April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
AMSTERDAM
Doc walks to fundraise after wife's breast cancer
But he has no intention of quitting his crusade to eradicate the deadly disease in his lifetime.
"I do it for her," Dr. Sheridan said of his wife, Debbie, who was diagnosed at age 39. She underwent two surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and years of cancer drugs, all while raising three children. "It was scary."
Dr. Sheridan has diagnosed dozens of women with breast cancer and said he has seen "too many" of them lose their battles. He participates in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer through New York City every fall with those women in mind.
"I carry a list with me of the people who died," he said. "Every year, I have to add to it, unfortunately."
In the early years of the walk, it lasted three days and covered 60 miles; today, it's two days and 40 miles, winding through Manhattan, Brooklyn and Randall's Island, where 3,400 participants stop for showers and overnight camping. The New York City walk, one of eight nationwide, raised more than $8 million last year.
Along the route, people cheer on the walkers with signs and noisemakers; medical students from New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center pass out cookies. Mrs. Sheridan has volunteered as a crew member, and she's active in the committee that organizes Dr. Sheridan's golf tournament fundraisers.
"When I see him work so hard to raise the money, I just can't help but be by his side," she said.
It was difficult for her to be a role model for other patients in the beginning, but "as time went on I felt I had to be supportive for the next person."
The Sheridans also solicit donations through chicken parmesan dinners, which they advertise at their parish, St. Mary's in Amsterdam. They fundraise through "dine and donate" evenings at restaurants and letter-writing campaigns to family, friends and medical professionals in the Albany Diocese.
Dr. Sheridan said his Catholic faith is another impetus for his efforts: "That gives me the strength to do what I do."
Last year's walk coincided with the canonization day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, so he carried a small statue of her in his bag. "I was able to share that with people. They thought it was pretty cool."
The doctor believes that getting through something like breast cancer requires "something else besides medicine. You certainly have to have a good level of faith."
This has proven especially true for Mrs. Sheridan.
"I couldn't get through each day without my faith," she said. "I talk to God all day. Some days I don't even put the radio on in my car. It really makes [me] appreciate each day more, that I've gone through something like this. Just the simplest things that you never think twice about are very special now - even seeing the sunrise."
With no family history of breast cancer, her diagnosis "came as a big shock," Mrs. Sheridan recalled. "Until you go through something like this, you never realize the inner strength that you have."
The survivor is the office manager for her husband's practice; he also specializes in geriatrics, hospice and palliative care. The couple enjoys spending time with their family, which now includes two grandchildren.
Though Mrs. Sheridan's yearly tests and scans have come back negative, she remains vigilant.
"I don't think that I would ever let my guard down," she said. "Once you've had it, how do you know if it will come back?"[[In-content Ad]]
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