The David Benzer Strike Out Fear Foundation

For over 30 years, I’ve had the honor and privilege of running a TV camera next to a big league dugout. It’s been my passion, my pride, my art, and my craft. And, I’ve learned from every one of my colleagues, in uniform and not, that anything is possible when we come together as a team. The challenges we face as individuals – not just from our opponents, but from our own internal doubts and fears – become surmountable when we know we are not alone.

These lessons came home to me in November, 2010, when I was diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer. I got the news just 24 hours after the San Francisco Giants, the team I’ve worked closely with for 30 seasons, held a parade celebrating their World Series championship. In one day, my world turned from glowing color to flat black and white.

I was facing a deadly disease, under a paralyzing shadow cast by fear. I dreaded the agonizing chemo and radiation treatments. I feared losing the physical strength I had taken for granted. I worried about my ability to work and care for my loved ones. At one of my lowest points, I made a promise to God that if I were to survive, I would make a difference in the lives of people fighting cancer. The more time I spent in the cancer clinic – feeling my own fear, and that of other patients whose lives hung in the balance – my new teammates – the more I understood the contribution I could make.

If we could support each other to overcome fear and keep hope alive, we would increase our chances of winning against all odds. Inspired by the great teams and true champions I’ve come to know over more than 35 years, I created a Foundation with a mission to nurture hope and healing in people affected by cancer and, most importantly, to let them know they are not alone.

To that end, The David Benzer Strike Out Fear Foundation endeavors to “Build a Bridge from Fear to Hope” by creating comforting, life-affirming environments in cancer clinic waiting rooms that reduce fear and sustain the spirit from the moment of diagnosis, during treatment and into survivorship. We do this using some of the same tools I used to distract myself from fear and sustain my spirit during treatment – music and soothing video images.

Since 2011, the Foundation has provided amenities such as large screen TVs, Blu-ray players, nature and travel discs, high-end speakers and music for radiation rooms, information kiosks, art, and gourmet beverage machines in cancer clinic waiting rooms and treatment facilities across the country that include the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, El Camino Hospital, UCSF Helen Diller Family Cancer Center, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center in Scottsdale, AZ, and National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. Our latest projects are at Oncology Hematology Care (OHC) in Cincinnati OH, and the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, CA.

In addition, we partner with major league baseball teams near facilities that we’ve remodeled to bring patients and survivors to baseball games to honor their experience. We are currently working 

To date, donations have enhanced the therapeutic experience for more than 98,000 new cancer patients and 510,000 patient visits.  Your donation, no matter how large or small, will make a difference.