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Donor Spotlight - Clelland Downs

Feb 7, 2017, 10:54 AM by Ann Moore
Donor Clelland Downs
Clelland Downs
is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who has been a stalwart supporter of the Cancer Center for over a dozen years, and two major life experiences continue to influence his philanthropic decisions to this day: his years living in poverty during his youth and his battle with breast cancer as an adult. “I was incredibly lucky to have the Cancer Center by my side,” he said. “Their help and support were truly lifesavers for me, and their testing of my family for genetic risks for cancer has given me great peace of mind. The entire experience has been top notch.”

Born into a hard scrabble life, Clelland is the son of an inveterate gambler whose family moved more than 30 times as he was growing up, from the fringes of Los Angeles to ranch country deep in Texas to seaports on the Gulf of Mexico and back to the San Joaquin Valley of California. “We were sometimes just one step ahead of the sheriff. My dad took an amazing array of jobs, from being a cowboy to a carpenter to working on oil rigs and unloading banana boats. With his gambling, we were always left impoverished. Neither my mother nor father had much education but they both stressed the importance of education to me and my siblings and I developed a love of literature and the English language from their influence and that of my teachers.”

“Because of the places we lived and the fact that my father usually lost all our money betting on long shots that never materialized, I grew up very poor.” One of the many places they landed was Lakewood, California and their house was near a Douglas Aircraft facility. “I grew up with a great love of airplanes and anything to do with flight.” After finishing college and a stint as an oil refinery engineer, Clelland joined the Air Force to become a pilot but because of arthritis, the doctors wouldn’t approve his application to fly. Nevertheless, he found a rewarding career in the Air Force, starting with the Strategic Air Command and proceeding to other assignments at the Pentagon,NASA and space and missile development centers.

Clelland retired from the Air Force in 1984, worked for General Dynamics in San Diego for three years and then moved to Santa Barbara where he met his wife, Yvonne. In 2002, Clelland felt a lump in his breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer. “After I had surgery, I received my chemo treatment—Tamoxifen to be exact—at the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara and I’ll always be grateful to Dr. Kass for the expertise and support he provided, and even more so for the wonderful advice he gave me. Because of my family history, Dr. Kass advised me and everyone biologically related to me to get genetic testing. This is important as it analyzes a person’s genetic risks of developing certain types of cancer, and early awareness can elevate the chance of having a long term positive outcome.”

When Clelland was being treated, genetic testing was up a representative from City of Hope once a month. The role of genetics in cancer treatment has blossomed since and the Cancer Center now has three full-time genetic counselors on staff who work with patients to assess their predisposition for developing various types of cancer based on the outcome of genetic testing. “My mother died of cancer and one of my sisters has just been scheduled for breast cancer surgery. Another one of my sisters tested positive for Lynch Syndrome, an inherited condition that increases the risk of colon and other cancers,” Clelland said. “When I think about it, I realize that my having breast cancer was a ‘stroke of good fortune,’ because it served as an early warning sign for my loved ones.”

“I’ve been cancer free ever since my surgery in 2002 and believe me, I’m one grateful patient,” he said. “Something that’s very important to me is contributing to the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara so no one’s ever turned away because of an inability to pay. With so many years of my youth spent being really poor, I have great sympathy for the less fortunate in our society and I want to do whatever I can to make their lives a little less difficult.”

If you’re on the lookout for Clelland, you’ll likely find him in his cowboy hat. As a cat lover, you might see him with his cat perched on his shoulder. Some of his friends think he’s the classic example of a hard headed/soft hearted person. “Well, yes, I suppose that’s not far from the truth. I guess you could describe me as a man’s man with a predominately woman’s disease. I remember going to the Breast Cancer Resource Center one day and as a man, I felt like a real minority. It was nothing they said or did but I felt totally out of place,” he recalls. “With breast cancer it has always felt a bit like that, but I’m okay with it. There are more men with breast cancer than one might think, and the Cancer Center is there for everyone, no matter what.” Colonel Downs is a superb example of a self-made man who has never forgotten his roots and shows his deep gratitude by giving back to causes he believes in. The Cancer Center of Santa Barbara – with its mission to provide excellent care to everyone in the community regardless of means – is fortunate to be one of those causes.