Adrian Stam, who will be 37 in July, gave the cancer survivor speech. Stam had brain cancer which affected optical and hearing functions, and he had surgery a year ago.
Since then he has put more emphasis on living life .
“We try hard and we play hard,” he said.
Stam is a carpenter.
“I have my own little company. I love to do the things that no one else wants to do. My favorite is making furniture . I love to do the things that need to have your tool bag there, not just your tool belt,” he said. “I was the first apprentice in carpentry out of SSS (Smithers Secondary).”
Stam also likes to ski, cook, camp and go hiking. Recently he has taken up running.
“I’m learning to run. My wife likes to run and next weekend we are going to run the half marathon in Vancouver,” he said.
Last weekend he walked the Daffodil Dash with his youngest daughter Molly, who is one-and-a-half. He has two other young girls in the family, Evie, 5, and Lucy, 3.
Stam feels that the support for cancer patients and survivors is very good in the Smithers area.
“All of my travel costs and accommodations were paid for by local charities,” he said. “They randomly showed up at two Christmases with gifts.”
With individuals with the strength and perspective like Stam, and the support of local organizations and events like the Daffodil Dash, the outlook for cancer patients and survivors will remain strong.
