URIAH A. KISER / Stafford County Sun
Published: February 27, 2008

Whitaker, who graduated this year from North Stafford High School five months early due to his illness, was diagnosed with cancer in June 2006 when a CT scan at Potomac Hospital revealed malignant masses in both his chest and neck.

Treatment began shortly after, with Justin undertaking large doses of chemotherapy to attack the cancer in his chest and lungs - a process that required several admissions to the hospital.

For six months it seemed that Whitaker's cancer was in remission, until August when he was hospitalized again for a lump in his neck, eventually undergoing a bone marrow transplant in mid-November, according to his father, Craig Whitaker.

"Every time he gets a little better, he falls back down again," said Craig Whitaker, speaking about his son from the hospital's ICU ward. "Justin did very well during the operation. Most bone marrow transplant patients usually need six weeks. He was in for only three."

Justin Whitaker played as a centerfielder for the North Stafford High School baseball team during his sophomore year. Because of his love for the sport and dedication to the team, he made the varsity team during his junior year, all while he was being treated for lymphoma.

Over the weekend, North Stafford High School paid for the Whitakers to take a trip to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Md., the ESPN Zone restaurant, and Camden Yards baseball stadium - the home of the Orioles.

But it was during dinner Sunday night during the last leg of the family outing on Kent Island, Md. where Justin Whitaker fell sick again, forcing his father to drive him back to be with the family's trusted doctors in Fairfax.

With medical bills piling up, a community that has already provided "so much" according to Craig Whitaker, has planned an oyster roast complete with fried and steamed oysters, with all proceeds going to the Justin Lee Whitaker Cancer Fund.

"We thought this was a clear case of someone who needed our help," said Bill Milby of Friendship Baptist Church of Fredericksburg - a co-organizer of the event. "We keep our eyes and ears close to the ground and the Lord lets us help the people who come our way."

The church selects a deserving person from the community each year, and holds an annual fundraiser at White Oak Equipment on Va. Route 3 in Fredericksburg.

"I had a salesman that had cancer once, and the Lord spoke to me and asked me 'why didn't I help him'" said Frank McCarty, owner of White Oak Equipment. "So now we put up the money and the space to do the event every year."

This year it is the Whitaker family that will benefit from the annual fundraiser, with White Oak and 15 other local businesses donating $500 to $1,000 each to the cause.

"He is a great inspiration and a great story, and we are really excited about the fund raising," said Craig Whitaker of his son. "We didn't know if he could make it [to the fundraiser] but they still wanted to do it for him."

Justin Whitaker will continue to undergo his treatment, which requires blood transfusions every-other day, and rigorous chemotherapy treatment that runs for four weeks straight, allowing him just 10 days off until the next dose.

The oyster roast will be held Mar. 1 at White Oak Equipment in Fredericksburg at 3 p.m. For more information or to donate, please call (540) 373-2686.

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