Read Ranch & Coast Virtually Anywhere
Issue link: http://ranchandcoast.uberflip.com/i/1546931
is October marks four years since that day. Gatlin's first oncologist gave him three to five years to live. What followed was a marathon of treatment — chemo, surgeries, ablations, and now radiation for a lymph node outside the liver. Gatlin has endured three years on firstline chemotherapy, recently shifting to a new regimen that blends growth-inhibiting therapy with immunotherapy. On chemo weeks, he's in bed. He remains on active duty, and on non-chemo weeks, he reports to Tactical Training Group Pacific where he is assigned to ird Fleet in Point Loma, waiting in the Navy's "bullpen" — a place for officers who may return to command if their health allows. rough it all, Breen has kept the family moving. Four daughters — 10, 9, 8, and 5 — have grown up inside the rhythm of their father's treatment cycles. e youngest has never known her father without cancer. Gatlin was stationed in Millington, Tennessee, near Memphis, close to where his family lives, when he was diagnosed. He received excellent care at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, but the three-hour drive was a burden of its own. "Friends and family stepped in, but the logistics — childcare, gas, meals, lodging — it all piled up," Breen says. e military's Tricare insurance covered treatment, but not the countless extra costs they encountered. When Gatlin was briefly declared cancer-free, the family moved to San Diego, knowing UC San Diego Health could provide the continuity of care he needed and Coronado's aviation community would feel like home. He had been stationed here before, and they knew many families from years of deployments. It was in San Diego that Breen realized their experience was not unique — and that no organization was dedicated specifically to supporting Naval and Marine aviation families facing cancer. Breen founded Anchored For Good in May 2025 to ensure that military air crews and their families never had to navigate cancer care alone. A 2024 Department of Defense study found significantly elevated cancer rates among military aviators — including a 24% higher overall cancer rate and an 87% higher melanoma rate. Naval and Marine aviators face exposures ranging from jet fuel to radiation, and cancer cases are also rising among service members in their 20s and 30s, with one Marine aviator being diagnosed at just 24. Still, Breen has no complaints about their treatment by the Navy and notes ongoing studies examining the risks aviators face along with recent legislation pushing for deeper investigation. Anchored For Good focuses on the practical, often invisible burdens of cancer care: transportation support, including Uber gift cards for patients who cannot drive after treatment; meal assistance; childcare; flights for family members during critical moments; and even lawn care for families overwhelmed by treatment schedules. "Our hope is that we can fill the gap and take care of the extra expenses similar to the ones we had personally," Breen says. e organization is run entirely by volunteers — Breen, three board members, and a small but dedicated group of supporters. ough based locally, Anchored For Good has a national reach, with its cancer-screening program among its most ambitious initiatives. Open to active-duty, retired, and reserve Naval and Marine aviators ages 49 and younger, the program pays for screening blood tests typically covered only for patients 50 and older. Funding for the organization comes from donations and sponsorships, with underwriting ensuring that every dollar donated goes directly to families. On October 23, Anchored For Good will hold its annual Fore e Fleet Golf Tournament at the Sea 'N Air Golf Course on NAS North Island in Coronado. e 2025 tournament raised more than $50,000 and once again this year, all proceeds will fund Anchored For Good's cancer screening initiatives and direct support for Naval and Marine aviation families. ere is a quiet heroism in the way military families endure hardship — households functioning through deployments, relocations, and even devastating diagnoses. Breen knows firsthand what that endurance requires. With Anchored For Good, she continues to serve just as her husband and family always have. anchoredforgood.com Focus military << Anchored For Good's annual Fore The Fleet Golf Tournament supports cancer-screening initiatives and provide direct assistance to Naval and Marine aviation families facing cancer ranchandcoast.com