Located in the epicenter of Oregon’s wine country, the morning shift at the Newberg Fred Meyer is a special group of people. In total, three individuals have stage 3 or higher cancer. But they show up for work when scheduled, provide excellent customer service, and sometimes have more customers waiting and lined up at their checkout lines, just to chat, than all the other lines in the store. And why is this? Because to stay alive, they need the insurance the job provides.

But it’s more than just that. Jobs, at times, provide community. They provide structure. They provide a space to be needed, to be seen, to be missed. They provide a purpose beyond just fighting for your life. And while having to work 30 hours a week while receiving treatment for Liver and Kidney cancer, my father, Barron Brunello, is a part of this self-titled “Cancer Crew”.

When my dad went in for his latest surgery in Dec 2024, I had a moment with him before he went under. I told him that I loved him and all the hard work he had done over the last 35 years at Fred Meyer put a roof over our heads growing up, covered us with his work-provided insurance, and helped bring him to that moment in that pre-op room at OHSU.

Barron survived two surgeries, an experimental medication for MTC, and is now back to working his 30 hours a week at Newberg Fred Meyers. Not to mention the fact that he also survived a shooting in his line at Clackamas Fred Meyers in 2012. (https://www.kgw.com/…/victims-wife…/283-73141394)

And while he can retire, it’s better for him, financially, to be working with cancer. And, as hard as it is to say this as his son, I loathe to think about the potential outcome if he had not worked a union job that provided family-wage income and insurance. Because without that job, I’m not sure if my dad wouldn’t be here today.

-Andrew Brunello

And, if you or someone you know are unlucky enough to have faced a serious health diagnosis, don’t give up; If you look for it, there’s always hope.