Posted by Aric Zoe Leavitt, a resident of another community, on Aug 7, 2007 at 5:45 am

While temporarily working out of town in this area, I was touched so deeply by the news stories about Dana Gauthier Jr. and his recent passing that I attended his memorial service at the church. Anyone whose life was such a beacon of goodness and virtue I could easily call a mentor. In an age when so many claim to know so much yet understand so little, we may have been blessed to relearn from DJ the simple qualities of humility and teachability. If we, as a society attached to certain rigid belief systems, can allow ourselves the liberty to alter our course, we could fulfill DJ's wish for a world without cancer. In the early 1990's I was the national coordinator for the IACVF (International Association of Cancer Victims and Friends). I noted with interest DJ's own choice of words, "Cancer Survivor," because eventually our name was changed to Cancer VICTORS and Friends. Yes, victors because we witnessed many miracles in the form of "terminal" cancer patients curing themselves with natural therapies, with the help of doctors and specialized clinics. Despite legal obstacles and an ongoing news blackout, these healings are still taking place today. DJ's intrinsic optimism confirms that we must no longer be victims of a disease for which there is already a wide variety of cures. The problem may be more of an information gap than anything else, but we ourselves need to be open to a more humanitarian approach to eradicating this plague. Let us be mindful of this in prayer and also be thankful God graced this community with a child who demonstrated such tenderness and loving care of those close to him and those of us he knew he would never meet. Had I known about DJ earlier, I would have eagerly traveled here from Southern California to meet him and his family. My prayers are with DJ's family and his huge circle of friends and followers.