Cecil Martin Cancer Fight - OX

Many have said that when fighting cancer a sense of humor is critical. It can help the immune system with the battle. By this measure, cancer picked the wrong fight in taking on our friend and brother, Cecil Martin. Cecil is the consummate prankster with boundless energy. His distinctive laugh and patented crooked smile are always on display. We are brothers of Theta Chi fraternity that met Cecil between 1989-1993. Cecil was a founding brother of our chapter on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Cecil graduated with Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and was member of the VCU Rugby Team. After graduation, we all knew that Cecil would not end up behind a desk. His spirit and energy could not be contained in a normal 9 to 5 environment. He started his own contracting business focused on bathroom renovations and plumbing. He married his high school sweetheart Lisa and they went on to have 3 beautiful children Conner, Hayden and Charlie.
Almost 4 years ago, Cecil was diagnosed with colon cancer. We were all shocked by the news, but in typical Cecil fashion, he kept our spirits up by making us laugh. We watched him roll up his sleeves and take this fight head on. Many of us would visit Cecil during this time and others kept in touch. He is a naturally strong person. His toughness and stamina are legendary amongst his friends and family. We knew undergoing chemotherapy would not stop him from doing his daily work as he is the only employee in his business. Some days, he would receive a treatment and then you would find him under a house working away the same day. We came to learn that during his  years of treatment he only missed 3 days of work.

In October of 2016, the cancer moved to the lower part of Cecil's spine causing extreme pain and keeping him from his daily routine. Cecil recently went into hospice care and is at home with his family. He is paralyzed from the waist down and requires a wheelchair to get around. On Sunday April 9th, dozens of our fraternity brothers came from all over the country to spend an afternoon with Cecil. It was an emotional time for all of us. As we wrestled with our feelings over what has befallen our amazing and inspiring friend, it was Cecil making us laugh and calling for more refreshments and inviting a friend to come and play live music for the group. Just as he has been doing for more than 25 years, he was the life of the party, making sure we were all comfortable and insisting that we not leave despite how fatigued he had become.

He didn’t want the party to end and asked us to carry it over to one of his favorite pubs. Just to be sure we kept it going, he made us send him pictures from the pub. His insistence that we all go and be with each other was Cecil’s way giving us one more laugh and one more gift. The gift was to remind us how the friendships that we made as young men have matured and grown deeper and more special with each passing year. That the bonds of our brotherhood are stronger than ever.

Now we are banding together to lend a helping hand to a brother and friend that means so much to all of us. We are asking for support to help with his family’s needs as they care for him in their home. Without a doubt, if the shoe were on the other foot Cecil would be the first to help out a friend. No amount is too little and know that any support is deeply appreciated.