consented immediately.

Idahlia is thin and delicate, almost girlish in appearance, and her voice is soft. But she is a powerful intellectual, artist and social activist. She is my parents' age, but I feel no generation gap talking with her, because her ideas are more modern than mine.

Idahlia is a co-curator of the Gallery of Social/Political Art in Boston. I've taken some of my friends to her gallery, and they have been immediately smitten. All of her paintings have scores of people linked with each other. I once asked her why there are no faces in her paintings, thinking it had some deep, metaphorical meaning. She giggled and said, "No, it's just hard to draw faces."

Idahlia doesn't have the slick confidence of an effective PR person, but she gets the job done. She has always been a bit frustrated at the difficulty of getting publicity for the gallery, but through her vision and hard work, she has put together several shows a year.

She lives consistently with her ideals. Always an advocate of civil rights, she taught at a tough inner-city school for many years during Boston's notorious race-related conflicts. This shows much more commitment and strength than arguing about "politics" in a coffee house or law school classroom.

As a couple, Gene and Idahlia date back to the '60s, when they were both liberal social activists. Idahlia told me that back then, she wore a fake wedding ring because they lived together before they got married and she didn't want to shock their conservative neighbors. Later, when they actually got married, she avoided taking wedding pictures at their apartment, so the neighbors wouldn't find out the truth.

Idahlia is also deeply committed to her children. I have vivid images of two exceptionally bright young adults, simply based on the stories she's told me. It's obvious that she enjoys being with them not only because they are her children, but also because she is interested in their ideas. They are younger than I am, but Gene has told me that they have been incredibly strong, not only supporting Idahlia but also handling a lot of tasks that need to be done around the home.

The entire Stanley family has a positive attitude, and I know they will not give up. Gene still worries about running a lab — he worries about us — but we want to lift some of the unimaginable burden off the family.

That is why I'm asking you for support. If you have any advice that may help Idahlia, including information about alternative treatments and experimental trials, please write to me at masakoyamada74@hotmail.com or contact the editorial staff at ST. What would be especially useful are testimonials from persons who have had similar experiences. I can read Japanese e-mail and Web pages, and can transmit the information to Gene and Idahlia.

The current plan is to use radiation treatment for her brain and lungs, and to move on to chemotherapy if she is strong enough. She has been eating a lot to make herself stronger. She is being treated at one of the finest hospitals in the United States, Massachusetts General Hospital, but this treatment can still only control the disease. There isn't much time, and we'd all appreciate your help. Thank you.

Shukan ST: Aug. 23, 2002

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