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David Tessier's left arm doesn't move as quickly as it used to. The radiation treatments have left it red, sore and stiff. But no matter how painful, he finds that banging on the drums has be come a solace in his cancer battle. It's also a constant reminder of how far he still has to go - and how he may only have five more years to continue expressing himself through music.

"When you have those pains in your arms, they're constant re- minders," the 19-year-old said. "It is hard to forget [about the cancer], but drumming makes me happier than anything."

Those drumming skills will be put to the test on Thursday night, when Tessier plays in a benefit concert to raise funds for cancer research. All proceeds from the night will go to the sarcoma research fund at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, a cancer research centre.

"I pretty much have been thinking this way from the start.... There's no amount of money I can raise that is going to help me," Tessier said. "What I'm doing is for everyone else," Doctors diagnosed the lump on his left biceps [CCT] one month before his 19th birthday as alveolar soft part sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that appears in the body's tissues.

Tessier had no previous health concerns and no family history of the disease.

The outlook wasn't too good. There was a good chance that Tessier would lose his arm, and a 20-per-cent chance that he wouldn't live longer than five years if the cancer spread.

There have been no signs that the cancer has spread thus far, Tessier said. The lump is in an area of the body where the cancer could reach his brain, he said.

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In early November, surgeons removed much of the cancer. Since then, radiation has been used to attack whateverever may remain in his arm.

His birthday and Christmas passed with no one talking about the disease. "You don't want your son to have it," said Tessier's father, Joe. "All we can do is say our prayers. ... It's his fight."

About one month ago, Tessier decided to use his music to raise funds to fight cancer. Tessier said he's been doing the majority of organizing on his own with his father, Joe, chipping in as he can.

The room at the Time to Laugh Comedy Club has been donated and bands are also donating their time and equipment to the show, Tessier said.

"That's the one thing I'm realizing the most about the show," Tessier said. "It's amazing what people can do for a good cause."

Tessier became interested in drumming about nine years ago when he went to a concert at Holy Cross Secondary School. His older sister was playing in the production. At one point in the concert, the band went into an African beat with deep percussion sounds.

"I thought it was the coolest sounding thing," Tessier said. "That led to how much I was involved in music in school."

He started drumming and today practises in the basement of his westend home.

His arms move over the drum set at a quick pace, but the deep, red burn on his left arm is a sign of the radiation treatment he's undergone for the past month.

"It is a lot harder to play," Tessier said. "My arm is stiffer from the radiation."

The concert happens March 1, the day of his 25th, and last, radiation treatment.

"I'm going to feel pain and it's probably going to be the worst of all," Tessier said. "It's going to be a little stiff, but I'm going to do my thing.... It's worth the pain."

Tickets for the show are $8 and are available at the door. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at the Time To Laugh Comedy Club, 394 Princess St.