Honoring Chip Moore

This weekend I attended the Russel Hill Cancer Foundation‘s Seventh Annual White Linen and Wine fundraiser. It was a special evening considering my good friend, Chip Moore, was honored for his courage, strength and endurance in his personal battle against cancer. Chip delivered a poignant and heartfelt speech, quoting George S. Patton, John F. Kennedy, and Helen Keller that had me crying and laughing at the same time.

As background, Chip is originally from Columbia, TN, the “Mule Capital of the World“, where he played high school football (nickname ‘Scholar’), wrestled (7-1-1 his only year) and ran track (shot and discus, 400 m). He attended Columbia State Community College, Vanderbilt University, and The Georgia Institute of Technology.

A Renaissance Man

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Chip since my college days and he’s nothing short of a ‘Renaissance Man’. To illustrate, he has so many interesting hobbies and pursuits. Here’s a sample:

• back yard astronomy (4 inch APO)
• ice hockey (center – shoots right)
• private pilot (ubiquitous Cessna 172!)
• community theater (spear holder)
• dance (ballet, modern, and jazz),
• local opera (chorus and bit parts in Trovatore, Hoffman and Boheme)
• competitive cycling (road, mountain, and cross – sub 6 hour 6 Gap!)
• sleeping late

Sleeping late? When does he have time to sleep?

Chip is also one of the most intelligent people I know. If it weren’t for Chip’s tutelage, I wouldn’t have a clue about the relationship between the coefficient of restitution and golf. If you’re a trivia afficianado, you’ll want him on your team because he knows the answers without consulting a cell phone; and if you’re a movie buff, he can recite every famous line, word for word, and deliver it in character.

Did I mention he’s also got a great sense of humor? Check him out as Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite for Halloween. He even came with props, including his high school yearbook and football charm displayed on the neck chain.

Career

On a more serious note, Chip is a 30-year veteran of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and has lived in the rocket city since 1985. He describes his day job as a tribologist (‘look that up in your Funk and Wagnall!’ as Chip likes to say)  as similar to a glorified Maytag repairman. In this position, he examines critical hardware from the Space Shuttle, International Space Station and other space-bound components that have failed, or came dangerously close. Using a process much like finding all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, he analyzes pieces by colors and patterns, and from corners  to borders, and formulates a hypothesis. Using these techniques, he finds the root cause of the problem and recommends corrective action. In summary, he’s really more like an NCIS investigator instead of a Maytag Repairman. Give yourself some credit, Chip!

Chip’s dedication to his job has earned him numerous NASA awards including The Center Director’s Commendation, NASA’s Exceptional Service Award and the prestigious Silver Snoopy Award. Here’s a photo with his Marshall Tribology teammates accepting a Space Flight Awareness Award.

The Diagnosis and Treatment

In February of 2014, Chip’s cumulative experiences prepared him for the biggest challenge of his life, fighting a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer. With the help of family, friends, coworkers, physicians, and the staff of Clearview Cancer Institute, he elected to participate in a clinical trial. Chip explains his clinical trial with a quote from the movie Patton, “‘I don’t want to hear any news from the front that we are holding our position.’ And the clinical trial is just that. We are not holding our position. We’re not content with the status-quo.”

He considers his participation as a way of paying it forward or giving back; as a thank-you to those who have gone before him and clearing the path for those who will follow. Continuing with the military theme, he adds “other people have taken their turn on point. If you’re part of a team, you’ve got to take that turn.”

Cancer patient, Chip Moore, shares his journey through Clearview Cancer Institute’s clinical trial process

Chip has waged a successful battle, overcoming significant chemotherapy side effects, to render his cancer undetectable for about a year. Unfortunately, as is oftentimes the case in a metastatic diagnosis, a new tumor has been detected and a plan of attack is being formulated. Fortunately his oncologist, Dr. Marshall Schreeder, had the foresight to save a  sample of the original tumor tested for genome sequencing. This testing helps identify more specific chemotherapy regimens for a specific tumor type.

Chip’s outlook and prognosis are both positive.

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

-Christopher Reeve

Chip, I’m incredibly honored to call you friend…you’re not only superman..you’re my hero. Keep up the fight!