Jeanne and Steve Gordon have worked in the advertising industry all their lives, so they are familiar with the pleasure of turning a catchy phrase or designing a snazzy logo. But the Ft. Lauderdale couple is currently working on a project which is infinitely more important than selling a new product: They’re trying to instill hope.
Less than two years ago, in November 2003, Jeanne was inexplicably diagnosed with cancer. “I was having problems when I was working out with my trainer,” she said. “I couldn’t lift my left arm, and I was very tired, I had headaches.” Her doctor sent her for tests, which confirmed lung and brain cancer.
Steve recalls the situation quite well. “Sitting in doctors’ offices was very depressing,” he said. “There was information on how to buy a wig and how to choose a hospice. But people need to be more positive.”
About a month after the initial diagnosis, the idea came to Steve. “Out of despair, I created (the phrase),” he said. ” ‘Cancer . . . Beat It!’ I don’t know where the words came from, but I knew those three words said a lot.” He believes they can have multiple meanings: If you have cancer, you can beat it. If you had it, you did beat it. Or if you don’t have it, you can say, “Beat itget out of here!”
Jeanne designed the icon, which now appears on posters and pins and T-shirts, and the couple’s desire is to spread the word around the world. “More than ever, it’s important to get the message out,” Steve said. “We are changing the perception; we want people to know that cancer isn’t a death sentence.”
The Gordons’ plan is to have the posters placed in hospitals and oncology units so patients can see them and react with hope. As specialists who work in the advertising industry, they are aware of the power of advertising. “People look at an ad and believe what it says,” Steve said. “The mind is so important.”
In addition to maintaining their agency work, the Gordons are now working on the “Cancer . . . Beat It!” campaign. Steve said Rotary Club 6990, which covers from Orlando down to the Bahamas, is actively involved in the project by paying for production of the posters. “The new district governor, Owen Freed, has pledged to get the entire district behind the campaign,” Steve said. “He sees how important it is.”
Posters currently appear in Good Samaritan, Holy Cross, Imperial Point, Broward and North Broward General, and Memorial Hospitals. “They’re right on the front line,” Steve said. “As soon as people come in they see them.”
He mentioned the pins, and said Jeanne wears one all the time. “People come up and see it and ask her about it, and she takes it off and hands it to them. It’s like giving them the gift of hope.” But Steve said that having the posters at hospitals is the most important thing.
Jeanne is still undergoing treatments, but Steve said, “She’s the poster child for this. The most important thing in my life is Jeanne’s health and getting the word out. She said to me, ‘Maybe this is why I got cancer, because we have the power to communicate to others.’ This has made us very humble. We are incredibly blessed, and it’s wonderful to realize you can give of yourself.”
Jeanne and Steve Gordon have worked in the advertising industry all their lives, so they are familiar with the pleasure of turning a catchy phrase or designing a snazzy logo. But the Ft. Lauderdale couple is currently working on a project which is infinitely more important than selling a new product: They’re trying to instill hope. 
