Normally Marc Weiner, a former news director and vice president of news development for FIOS 1, would try to bring attention to others.
But a billboard in Times Square in Manhattan, donated by his wife Lisa’s former colleague and friend in City Outdoor Media, that went live last week, instead shined a light on the Great Neck resident’s need for a kidney so he could get a “new lease on life.”
“I’m doing whatever it takes,” Weiner, 53, who survived cancer but had to have his bladder and kidneys removed, said in an interview. “I made a decision in the end of March that we were going to look for a kidney full time.”
Weiner said he discovered he had cancer after a friend commented at a U2 concert that he was going to the bathroom a lot. It turned out he had stage one cancer spread through his bladder, he said, which led to the removal of his bladder and kidneys.
Weiner credited his survival to Dr. Ketan Badani at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, who promised to remove the cancer, and said he has been cancer free for two years.
Weiner said that without a working kidney, he has been on dialysis three days a week for four hours at a time – even when trying to run a newsroom. This also made traveling “a little tedious,” naps more frequent, and exercise harder, he said, while putting long-term stress on his heart.
“It can be done, but it’s difficult and it’s difficult on my daughter and my wife,” Weiner said, so he decided to pursue a kidney full time.
Weiner said Dawn Del Mastro-Chruma, the president of City Outdoor and friend of his wife, Lisa, had approached him about showing his need for a kidney on a billboard of rotating ads in Times Square – which would normally cost around $35,000 a month.
He also reached out to several people, including a web designer and old colleague in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a stepbrother whom he called “instrumental in crafting the call to action” on http://www.helpmarcfindakidney.com/.
“I’m hoping that I’ll get a new lease on life, that I’ll get a match, because dialysis is three times a week, about four hours every time I have it, and that’s not easy,” Weiner, whose blood type is O+, said.
Weiner said his story has gotten “some good media traction,” having appeared in places like CNN, Inside Edition and “every radio station under the sun.” But more importantly, he said, 10 people signed on to test if they can be a match as of Tuesday.
“I’m blessed, I’m honored, I’m grateful for everybody, especially City Outdoor, because it’s raising awareness to my plight,” Weiner said.
When asked what advice he would give to someone in search of a kidney, Weiner said he had to be positive, look for unique ways to reach out and even let his guard down.
He also referred to what a friend told him as he was getting chemotherapy “as a precaution.”
“‘Take every day one step at a time,'” Weiner said. “I’ve adopted that mantra now.”
Anyone interested on becoming a donor should visit cornell.donorscreen.org.
