The tiger’s eye

Roger Carlson

NEWPORT BEACH - It’s one thing to envision yourself on a trail,

suddenly confronted with a tiger in your path, holding your ground and

staring it down without a twitch. Surely, it’s not easily done.

Linda Isle resident Paul Salata not only looked the tiger in the eye,

but sent it away laughing.

The 74-year-old ironman has spent a great deal of his life doing for

others. And he has provided Newport Beach with the unique reputation

surrounding his favorite pastime, Irrelevant Week, honoring the last

player taken in the annual National Football League draft.

Tributes to him for his endeavors have flowed. The National Football

League Alumni Hall of Fame, as well as the Orange County Sports Hall of

Fame, and other entities, have accordingly recognized the one-time

football receiver for the USC Trojans and San Francisco 49ers, before

moving on to other teams.

But it is his latest challenge, and conquest, which puts a lot of past

moments in perspective. Cancer. Dealing with it, and beating it.

The bottom line is that he didn’t back down when he learned of the

situation a few months ago. He didn’t lose his sense of humor, refused to

be intimidated and is winning the battle on his own terms.

“If you’ve given your best shot at things all your life, there’s no

reason to be pessimistic,” he said this week.

“Some of my friends and others were in total depression over this,” he

continued. “It changes their whole personality.”

When the malignant factor was realized, Salata immediately went into a

priority mode, accepting the inevitable radiation, chemotherapy and

eventual operation, but also working in his own timetable, getting it

done in a manner in which he was still able to attend the Super Bowl in

late January and the Pro Bowl in Hawaii a few days later, before

returning for the Feb. 9 operation.

Radiation and chemotherapy stopped in mid-January, and there is still

more chemotherapy on a weekly basis to undergo before the doctors will

declare complete victory. And that would be before Irrelevant Week is

once again the focal point in June.

“I have a feeling (the cancer) was in its infancy,” said Salata, who

admits he did not begin an annual policy of physical checkups until his

mid-40s.

The annual checkup, combined with a team of doctors in the Hoag

Hospital family, was the foundation for success, and Salata’s strength

and attitude provided the rest.

Known for his self-effacing persona (he once claimed he invented the

wide receiver position so he could avoid the collisions of football), he

stared down the tiger with an uncompromising attitude and will. And, from

all appearances, the cancer was caught before it could develop into a

runaway situation.

“You can’t make a big enough investment than (in) medicine,” said

Salata. “It’s not a place to cut corners.”

Newport Beach doctors, such as Louis Vandermolen, Richard Harano and

surgeon Daniel Ng, and everyone involved, occupy the appreciative

thoughts of Salata, who has been able to maintain his weight at 190 after

losing some 45 pounds over the course of treatment.

The scenario played out from discovering the malignancy to figuring

out a course of action, which included radiation and chemotherapy before

the operation, the timing of it, and the continued chemotherapy in the

aftermath.

“There were a hundred questions and there were no guarantees,” said

Salata. “I was relying on their expertise.”

Today Salata continues to improve and he feels he’s “back to normal,”

in terms of a mental point of view.

Some would argue his mental point never wavered, leaving many who are

close to him amazed at the consistent up-beat approach.

On the physical side, Salata’s pace has understandably slowed.

“I’m not going to as many events,” he concedes, “but I expect to be

back where I was.”

Still, he’s at his office often, working on projects.

A number of charitable endeavors are on the table, which is a

business-as-usual thing for Salata.

As for advice, he has just one over-riding suggestion: “Get a

check-up, regularly.”

And as for a moral to the story, it can be summed up from just one

page of Salata’s diary.

“Somebody said ‘happy people live longer,’ ” noted the always-positive

Trojan.

With that he was out the door, wondering out loud if the weather would

hold up for the Toshiba Senior Classic.