'I don't give up'

Former rodeo champion beat cancer twice but faces tough choices in third bout

Peter Hockaday, (Casper) Star-Tribune For The Drury Family, The Scholarship Is Important Because Shane And Both His Brothers Were Aided By Scho ...

Saturday, July 8, 2006

CASPER, Wyo. - The first time Shane Drury beat cancer, they took out a chunk of his lung and parts of four ribs. He was back riding bulls within two months.

The second time he beat cancer, they took out the rest of those four ribs. It took him four months to get back into rodeo.

This time, there's almost nothing left to take out of Shane Drury's chest. They sure can't take his heart.

That thing's in there to stay.

With Shane Drury, the elephant is in the room, and it's not hiding: He doesn't have much longer to live. He has beaten cancer twice, but the doctors think this time the Ewing's sarcoma will be the victor. The doctors gave him 3 to 4 months to live unless he schedules chemotherapy to prolong the inevitable.

That was last month.

But Shane Drury has lived with cancer for four years. So he still judges at rodeos when he can; he's even scheduled a rodeo around a bunch of doctor's appointments next week. And he battled a bout of pneumonia this week as he drove to Casper to give the first Shane Drury Scholarship on June 16 at the College National Finals Rodeo. Montana State-Bozeman goat tier Jyme Peterson received the scholarship in a presentation at the Casper Events Center.

Before he left for Casper, when the pneumonia first showed up, Drury thought it might be the cancer. So he took his dogs out for a bike ride to clear his lungs.

The message he posted on his Web site tells his story. The site has become his megaphone when it comes to updating family, friends and well-wishers. The day before he left for Casper, he posted about his condition.

"I don't have time for pneumonia," he wrote. "Places to go and people to see."

Everywhere he goes, people tell Shane Drury he doesn't look sick.

And for the most part, he does look like a typical cowboy, like he was rocketing to the top of the world standings. His last chemotherapy treatment was late in 2004, so he's got most of his hair. He's got the snakeskin boots, the Copenhagen Pro Rodeo belt buckle, and the giant ring from his National Finals Rodeo appearance in 2000. He's short and compact, and looks like he'd be dynamite atop a bull.

Before the cancer, he was something close to dynamite. He won a national title with Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He got trampled by his bull in the second round during the CNFR in 1999 and won the "Hard Luck Award" long before he was a true hard-luck case.

He hit the pro circuit and reached the pinnacle of his career at the 2000 NFR. He finished 10th in the bull riding world standings that year.

Drury's older brother, Jesse, admired Shane's riding style. Jesse said Shane wouldn't let go of his bull "until he got knocked out."

"I guess that's probably helped me through this whole deal," Shane said. "I don't give up. Where you'll see some guys that are riding that jump off or jump early or something, and I don't think I ever did that. And I don't think I'm going to with this cancer."

Two years after the high of the NFR, Drury hit his first major low. He went in to see a doctor with back pains, a common problem for bull riders. But the doctors found Ewing's sarcoma, a cancer often found in children, in his lungs and bones.

The chemotherapy was the hardest part. It made him weak and sick, more susceptible to pneumonia. Common colds knocked him out. It was the same when the cancer came back in 2004.

Now that the cancer is here a third time, there are no more radiation treatments to eradicate the tumors. So he faces an unthinkable decision.

In his next battery of tests, he thinks the doctors will tell him his tumors have grown. He'll have to decide whether to schedule more chemotherapy to contain the tumors.

Spend an extra few months on earth, sick as anything? Or take less time, and enjoy it more? He hasn't made up his mind yet.

"I'm about sick of seeing doctors," Drury said.

Shane Drury was riding bulls at the Pendleton (Ore.) Roundup in 2000, and his cell phone wasn't getting coverage. When he finally got back in range, he had a bunch of voice mails.

He thought he was popular. Turns out it was far more serious. Jesse Drury had gotten in a car accident in South Dakota.

His leg was crushed flat, he sustained multiple head injuries, and he was in a coma that would last five days. Afterward, Jesse would have to learn again how to speak, how to walk and how to rope calves.

"Yeah, I'm blessed to be alive," Jesse Drury said.

Shane couldn't do much for his brother. Jesse doesn't remember it, but people told him later that he urged Shane to turn out for rodeos instead of sitting in the hospital. Jesse watched Shane's first NFR performance while leaning on a cane.

Two years later, when Shane was diagnosed, the supported became the supporter.

"I can't exactly say I know exactly what Shane's going through; there's no way to know that," Jesse said. "But I think I have a pretty good idea because I went through - not something similar, but you know what I mean."

As Shane sat in the CNFR media room at the Events Center the night before the scholarship presentation, a stream of coaches, officials and competitors came through. They wanted to shake Drury's hand, tell him how inspiring his story is, wish him luck.

By Peter Hockaday, (Casper) Star-Tribune For The Drury Family, The Scholarship Is Important Because Shane And Both His Brothers Were Aided By Scholarships When They Went Through School. But It'S Also Important To Spread Shane'S Story, To Inspire People, To Make Sure His Story Lasts. "Everyone'S Days Are Numbered, But His Seem To Be Numbered Shorter Than Most Of Us," Jesse Drury Said. "Once He'S Gone, (The Scholarship) Is Going To Keep His Legacy Going." Even Though He Still Looks Like A Cowboy, If You Spend Enough Time Around Shane Drury, You Notice Something. Every Now And Then, He Coughs. It'S A Short, Small Cough, Like A Kid Trying To Hide A Cold From His Mother. It'S About The Only Hint That Shane Drury'S Problems Aren'T Befitting Of A 25-Year-Old. "At My Age, You Don'T Ever Think Of (Having Cancer); You Don'T Ever Plan On Dealing With It," Drury Said. "I Never Would'Ve Thought Of It. It'S Not Something You Ever Think Of Happening." But For The Past Four Years, Drury Has Dealt With The Cancer By Riding His Bike And Getting On Every Bull He Can. He Hasn'T Run From It. After All, He'S Got Places To Go. He'S Got People To See.