Most people with cancer have only one type to deal with.
Unfortunately, local musician Stanley Whitaker is battling two.
After finding a lump in his neck, Whitaker was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare form of malignant cancer occurring in the head and neck, on June 22. A month later, while surgically removing the growth, doctors discovered Whitaker also had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer that attacks bone marrow and lymph nodes. The musician completed a 36-day radiation treatment last Tuesday, resulting in third-degree burns to his mouth and neck.
“You kind of figure out you’re not special, that cancer touches everybody,” said LeeAnne Whitaker, Stanley’s wife. “We just figured we’ve been asked to stand up, and we’re going to be graceful about it.”
In the ’70s, Stanley Whitaker founded the progressive rock band Happy the Man, was signed by Clive Davis of Arista Records and was asked by Peter Gabriel to join his band.
Stanley and LeeAnne were married in 2005, after working together for several years as “Stan and LeeAnne,” an acoustic duo. It was only after the couple met that LeeAnne Whitaker discovered how far-reaching his music has been. “He’s not a name-dropper, but he was huge in Europe,” she said. “A lot of people feel he was one of the innovators of progressive rock.”
Unfortunately, being an excellent musician doesn’t pay the bills. The Whitakers’ full-time pursuit of music couldn’t afford them health insurance. Once Stanley Whitaker was diagnosed and unable to work, the debt began to pile up — nearly $200,000 worth.
“It was a double tragedy,” said Sue Ellen Grove, LeeAnne Whitaker’s older sister. “Stanley and LeeAnne are always with my children, and I talk to her on the phone several times a week. It rocked our family.”
But Whitaker saw an opportunity. “We thought, how are we going to raise money? Then I thought, let’s help Stanley, but also the other people in this industry who are uninsured,” she said. “A lot of artists could use a foundation like that.”
So the Stanley Whitaker Gift Foundation was born. Once Stanley Whitaker’s situation is improved, the foundation will continue to provide assistance to artists who face similar obstacles.
The foundation is hosting a benefit concert for the Whitakers on Sunday, featuring performances from Crack the Sky, the Baltimore School of Rock, Hectic Red and Oblivion Sun. “It’s going to be insane, just a smashing good time,” LeeAnne Whitaker said.
But above all, she wants to see her husband well. “God bless him, I would like to keep him.”
If you go
Stanley Whitaker Gift Foundation Benefit/Live Show
Where: Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium
When: 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $75
Info: www.whitakergiftfoundation.com
