Benefield: Santa Rosa woman swims San Francisco Bay for cancer research because ‘I know how hard it is’

When Theresa Drew started taking part in Swim Across America in 2007, it was with a heart full of gratitude.

Her son, David, who was 7 at that time, had been “considered cured” of a cancerous tumor behind his left eye that was diagnosed when he was a toddler.

So when Theresa, a Santa Rosa resident and lifelong swimmer, saw a poster advertising Swim Across America San Francisco Bay Open Water Swim in support of cancer research at David’s doctor’s office at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, she was intrigued.

She was there with David, getting a regular checkup. He was healthy and she was thankful.

Plus Swim Across America was a national event with local impact.

Swimmers would take to the water to draw attention — and funds — to support cancer research. Even better, the money would go to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland.

She was in.

She created “Team David” where friends and family could donate to her efforts and to honor her son.

“In 2007, 2008 it was just this grateful, happy heart and I wanted to give back,” Theresa said.

She swam in thanks, she swam in hope and she swam motivated to raise money and awareness about childhood cancers.

And then doctors found more cancer in David’s body.

“Well, in 2009 we found out that my son, he had two cancers,” she said.

David had osteosarcoma in his jaw and a malignant tumor in his brain — cancers Theresa believes were caused by the radiation treatment he endured as a toddler.

He died in 2011, a month before his 11th birthday.

‘Kind of impish’

David loved raspberries and carrots and artichokes. He loved LEGOs and the movie “Cars.”

He loved riding his scooter and playing with his friends.

He was a Boy Scout.

And he was, as his mom recalled, “kind of impish.”

Once, when Theresa’s parents were visiting, David hid their car keys so they couldn’t leave.

When he couldn’t attend school because of his treatment, David often went to Driven Raceway in Rohnert Park for go-kart racing.

He quickly became a regular and, just as quickly, broke track records in his age division.

Driving and going fast gave him great joy when he couldn’t go to school, Theresa said.

And, like his mom, David was a swimmer.

As a result of the behind his eye, David had vision issues. So baseball was out, as was soccer.

But he could swim, so he competed for the Oak Park Otters.

‘I have a purpose’

For a few years after David was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, and after he died, Theresa didn’t participate in Swim Across America.

“It took me awhile to get it back together,” she said. “I think starting in 2013 I began swimming again and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Every fall, Theresa dons a wet suit and, with hundreds of others, plunges into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay.

Before COVID, swimmers were shuttled by boat out to the Golden Gate Bridge, where they would then jump into the water and swim to shore — approximately 1.5 miles.

In those years, Theresa recalled how those cold boat rides would be cathartic, with swimmers talking about loved ones lost, or lives changed, by a cancer diagnosis.

Some people, like Theresa in the beginning, swam in gratitude for loved ones who have been given the all-clear from cancer.

“That was always the big thing, when we were on the boat it’s like story time,” she said. “People would get up and tell their stories and there is not a dry eye in the house.”

The pandemic forced changes in the event’s route, but not in the mission.

Today, swimmers get in at Little Marina Green, swim 1.5 miles and exit the water at Aquatic Park.

The event draws seasoned swimmers like Theresa, but it also draws relative novices inspired by the cause.

David’s long-ago oncologist, Robert Goldsby, swims every year, Theresa said.

For years, David’s sister Shannon swam with Theresa in honor of her brother.

Before getting into the water, Theresa writes David’s name on her cap, along with other people she swims for.

“I have a purpose,” she said. “I think it’s easier to swim because I have something to think about.”

Since she began supporting Swim Across America, that purpose changed, she said. She went from being grateful and thankful, to more of an advocate for research.

“I think about all those people who were going through what we went through, families that are finding out today that their kid has cancer,” she said. “I just want to help because I know how hard it is. I also want to get money into the hands of people who can do research so kids don’t die from their treatment.”

Since it was launched in 1987, Swim Across America has issued nearly $100 million in grants for research, clinical trials and patient programs.

Under the umbrella of the national effort, local swims — in Nantucket, Seattle, St. Louis, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and elsewhere — raise money to support local cancer care and research operations.

The San Francisco Bay Area Open Water Swim launched in 2006. In that time, nearly $6 million has been raised for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, according to the organization.

Swim Across America, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, receives top marks from Charity Navigator as well as from Guidestar.

Theresa is a seasoned swimmer. But swimming that far, and in those cold waters, is not easy for even the most skilled athlete.

But on Saturday, under cloudy skies and in choppy waters, Theresa said she and other swimmers were buoyed by what simmers call “the flood.”

It occurs when the tide rises in the ocean and water “floods” into the bay.

On Saturday, those floods pushed Theresa and her fellow swimmers through the water, like running with the wind at your back.

So when she hit the beach, swimming side by side with friend and fellow Santa Rosan Duncan McCallum, she felt light.

McCallum had swum in honor of his young neighbor, Allyson Allgower who died in 2022 of brain cancer.

Before they started the swim, Theresa, McCallum and all of the other swimmers tossed flowers into the water.

When they finished, they were greeted with cheers — the sound of grateful hearts.

“The collective joy that is there, the support,” she said. “Everyone is yelling and congratulating us. It just feels like everybody is there for the same reason. It’s just very joyous.”

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.