So here we are, Brain Tumor Walk weekend. Time sure has gone fast. I have a week and a day left with Chemo and Radiation. I feel great but look forward to the break. Just to get off some of the pills for a while. I feel like we are getting the Ketogenic diet dialed in a bit. Going back to work, and I never thought I would say this, has been nice. It helps to have a good routine again and feel like I can still contribute. Honestly I think my brain is working better than before. Maybe diet, maybe getting something removed that was not supposed to be there, maybe the slight decrease in stress knowing what you are dealing with vs guessing. Not sure but I will take it….
First, before I get distracted (you know those butterfly thoughts…), I want to say the biggest THANK YOU I possibly can to all of those that have supported Team Food Baby in the Tumor Walk (hell, and Jessie and me in general). In a very short time we have raised over $4100. For those of you doing the walk I really appreciate your time and support. Getting up early on a Sunday morning and walking around downtown Portland is not my idea of a great time. So far the walk has raised over $88k, with the top 10 teams raising 3/4 of that (we are pretty solid at #5 thanks to you folks). The more I have learned about cancer, tumor, health research in this country the more I realize it is people like us that make the difference. The government cannot fund all of it. Drug companies need to make money so they only want to fund what can generate a return. So it takes the public that has been affected in some way help push the research forward.
I found out this week about an amazing event in Ohio called Petotonia. It was created to help fund cancer research at the Ohio State University. The brother of a good friend is riding in it this weekend. Since 2009 this event has raised over $119 million for cancer research at Ohio State. My friend shared with me a story about a researcher at OSU that had a new way to treat GBMs (what I have) and could not get funding from any government source. This group gave him $900k to fund the research. Maybe one day I can participate in this event as I would rather ride my bike for 100 miles than walk around downtown Portland.
- Info on the event -> Link
- Link to event page -> Link
- If you want to donate here is Vince’s fundraising page (it is never too late) -> Link
Oh and while I am on the soapbox I would like to highly recommend the book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Amazon). There is also a great three-part series done by Ken Burns, of PBS documentary fame, on Netflix basically covering the book. I find it amazing to look back at the history of our fight against Cancer and see the theories from the 1920’s still being used today. I experience it every day when I get my radiation treatments. Fascinating stuff.
Sorry quite the detour there from where I wanted to go with this post. I wanted to add, I am very excited to see my sisters as they are coming to visit and participate in the walk tomorrow. It is such a great feeling to have so much love an support when you are faced with a horrible life changing situation like we are going through now. I cannot express how great everyone has been. If I could say one thing to all of you reading this, don’t wait for such an event to love and appreciate those around you. Make time for it regularly, I know life gets busy and it can be expensive or time consuming but the people in your life are what makes life worth living. Don’t take that for granted.
All in all – I think we are in a very good place. It has been liberating to get back into the gym and feel my body responding to the workouts. It takes a bit longer to recover but I can feel my strength returning. Racing starts soon and I hope to be ready. Shooting for Sept 7th for my first race. All I have to do is ride my bike in circles for 30 mins and not finish last!