BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A Vestavia Hills family is honoring the life of their loved one by trying to save the lives of others. It is what the John Michael Pierce Foundation Golf Classic has been doing the last four years.
Pierce started experiencing severe heartburn symptoms at 24. The Vestavia Hills native visited a gastroenterologist and was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer. He died five months later at the age of 25.
Jeff and Patti Pierce use the tournament to raise awareness about the cancer that claimed the life of their son, who loved the game. Signs about the symptoms were spread around Highland Park Golf Course on Monday.
“What we’re doing is spreading the word about early detection to help save lives and prevent other people from getting esophageal cancer,” Jeff Pierce said.
Like all cancers, early detection leads to early cure.
“There are lots of treatments that are available and curative if you can get the disease before it turns into early esophageal cancer,” said Dr. Brian deGuzman with Lucid Diagnostics. “So really the key to this entire process is to be able to detect the process before it turns into cancer, so the proceeds from this particularly charity event is to raise awareness and raise the interest in early detection.”
Pierce’s college friend and fraternity brother Nick Moran has been coming to the tournament every year doing what he said his friend would want.
“His motto was paying it forward, and that’s the goal here: to save just one life.” Moran said. “That would be the goal of this foundation is to just save one, and that’s what we want to do.”
The foundation’s website includes important information about the signs of esophageal cancer. Less invasive tests are now available to detect it early.
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