Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention

Sandy Hutchens, Nov. 25, Toronto – Haydain Neale frontman for the group Juno Award-winning group Jacksoul was called as an “joyful presence” and an “amazing individual”. Astonished friends learned about his death from cancer on Monday. Neale died Sunday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto at 39 years old, after a seven-month struggle with lung cancer, the family said in a press release Monday.

Neale had also been recuperating from injuries sustained after being hit by an automobile while driving his Vespa scooter in Toronto on Aug. 3, 2007.

His friends and musicians were totally shocked by the news, particularly since many of them thought that he was finished with the worst part of his illness and was in a recovery phase.

“That guy just exuded what it is to be a really cool, down to earth, just amazing individual,” Toronto hip-hop MC Kardinal Offishall told CP backstage at the SOCAN awards on Monday. “Wow. Canada really lost something special.”

Family members and some of his friends were at his side as he died.

“Through all these challenges, Haydain’s sense of humour and love of music were ever-present,” his wife Michaela said.

He consistently brightened the room with his singing and his dazzling smile. His playful presence and rich voice will be missed by us all. Jacksoul was to release “SOULmate,” on Dec. 1 with 10 new tracks.

The first single, “Lonesome Highway,” was co-produced and co-written by Neale, and touches on his recovery, supported by his wife, daughter Yasmin and numerous others. Former Treble Charger frontman Greg Nori considered Neale a close friend since the two men worked side by side in studio space at the Sony offices.

“This guy was an extremely, extremely generous person,” Nori said backstage at the SOCAN event. “(He) was always 120 per cent to me, as an individual, he really was. I always had a really great friendship with him and we had a great respect for each other.

“I never saw the guy get mad. He only had positive energy about him. That’s my recollection of him. Never, ever did I see any kind of jealousy out of him, or negativity.”

Kardinal Offishall, likewise, said Neale was a special human being.

“People who never had the chance to meet him were able to see that not just through his music, but just in how he carried himself, just the type of dude that he was,” said the rapper, who says he had checked in on Neale’s status by sending a text message to a mutual friend just days before his death.

Jacksoul’s previous hits include “Can’t Stop” and “Still Believe in Love.” Neale was known for his soulful, elastic croon, for a voice that was faithfully smooth but organic and expressive.

“Hopefully his music will live on,” said Hedley guitarist Dave Rosin. That’s all any artist can hope. … It’s a sad thing.”

Nori, meanwhile, praised Neale’s integrity, versatility and commitment to his artistic ideals.

“I think he was always tackling something that wasn’t the flavour of the moment,” Nori said. “I think it was always a struggle to him because it wasn’t flavour of the moment, and it didn’t sell as much.

“He always had the ability to go do that if he wanted to, but he stuck to his guns and stayed with what he knew was in his heart, and I commend him for that.”

An interment with a private family gathering will take place later this week.

Hutchens Cancer Prevention finds that it is a deeply unfortunate fact and one that we don’t want to admit to as a society but according to a U.S. study, women are six times more likely to end up separated or divorced upon being diagnosed with cancer than if their male counterpart were facing the same disease. This confirms earlier research of divorce/separation rates among cancer patients of 12%, which is similar to the genpop. However the rate has jumped to 21% when the woman was sick rather than 3% when the man was diagnosed with the disease.

It is interesting to note that the reason men leave a sick spouse is partially explained by their lesser ability to quickly adjust to becoming a caregiver and be the primary homemaker. Links were discovered between age and length of marriage and the probability of separation. Longer marriages seem to remain more stable however the older the woman, the more likely the partnership would end.

The study that Hutchens Cancer Prevention is reporting on was conducted with the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine. For the study, patients were divided into three diagnostic groups: those with malignant primary tumors, those with solid tumors with no central nervous system involvement, and those with multiple sclerosis. Approximately one half were women.

Chamberlain said the study was begun since doctors noticed that in their neuro-oncology practices, divorce occurred almost exclusively when the wife was the patient, but in all cases the woman was more likely to end up alone. Researchers also looked at the quality of life among the patients who separated or divorced.

They found that these patients used more psychotropics for depression, took part in less clinical trials, had a greater frequency of hospitalizations, were less likely to continue their courses of radiation therapy and it was more common for them to not die in their own homes.

The findings will be published in the journal Cancer. Medical professionals should be sensitive to potential marital problems in couples afflicted by a serious medical illness, especially when the one diagnose is a woman.

“Early identification and psychosocial intervention might reduce the frequency of divorce and separation, and in turn improve quality of life and quality of care,” claimed the researchers.

Cancer and Marriage: Four Couples

Dayton police Sgt. Scott B. Stimmel ‘cop’s cop’ and an incredible human being who cared for others.

Sgt. Stimmel, who retired from the department in 2008 after over 30 years of service, lost a long and gruelling battle with cancer on Tuesday, Aug. 4, aged 61. His wife, Sherry, and his son, Craig, were at his bedside.

Visitation was on August 6 from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Road in Kettering. The funeral was at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Angels Church, 1322 Brown St. in Dayton.

Sgt. Stimmel was a high profile officer and is probably chiefly known for his work in downtown Dayton on the Mounted Patrol Unit. It was not a rare sight when he would stop and exchange greetings with small children, and to let them pet his horse.

People downtown who attended theatre at the Schuster Center and the Victoria Theatre have many tales of Sgt. Stimmel’s graciousness in offering a helping hand when problems would appear. “We called him ‘Sgt. Perfect,’ ” said Jean S. Jines, a volunteer at the theaters. “He always had a great attitude and a helping spirit. He was just so very kind.”

Sgt. Stimmel was one of the original members of the Dayton police Hostage Negotiation Team, and for 27 years helped defuse hostage standoffs.

He was also a member in good standing of the FOP Executive Board for 20 years and the lodge treasurer. In April 2006, he was honored by his peers as “Dayton Police Officer of the Year.”

At that time, Stimmel accepted the honor in his traditionally humble way. “This is so deeply, deeply appreciated,” he said. “I have faithfully served in many capacities over the years and have always tried to do my best.”

Born in Cleveland, Stimmel said, “I grew up in a police family. Both my father and my uncle were Cleveland police officers. I am proud that I selected this as my life work. I always put an emphasis on helping others as much as I can.”

Officer Gary Tipton, a close friend of Sgt. Stimmel, and also a Dayton police retiree, said the entire department is grieving.

“Scott did so much,” Tipton said. “I recall that when he was working on the auto-fencing unit with four other detectives, they conducted a successful sting on North Main Street that resulted in the largest recovery of stolen property in the history of our department.”