During his time in Vermont as a police chief and a town manager, many people turned to Stephen Soares for help. Now the tables are turned, and Soares needs the help of the public he served.
Soares has been diagnosed with Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, also called CMML. The American Cancer Society describes CMML as a rare form of cancer that starts in blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. Soares' only hope for a cure is a bone marrow stem cell transplant, but none of his family members are a match. So Soares and his family are searching for a volunteer donor to help save his life. The sooner a donor is found, the better Soares' chances are for surviving the disease.
Soares and his wife, Oswalda Andre'-Soares, came to Vermont in 2000, after he retired as chief of the Dartmouth, Mass. police department. Once in Vermont, Soares said he decided he was too young to retire. In 2001 he took the job of Norwich Police Chief, then in 2004 left that post to be Norwich's town manager. In 2008 he left Norwich to become the police chief in Windsor. He retired, for the second time, earlier this year and moved back down to Westport, Mass. Shortly thereafter, he received the CMML diagnosis.
Last weekend Soares' family organized a marrow stem cell donor registry drive in hopes of finding a match. He said 32 people had their cheeks swabbed for testing, and many more registered online to take the test at home. And that's what Soares hopes his former neighbors and colleagues in Vermont will do as well.
Online registration is available through the Rhode Island Blood Center. Volunteers must be between the ages of 18 and 44. Registration involves filling out a questionnaire. When prompted for a promo code, enter "CHEEKSWAB4CHIEF" to indicate the registration is for Soares' benefit. A testing kit will be mailed to you. According to the Rhode Island Blood Center, the cost of type testing is covered through your health insurance, or through a special fund available through the blood center.
More information is available on the donor drive's Facebook page, or by contacting Jennifer St. Peter at the Rhode Island Blood Center.
