In 1995, Dean Randazzo from Somers Point, NJ, defied all odds to qualify for the ASP World Championship Tour. For the next six years, he traveled the world challenging the best in the sport, and he did it with minimal sponsorship. He never won an event, but the simple fact of being there was a feat previously unimaginable for a guy from the fickle breaks of South Jersey. He was the first, and remains the only, Garden State surfer to ever be ranked among the illustrious Top-44. But even that wasn't the biggest hurdle of his life. In 2001, Randazzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, a deadly form of cancer that attacks the lymph nodes. Randazzo simply prepared himself for the rigors of chemotherapy and attacked the cancer. Returning to health, he immediately committed himself to competition on the WQS circuit in order to re-qualify for the WCT. And he looked primed to do it, posting several high results internationally and even winning respectable specialty events along the way such as the inaugural Smith Optics Garden State Grudge Match and the first Red Bull Ice Break Championships in Nova Scotia. Meanwhile, he set up the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation, and subsequently became a symbol of strength in the surf community. The guy didn't just beat cancer, he sprinkled garlic powder on it and ate it, without losing any of the ferocity of his trademark frontside gouge. However, earlier this year, the cancer returned. While the rest of the East Coast was enjoying a fairly wave-blessed summer, Randazzo was ingesting potent chemotherapy drugs and undergoing a stem cell transplant treatment. But rest assured, there's plenty of fight left in this Jersey Devil. ESM spoke with Dean shortly after he'd been released from the University of California at San Diego's Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, CA.

 

ESM: How does it feel to be out of the hospital?

DR: Great. The stem cells are kicking in, and I can eat real food again. I've been on IV fluids for weeks, and I just had pizza for the first time. My mom said she could finally see the color coming back to my face.

 

ESM: Explain what happened with the relapse.

DR: I was in the best shape of my life. There were just a couple of cells that survived the original treatment. It was barely detectable. They would have sent a normal person home, but I was getting a thorough checkup two times a year, and they found the cells. So this time they did a different treatment.

 

ESM: And what did that consist of?

DR: The ordeal started on May 1st, with three days of chemo in the hospital, and again on the 15th for three days. Then I had a catheter inserted into my jugular vein to near the top of my heart­a direct line into a major artery where everything is extracted or injected through. I gave myself shots for a week to stimulate the bone marrow to produce a mega amount of fresh baby stem cells. After that week of shots, I went to the Moores Cancer Center to have them extracted. This consisted of having my blood sucked out through this machine that takes out the stem cells. Then the blood goes back into me. They need to collect over five million. I got a week off, then checked into the Thornton Hospital for three weeks. The first five days they hit me with a lot of heavy chemo­bags of liquid, toxic drugs that drip into my vein. They thawed my stem cells and dripped them back into me. After that, I waited for the stem cells to start kicking in, which usually happens around 10 days to two weeks. It took 13 days. For the two weeks after the transplant, my body was going downhill, my blood counts went down daily, and I had no immune system. Each stem cell is now going to where it is supposed to and has been rebuilding the bone marrow, and the immune system and blood cells with it.

 

ESM: Your comeback was pretty strong. (Dean's first event after kicking the cancer in 2002 was the Body Glove Surfbout at Lowers, where he made the finals.) Was there a time when you were sort of hiding the pain from the surfing world?

DR: It took a while to get back to 100%. After six months of treatment, your body just deteriorates. But I was super hungry and motivated. I got kind of pissed that I was sidelined and wanted to feel the best that I could. I think I was just riding off that.

 

ESM: You've overcome so many hurdles in your career. Just becoming a pro surfer from New Jersey was such a feat. Then you overcome the hardships of cancer and staged this amazing comeback, only to find that you're not completely cured. Were there any times when you were just like, "Why this? Why me?"

DR: If you dwell on things like that, they will just bring you down. The whole reason I stuck it out is because I love to travel and compete, even if it's not always on the 'CT. Kids paddle up to me now in the water and tell me they think I rip. To me, that's worth more than being on the tour. (This disease) was probably meant to be--for me to be a role model and spokesperson.

 

ESM: Most of us can't even imagine going through something like this. What's been helping you get through the hard times?

DR: I'm always thinking, "It's going to take a lot more than cancer to kill me." I know the disease I have is curable. The relapse was just a little mishap, but I have it. What else can I do but stay positive, get it done, and move on?

 

ESM: Tell us about the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation.

Just like a Jersey pizza, Dean is all about the big slice. -- Photo: Mez

DR: I set up the Foundation a month after I started chemo. I said, "What can I do to turn this into something positive?" I figured that maybe this was part of my calling, to take a bad situation and make good come of it. A lot of surfers don't have insurance; a lot of people in general don't have health insurance. This can help people in similar situations with their medical bills, to raise awareness, and fund research. Plus, it was something that could bring the community together.

 

ESM: Did the Foundation take on a new meaning when the cells were detected this year?

DR: I didn't start the foundation for me. I didn't even expect to use it myself. Insurance doesn't cover all the drugs, and I haven't needed all that much money from it, but it came back to help me in a big way. Plus, it's been good in connecting me outside the surfing community. I get e-mails from other cancer survivors; a few other athletes who are going through treatment or have beat it. The Foundation is giving them support. It's given me a chance to talk to kids and parents who are going through it, as well.

 

ESM: And how about the contest last year, when you made the semifinals of the Unsound Pro in New York, but had to leave to run your own event, the Dean Randazzo Surf For A Cause.

DR: That's just become something I look so forward to. We have a Pro division, just for the kids to watch, but it's really about all the people coming down for a day at the beach. I see all the families from town hanging out, and that's what that contest is all about.

 

ESM: So what can we expect from you this competitive season?

DR: Well, I should be back in the water in a few weeks. Then I'm going to win something.

 

The Dean Randazzo Surf For A Cause Surf Contest is scheduled for September 16th in Margate, NJ. In the meantime, visit the DRCF's website, www.deanrandazzocancerfoundation.org to keep up with his progress or make a donation. Dean's "Surf For A Cause," "Drink For A Cause," and "Golf For A Cause," events have enabled the Foundation to give over $43,000 to others, including now dearly departed Hawaiian pro Jason Bogle and Australia's Richie Lovett, for their own battles with cancer, as well as aiding Margate lifeguard/ firefighter Michael McGrath and Ocean City surfer Chris Hagel. In addition, the organization has made donations to the Ruth Newman Shapiro Cancer and Heart Fund, the Lymphoma Society for Stem Cell Research, and the Shore Memorial Cancer Unit in Somers Point. Last spring's golf outing and party enjoyed a massive turnout, even garnering prize contributions from the likes of Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning.