Fifty-four.
Whenever Judd Vance hears that number he immediately thinks of “The Catch” made by New York Giants center fielder Willie Mays in game 1 of the 1954 World Series. Anyone who’s around him for even the shortest time can tell he’s at his happiest when he’s talking about baseball, and he gets even more animated when recalling this historic play.
“The Catch” obviously means a lot to Judd. For a short time, though, he believed cancer was going to take it away from him.
Three days after his 53rd birthday, Judd received the news he had pancreatic cancer. The bad news didn’t stop there. It was stage 3.
“When I got my diagnosis, I sat in my truck and cried because I knew I wasn’t going to make it to Willie Mays,” he said. “Pancreatic cancer has sort of a nasty rep.”
Making it to Willie Mays meant seeing his 54th birthday. To his surprise, he was wrong.
Sixteen months, 12 rounds of chemotherapy and two clear scans later, his stories about baseball are accompanied with a play-by-play description of a new game-changer in his life: the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program.
LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a free 12-week program designed to help cancer survivors reclaim their strength and health. Judd first learned about it through a Greater Wichita YMCA Facebook post.
Sessions are rotated throughout the year at Greater Wichita YMCA branches, and there’s absolutely no cost to attend. Donations to the Y’s Strong Community Campaign ensure that individuals at any point in their cancer journey have access to this life-changing program that includes cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, balance and flexibility exercises that address their particular needs and connects them with emotional support from individuals on similar journeys.
“When I started LIVESTRONG in June 2023, I had been off chemo for five months and my strength was shot,” he said. “My stamina was the first thing that improved. Three weeks in, I was hiking 12,000 feet in Colorado and not struggling at all with the air.”
From Judd’s first assessment at the beginning of LIVESTRONG to the final one three months later, he improved in every area being tracked, which included balance, walking speed and flexibility. He credits the accountability that’s built into the program for motivating him to turn physical fitness into a routine, and he doesn’t plan to abandon it now that his classes are over.
“I’m in the groove of doing it, and I don’t want to lose what I’ve built,” Judd said. “I’ve gotten in the habit of coming to the Y on Sundays to work out by myself, and I’m probably going to add workouts during my lunch hour.”
He’s also returned to his love of biking after a 25-year break, after previously thinking it would be a pipe dream to pull the bike he’s had since junior high school out of storage ever again. He tries to push himself further and further every time he goes for a ride. He’s currently at 20 miles and counting. Judd’s also interested in getting back into coaching youth softball at the Dennis Schoenebeck North YMCA.
LIVESTRONG helped Judd move past the scars left behind by cancer – both the physical one created by his chemotherapy port and the far more devastating emotional ones that are so difficult to erase. His joy of looking ahead to future birthdays is here to stay.
“Next year, I’m Sandy Amoros ’55 (known for his catch in the 1955 World Series), and then I get to my Yankees with Mickey Mantle at ’56 (1956 is known as the best year in his career),” Judd declared. “I think back to a picture I drew of my cancer journey. I drew the nastiest creature I could and in front of him was a little guy with his arms out saying, ‘You shall not pass.’ That little guy was me.”
To learn more about the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program, visit ymcawichita.org/livestrong or contact Debbie Cruz at 316-776-8178 or debbie.cruz@ymcawichita.org.