Debbie Sisemore is currently battling stage 3 cancer
“Debbie was refusing a benefit because it is her nature not to put others out,” explained former student and long-time friend Jessica Nunez. “She didn’t want others to have to spend time organizing it, but that is just how Debbie is. She is always doing for others, but doesn’t want others to be put out helping her. She isn’t going to be able to work for at least two months as she goes through chemo, so I decided that we were doing this. I knew a lot of people in Elk City would be jumping to help her. Everybody loves Debbie.”
The first benefit will be held at the Thirsty Frog on North Van Buren on July 28.
“The benefit will start at 6 pm with the band starting at 7. Dani Carson agreed to play it for us because she knows Sise having worked around her. She knows what an amazing person Debbie is. We will have door prizes and a ticker drawing. The tickets will be $1. A portion will go to Debbie and a portion will go to the winner. We will have the outdoor stage ready to go and a silent auction,” Nunez stated.
The second benefit will be at the Blockhouse, located north of Barber-Dyson Ford, on August 10.
It will feature a silent auction and an 8-ball pool tournament.
Sign up for the tournament will began at noon with the players meeting at 1:30 pm.
The silent auction will be from 1-10 pm.
The Smokin’ Oaks will be the musical act.
The third benefit will be a poker run on September 14 at the Thirsty Frog. Details for other events on that day are still being determined.
Sisemore began her iconic run as the Elk City High School drama teacher and cheerleading coach in 1974.
“Leroy Bruce hired me way back then,” Sisemore recounted. “I retired in 2007, and loved every second of it.”
Although Sisemore stopped smoking over seven years ago, her doctor insisted on a precautionary lung scan.
That scan may have saved her life as it led to the detection of lung cancer.
She recently underwent surgery and doctors were successful in removing the lung cancer.
However, cancer has now been detected in three lymph nodes. Sisemore has been diagnosed with stage 3 adenocarcinoma and will start chemotherapy at the beginning of August.
For more information, contact Jessica Nunez on Facebook.
