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Earlier this year, Rich Lawrence went to the doctor for a routine checkup. His tests showed slightly decreased liver functioning, which the doctors thought should be followed up with additional testing. Rich never felt sick.

So it was a shock when Rich was diagnosed Sept. 15 with hepatocellular carcinoma, a progressive and deadly form of liver cancer. “It could be a very different Christmas for you this year,” the doctors said.

Visits to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., produced no viable treatment options for the Onalaska man. Soon after, a spot was found on Rich's lung, which removed him from the liver transplant list. Rich's options were quickly vanishing.

Then he heard about an alternative cancer treatment program available in Mexico. On Oct. 26, barely a month after his diagnosis, Rich and his wife, Carolyn, a teacher at Logan Middle School, were on a plane to Tijuana.

The Alivizatos treatment program is not yet approved in the U.S. It involves a rigorous schedule of treatment, sometimes six to eight hours a day, said Rich's daughter, Michelle Mulholland, who spent a few days in Tijuana with her father during his treatment.

Rich's treatment includes daily coffee enemas, chelation therapy (a four-hour bag of intravenous solution to remove toxic metals from the body) and laetrile therapy (to infuse the body with vitamin B17). He also receives four injections a week, ultraviolet therapy and several 30-minute sessions per week in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

Rich also is on a strict diet of organic low-acid fruits and vegetables. He's allowed to eat chicken and fish in very small portions.

The treatment runs for a period of 30 consecutive days, but Rich must keep up his diet for at least six months after he gets home.

Unlike mainstream cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which introduce foreign substances to the body, the Alivizatos treatment is designed to boost the body's own immune system. It produces few side effects. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, Alivizatos treatment leaves patients feeling great.

“He's adjusted to it well,” Mulholland said. “Dad looked great. He was very positive. You could tell that he was actually doing pretty well.”

But Rich's treatment comes at a high cost - $22,000, which is not covered by insurance and hard to afford as a retiree.

So Sue Peterson, community learning center director for the La Crosse school district and colleague of Rich's wife, Carolyn, sprang into action.

“Carolyn is someone in our school that has always been extra caring. She's one of the leaders of Logan Middle and probably has been for 30 years. As soon as I heard that Rich was sick and their only hope was to try this alternative treatment that was so expensive, I said, ‘I think we need to do something,'” Peterson said.

And so in just a few short weeks, Peterson and a group of others have organized a benefit to raise money for Rich's treatment.

“We've already raised $8,500,” Peterson said. “Someone in the school donated Packer/Viking tickets for a Monday night game, and we had a Packer raffle. So we have a nice little cushion going into (the benefit).”

The benefit will be held at Drugan's Supper Club in Holmen from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27. There will be food, a silent auction, a live baked goods and pie auction, raffles and live music. And, of course, Mulholland said, the Packers game will be on. The event is free and open to the public.

Auction items include hotel and restaurant packages, televisions, DVD players, art donated by Art Anderson and a family golf membership to Drugan's valued at $1,300.

Most importantly, Rich will finish up his treatment a few days before and he and Carolyn will be home in time for the benefit.

Joan Solberg, a teacher at Logan Middle School, co-organizer of the event and Carolyn's sister, has been touched by the kindness she's encountered from the community. “I find it amazing how generous people are, just people that you don't even know in businesses or people who are willing to donate something,” she said.

“It's been neat,” Peterson agreed.

And so the event at Drugan's, as well as all the lives Rich and Carolyn have touched, are filled with hope. There is hope that the $22,000 goal will be reached and that Rich's treatment will be paid for.

And there is hope for Rich's full recovery.

“He's really doing quite well,” said Peterson. “I just really believe he's going to be a miracle.”

Contact Amy Hufford at 786-1950 or amyhufford@gmail.com