In between Sebago Lake and Casco Bay, there’s a Maine community where many people know about NET cancer and can even name someone who has died from it.
The abutting towns of North Yarmouth and Cumberland have lost three community members to NETs. In 2017, 22-year-old firefighter Brandon Thibeau died two years after the biopsy of a swollen lymph node showed a NET.
A year earlier, the former town manager of North Yarmouth, Marnie Diffin, succumbed within months of receiving her NET diagnosis. Thirteen years earlier, a 41-year old EMT and mother of four, Susan Taylor, died less than a year into her journey.
North Yarmouth Town Clerk Debbie Grover was connected to all threee and decided to act. “How could it be that for a rare cancer, I could know three people who have been afflicted with it in my small world of Cumberland and North Yarmouth,” she said.
Again this year, she’s planning a benefit breakfast sponsored by the North Yarmouth Fire Company, on Saturday, October 27 from 7 am to 10 am. Brandon’s family, Debbie’s co-workers, and the firefighters are organizing the logistics for an expected crowd of 300.
Heaping plates of eggs, pancakes, sausages, and home fries will be offered with a free-will donation.
Proceeds from the breakfast benefit the NET Research Foundation. Learn how you can sponsor a fundraiser in your community.