Pictured at the Sutton Group – Seafair Realty golf tournament, dedicated this year to Daniel McCarthy, from left: Realtors Daniel John, Susan Green, Sharon Reimer and Trisha Murphy, and supplier Peter Palmer.

When 21-year-old Daniel McCarthy returned from playing hockey with friends, he had a sore knee.  Doctors originally told him he had pulled a tendon and that it would heal.  After weeks of pain, he had an x-ray, which revealed a nine-cm tumour in his knee extending into his thigh bone. The diagnosis was osteosarcoma. During the past several months, Daniel has undergone chemotherapy and surgery to replace his knee and remove a portion of his thigh bone.

Although he has lost more than 50 pounds and most of his hair, his mother, Charmaine McCarthy, a sales rep Sutton Group – Seafair Realty in Richmond, B.C., describes him as an extremely upbeat person.  He has dealt well with the physical and emotional challenges but the cost of the medications, some of which are $800 per prescription, is a serious financial strain.

Recently the team at Sutton Group – Seafair Realty dedicated its annual golf tournament to Daniel. The event raised over $7,300 and attracted many sponsors and approximately 50 golfers, swelling to 120 for the dinner/fundraiser.

Charmaine says Daniel’s prognosis is good. “The treatments are going well. He was at the top of his game physically before the cancer and he’s handling the chemotherapy as well as possible. The cure rate for osteosarcoma is about 80 per cent.”