My dad became more determined to beat the odds. He even joked that he could probably get into the Guinness Book of World Records.

When James Lowery went to Oregon in December 1998 to see his first granddaughter, he had no idea he'd face an old foe, or stay for nearly a year.

Lowery survived a near-fatal bout with rectal cancer in 1982. And the specter was about to raise its ugly head again.

During the visit, Lowery showed his daughter a spot on his arm. His daughter, Paula Beaulieu, worked for a doctor. She thought it looked like skin cancer and made an appointment.

That was Jan. 6, 1999. Beaulieu recorded every step of her father's remarkable cancer journey.

Beaulieu remembered her father telling her about a breast lump about a year earlier, and she asked the doctor to check it. "After much coaxing and to my dad's dismay, it was decided to biopsy the area." The dermatologist also tested suspicious spots on Lowery's neck and back.

Beaulieu got the call two weeks later. "The doctor told me that my dad's biopsies were positive." The lesion on his right arm was malignant melanoma (a serious form of skin cancer). He had squamous cell carcinoma on his neck and basal cell carcinoma on his back.

Then the doctor told her that her father had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy immediately. "I will never forget the look of terror on my dad's face when I told him the news. It was as if I had just delivered the death sentence."

"I told my dad I loved him and that no matter what we would fight this together."

Surgery to remove the malignant melanoma was scheduled the next day, she said, and then it was off to the breast surgeon. A modified radical mastectomy was scheduled the next week. Lab reports before the operation dealt Lowery another blow. He had chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

During surgery for the mastectomy, the doctors checked his lymph nodes and discovered he also had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

In two weeks, Lowery was diagnosed with six different types of cancer. But instead of feeling sorry for himself, she said, "my dad became more determined to beat the odds. He even joked that he could probably get into the Guinness Book of World Records."

She credits cancer doctor Ralph Weinstein, MD, with keeping her father's courage and faith intact, especially through chemotherapy. Lowery went through four grueling treatments. His daughter was with him at each one.

"I had a little trivia thing," she said "What it’s like to be a cancer patient. Fifty-nine trips to the doctor," she said. "Number of miles traveled, the amount of gas, the holiday seasons we went through...[with her father having cancer]."

He wanted to turn his struggle with cancer into something positive. Lowery told his story to anyone who would listen. He focused on his male breast cancer experience to raise awareness, she said.

Lowery shared his story — and his scars — with a reporter from a local television station. More reporters followed. "I might say that a star was born. He just lit up when [the news crews] came over." she said. "That was the best medicine for him."

"My dad and Dr. Weinstein turned out to be the 'Odd Couple'," she said. They appeared on local television programs, radio talk shows, and were featured in several newspaper articles. Each time, they were spreading the male breast cancer message. Lowery's story made international news.

Beaulieu said her dad bravely faced every cancer diagnosis and treatment. She compared him to a prisoner of war — "his own war against cancer," she said. Lowery went on to form a male breast cancer support group.

"In July 1999 I took Dad back to home to Arizona, " she said. "It was a 24-hour drive. I called it the victory tour," she said.

Not ones to miss an opportunity, Beaulieu and her father continued their crusade. "We stopped at McDonalds and gas stations and handed out articles" written about Lowery and male breast cancer to anyone who was interested.

A week before he died, Lowery had a CT scan of his chest, abdomen, and pelvis for leukemia and lymphoma. "You're in remission," the doctor told him. "You can come back in three months."

He passed away in his sleep early on the morning on Nov. 13, 2000. The doctor told Beaulieu more than likely her father had died of sudden heart attack. "Those cancers didn't beat your dad. Your dad beat those cancers," he said.

Lowery was able to make it to his granddaughter's second birthday party.

"From January 1998, to November 12, 2000," Beaulieu said, "it was a pretty awesome ride."

The American Cancer Society (ACS) was especially helpful to Lowery during his first bout with cancer, she said. "Thanks to the American Cancer Society he was able to get all of his ostomy supplies at virtually no charge. That equipment can be very expensive," said Beaulieu, whose parents were on a fixed income.

"For my parents [the ACS] was really a godsend."