Benefit to be held for Janie Pappas-Lewis
Long-time Paso Robles resident Janie Pappas-Lewis battling cancer
Janie Pappas-Lewis, left, is pictured with her sister, Edie Monteiro, at The Loading Chute in Creston. A barbeque fundraiser, with a live and silent auction, will be held in October to help offset Lewis’ medical expenses as she battles cancer. Courtesy photo.
Meagan Friberg
Paso Robles Daily News
PASO ROBLES – A barbecue fundraiser and auction to benefit Janie Pappas-Lewis, a long-time Paso Robles resident who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this summer, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. at The Little’s Barn, 4272 Highway 41 East, on the corner of Camp 8 Road and Highway 41 East.
Lewis, 60, underwent a successful surgery at Stanford Medical Center on Sept. 9 where, according to her sister, Edie Monteiro, the cancerous tumor on her pancreas was removed. Tests later revealed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and Lewis may be facing radiation or chemotherapy in another month or two.
Described by Monteiro as a woman that is “always on the go,” Lewis is married to Robert Lewis, part of a long-time ranching family in Creston. A graduate of Paso Robles High School, she has three children – Tim Camack, Tina Camack-Davis and Shane Wagoner – and seven grandchildren.
“She has always been a strong, healthy, hard-working woman,” Monteiro said. “This all happened so fast.”
After noticing some yellowing on her skin and the whites of her eyes while vacationing with her husband over the summer, Lewis had some blood work done at an emergency room. When the results were sent to her primary care doctor in Templeton, Dr. Davis, Monteiro said Lewis called her with the news.
“Janie was then sent to Santa Maria and then Stanford,” Monteiro said. “After a stint was inserted to help with the jaundice and a biopsy was performed, we learned about the cancer. The growth on the pancreas had been pushing on an artery on the liver, so that is what caused the jaundice; otherwise she had no other symptoms.”
Shonna Howenstine is the Tourism Coordinator for the City of Paso Robles and a long-time friend of Lewis. She said a multitude of friends have gathered teams together to rally the community in an effort to gather donations, sell tickets to the benefit and find ways to help the family defray the rising costs of Lewis’ medical expenses.
“She’s a firecracker, is very proud and a fighter,” Howenstine said. “[The committee] is in need of wine donations for the barbecue, and we want to sell as many tickets to the benefit and raffle as possible.”
Describing her sister’s friends as an “extended family,” Monteiro said she has been amazed at the outpouring of support for Lewis.
“Everyone out there is Carissa Plains, and all of her friends, they are a tight-knit group,” Monteiro said. “They are all there to help out and it’s just been wonderful.”
Tickets for the event are $100 and include a barbeque dinner for two, and one raffle ticket for a prize drawing of a 2013 Kawasaki Mule 610 4×4 UTV or a Weatherby 20-gauge pump shotgun. Winner need not be present to win. A live and a silent auction will also take place, with various items donated from local businesses and individuals.
For more information or to make a donation, call Edie Monteiro at 286-2530, Barb at 674-4734 or Greg Weiman at 674-0125. Donations in Janie Lewis’ name may also be made at any Heritage Oaks Bank location.
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