Aug. 29 golf tourney will raise funds for cancer research

Family starts a golf tournament to raise funds for cancer research

By Kristen Forbes

The Times, Jul 16, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Submitted photo / Times Newspapers

Gathered at the 2008 Mike Newton Classic Golf Tournament are (from left) Patrick, Chris and JoEllen Newton, Bob Ealing and Brian Newton.

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“We had an American Dream family and upbringing,” Tigard’s Brian Newton says. “Nothing bad ever happened to us. Things were perfect. You’d see all these tragedies happen around you and you’d never really think it could happen to you.”

Everything changed for the Newton family in March 2007, when Brian’s dad Mike went to the doctor with complaints of a sore throat. After his appointment, he was asked to come back for further tests.

“Basically out of nowhere, we found out it was cancer,” Brian remembers. “It was quite shocking to all of us, to say the least.”

As the next few weeks unraveled, Mike’s health deteriorated rapidly. Apparently the cancer had been in his body for a while and was starting to take over.

“Within three weeks after the time we found he had cancer, he passed away. It was that fast,” Brian says. “There was no time for preparation.”

Just two days before his death, Mike’s cancer was identified as esophageal, a cancer whose incidence rate has risen 350 percent since 1970. An estimated 13,200 Americans are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year; approximately 12,500 die from it.

Mike Newton was 57. After his death, his wife Jo Ellen and his three sons Patrick, Christopher and Brian were left to grapple with what had happened. In their grief, they came to a conclusion: They couldn’t just sit around and feel their sorrow. They had to do something.

“My brother Patrick and I had always talked about having a golf tournament,” says Brian. “The idea used to be just for fun – an excuse to get a bunch of people together to play golf. We grew up playing golf, and my dad loved golf. After this happened to my dad, probably within a week after it happened, we decided to put something together.”

They formed the Michael J. Newton Esophageal Cancer Foundation, a 501c3 charity devoted to esophageal cancer research. In September 2007, the first Mike Newton Classic Golf Tournament was held. All proceeds from the tournament, which are tax-deductible, went toward esophageal cancer research.

“I think it was that whole idea of not knowing what to do with yourself,” Brian says of the way he and his family responded to his father’s death. “So we put all of our energy into this tournament because it was just keeping us busy and seemed to distract us.”

About 120 people showed up for the first tournament, and donations trickled in. In 2007, the family raised about $30,000 for its foundation.

“A lot of people were emotionally involved at that point,” Brian says. “My dad had a huge network of people he was in touch with. A lot of people were impacted by his loss.”

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