FREEPORT – Falcon pride runs strong through the alumni of Freeport High School.

That was clearly in evidence Aug. 16 as a group of members of the class of 1989, along with other years, gathered at Buck’s Naked BBQ Steakhouse in Freeport in support of a classmate who has been battling mesothelioma cancer since 2009.

But the gathering was more than just a group of old friends getting together. It’s part of a larger effort to help the family of Lisa Gonneville, who was known as Lisa Waterman when she patrolled the field hockey pitch for the Falcons in her high school days. This group has been training for several weeks to re-form its field hockey team for a couple of fundraising games, with a large fundraising reception scheduled for Aug. 29.

Sitting at a booth downstairs at Buck’s, Gonneville, who now lives in Dayton, admitted to being overwhelmed by the turnout.

“I thought I was going to lose it when I saw them,” she said, adding that it had been 20 years since she had seen some of the classmates who had turned out for her. “I haven’t seen these people in years and for them to do this for me is amazing.”

At first glance, it’s difficult to tell that Gonneville, 42, is sick, something for which she is very grateful.

“I don’t look sick, which is wonderful, because I don’t want to look sick,” she said. “They told me I was going to lose my hair. I haven’t lost it.”

Gonneville’s classmate Jason Daniel of Freeport, said a benefit has been on the minds of Gonneville’s friends for the past three years, but it was another classmate, Jen Johnson, who finally rallied the group and started the idea of the field hockey game and fundraising reception.

Johnson said she had connected with Gonneville, a former teammate, about a year ago through Facebook and learned that she was sick.

“Exactly two months ago today, I just woke up and said, ‘I’m going to send a message through Facebook to our teammates,’” Johnson said. “Three days later, 65 people (responded) and it’s taken off from there.”

“We’re all part of a family here,” Daniel said.

Becky Daniel, another classmate from the class of 1989, said that social networking has really helped spread the word. She said that she hadn’t heard much from or about Gonneville in years since she was in Freeport and Gonneville was in Dayton, but with Facebook, it’s easier to keep in touch.

“Now that we’re able to hear (news about what’s going on), we’re all thinking, ‘What can we do, how can we support her and show her that we’re thinking about her and we love her?’” she said.

Gonneville’s battle with mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the thin layer of cells lining the body’s internal organs and is generally attributed to asbestos exposure, began in 2008, when she was incorrectly diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. She lived with that diagnosis for a year, but in February 2009, Gonneville was convinced that she didn’t have irritable bowel syndrome. She was concerned about ovarian cancer, but her doctor said she was too young. After several scans and tests, she learned she had cancer, but doctors initially didn’t know what kind.

When the doctors finally did determine Gonneville had mesothelioma, they weren’t able to give her any information on it because they’d never treated it.

“Only about 300 people per year get it. It’s so rare, it’s hard to find treatment,” she said.

Gonneville said she believed that she was exposed to asbestos as a child while her family home was being remodeled in Freeport.

The cancer, for which there is no cure, began in her abdomen, but Gonneville said it has now spread to her right lung.

She was originally given a prognosis of 12 months to live.

“They told me to get my affairs in order,” she said. “That was in 2009. “

But Gonneville refused to accept that prognosis. After doing extensive research, she and her husband Tom determined that the best doctors for her disease was in Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh. They found the name of a surgeon in Pittsburgh, Dr. James Pingpank, and they flew down to meet with him. They clicked right away.

“You know when you meet somebody and you know you have chemistry and you know that they are right for you? We left the room, and my husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘He’s my surgeon,’” Gonneville said. Pingpank has been treating her since April 2009.

Gonneville, who has had eight surgeries and more than 40 rounds of chemotherapy, has continued to travel to Pittsburgh on a regular basis for treatment. Her medical bills have fortunately been covered by insurance, paying for the out-of-state treatments, “because there are no specialists in Maine, and I would have died without surgery.”

As for travel expenses, the Gonnevilles have been fortunate there, as well. They have received free private plane rides from the American Cancer Society, and corporations that have private jets flying between Boston and Pittsburgh have let her fly for free as a passenger. When they are in Pittsburgh, they are able to stay with friends to save costs.

While the costs have been managed, there has been an emotional toll on the family. Gonneville has four children, ranging in age from 21 to 5.

“It’s been tough (on them),” she said. “We have our moments.”

That makes a pick-me-up like the one last week so important.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Gonneville said. “It’s incredible, they’re a great group of people.”

And the main events haven’t even happened yet. The group will play an alumni vs. alumni game at the high school on Aug. 29, followed by a fundraiser at Buck’s. There will be T-shirt sales, 50/50 raffles and an auction, with items ranging from weekend getaways, gift cards to area merchants and a lobster dinner.

Jason Daniel said the money raised from the event will be for “whatever Lisa’s family decides to do.”

“If she decides to take this money and support her family with it, great. But if she decides to put the money toward her cause and trying to find a cure, (that’s fine too).”

The team shirts, which bear the slogan “Go, Fight, Win” and Gonneville’s old high school field hockey number on the back, took some thought, though one of the three words in the slogan was easy to come up with.

“We all agreed that they had to have ‘fight,’” Johnson said. “Because there is no more of a fighter (out there) than Lisa.”

“She fought her way until she found somebody that was going to help her,” Jason Daniel agreed. “This is over three years for her, and to go through what she went through is unbelievable that she’s still here. The heart that she showed on the field (in high school), she has the same heart, probably 100 times stronger now to continue with what she’s fighting for.”

Gonneville said she is going to continue fighting.

“I don’t want pity,” she said. “I want to be able to deal with it.”

She said the fight is easier when you have people at your back.

“When you have family and friends supporting you, you’re not so alone,” she said. “This helps tremendously.”

Lisa Gonneville, a 1989 graduate of Freeport High School, sits with her family, from left, Taylor, 5; Matthew, 7; husband Tom Gonneville; and Tommy Jr., 9, at a recent event at Buck’s Naked in Freeport. The event was part of a lead-up to a benefit for Gonneville, who is battling mesothelioma cancer.