Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1423166
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021 25 club life cancer fight / golf feat It's a bird, it's a plane, it's… an albatross WAC member Landry Christofferson holed a three-under-par albatross while golfing with friends at the Willows Run Golf Complex this past July. e odds of making an albatross, also called a double eagle, are one in six million, according to e National Hole in One Association. Landry's shot of a lifetime occurred on the second hole of the Coyote Creek course, a 495-yard par 5. Aer an impressive 305-yard drive, Landry holed out from 190 yards. "It was an amazing day!" Landry says. "My friends and I had no clue it was in the hole until we approached the green. We all were in absolute shock, and it honestly didn't hit me until aer the round what I had accomplished. I'm thankful the guys playing with me were close friends, and we all had a great time celebrating over a round of beers." Landry joined the WAC in 2012 and served as Chair of the Program Board from 2020–2021. He started playing golf with his grandfather at age 14. E M I L I O H U E R TA S ( 4 ) Staying fit to keep fighting How one member's fitness is helping battle cancer Olav Ruud has beaten the odds, and he says the WAC is in large part to thank. e 72-year-old WAC member was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2018. According to the American Cancer Society, the survival rate for pancreatic cancer one year aer diagnosis is only 20 percent. Enter Olav, who credits a combination of fitness and an experimental treatment for saving his life. "Without exception, every doctor I spoke to said the same thing," Olav says. "Exercise, exercise, exercise. And they still keep saying that!" Despite chemotherapy and an op- eration to remove part of his pancreas in 2019, Olav's tumors persisted. at's when he read an article about an exper- imental natural killer cell therapy taking place at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California. "is is about survival," Olav says. "If this is what I have to do, for however long it takes, that's what I'm going to do." Olav's high level of fitness helped him earn placement in the program, which has more applicants than it can accept. He began the treatment process this past April and has since been declared can- cer-free, though treatment is ongoing. He oen stays at the Inn at the WAC. During workouts, he places an emphasis on listening to his body to avoid pushing himself too hard. His workouts usually include a focus on flexibility and aerobic conditioning. "Anybody who belongs to the WAC is blessed to have this facility to use," Olav says.