Walking for a cause

Wednesday, April 10, 2013
B.J. Timoner, on a mission to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research, leaves the Fort Scott Tribune office on Monday, heading east on Wall Street. The next stop on his coast to coast walk was Nevada, Mo., about a days walk.

Perhaps you saw a man walking on US Hwy. 54 Monday, heading east, with his American flag blowing in the wind atop his backpack.

The walker, B.J. Timoner, of Albuquerque, N.M., is on a mission to increase awareness of pancreatic cancer.

He started at the Santa Monica Pier in California 96 days and 1,600 miles ago and his journey will end in Bethpage, N.Y. at the end of June.

The motivation for his walk is his father, Bert Timoner, who died of pancreatic cancer in 1974, when B.J. was five years old. But his experiences along the way have kept him going.

Timoner said he has learned about people, about himself, and about God and discovered Americans are kind and helpful.

"People are tremendously kind when they have the opportunity to help someone they think is doing good work," he said when he stopped by the Tribune office on Monday.

"I've encountered no malicious intent from anybody," he said.

Timoner has found the trip mentally challenging.

"Physically, it's not as challenging as it sounds. Anyone can walk 20 miles in one day, but on the 40th day and the 80th day...mentally, it's 10 times more challenging...just to face it again and again. There is a monotony getting up and walking 20 miles everyday on the shoulders of the road with trucks whizzing by," Timoner said.

In addition, there has been some character development.

"The trip is very humbling. I've learned patience and rolling with the punches is very important and it won't go right everyday. You just have to chalk it up and keep moving. Every single morning I say to myself 'Are you quitting today?' and then I say 'Well not today, maybe tomorrow, but not today'," he said.

In addition to his own character development he said, his faith in God has increased.

"My faith is not rock solid, but strengthening all the time. I'm talking to God everyday. He's been taking good care of me," Timoner said.

In fact, the signs that God has been giving -- and he says there have been many -- are what stands out for him on this journey, he said. While sick and weak along the way, he found a baby stroller to put his backpack in to lighten the load so he could continue.

He found a purple arrow pointing east towards New York along the side of the road. Purple ribbons are the symbol for pancreatic cancer awareness and New York, to the east, is his destination.

Additionally, God has provided a person to take him in for shelter when he needs it, he said. Pat Lyons, of Lyons Twin Mansions, provided shelter for him during Sunday's hail storm.

"Miss Pat put me up free of charge....that was incredibly kind," he said.

Every time he needs a boost, God provides, he said. These little boosts of encouragement keep him on his trek to reach his goal to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. All Timoner's fundraising is to benefit the Lustgarten Foundation, headquartered in Bethpage, New York.

This isn't his first walk across the country. He completed a coast-to-coast walk for pancreatic cancer in 2011 and raised $26,000. Inspired by the success of that mission, he started again at the beginning of 2013 with a goal of raising $100,000. So far he has raised $10,000.

"The reason I chose the Lustgarten Foundation's pancreatic research is they are 100 percent underwritten by Cable Vision, an East Coast TV operation. None goes to salaries or paper clips or anything like that. That was important to me. When someone offers me $5 or $10 on the road, every penny goes back to Lustgarten Foundation," he said.

He said he can do this because he had his expenses paid before he started the trip.

"On Indiegogo I was able to raise $5,000 for my own expenses," Timoner said.

Indiegogo is an international funding site that anyone can raise money for film, music, art, charity, small businesses, gaming, theater, and more, according to the website www.indiegogo.com.

"All cash-in-hand (along the trek) goes back to the foundation," Timoner said.

Timoner wants to stress the importance of research for the cure for pancreatic cancer.

"I want people to be aware that pancreatic cancer is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or ulcers or gall bladder. Almost every person I've ever met was misdiagnosed. I'd like doctors, especially, to think about it more. One in 68 people will die from pancreatic cancer. If we can make an early detection method...a urine test or blood test. If they could find a protein marker in the blood they'd be able to diagnose it earlier and save lives. There is no improvement in survivability. The survivor rate was six percent 40 years ago. It's still six percent," he said.

For more information, Timoner has a website www.BJWalksAmerica.com.