Many of you may not realize that my bad haircut is really due to the effects of brain tumor treatment!  Almost five years ago, I was diagnosed with and treated for Glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer.  

My battle with Glioblastoma began in December 2020.  Having had headaches and not feeling well for days, I drove myself to the ER of a local hospital to get checked out for what I thought would be a sinus infection.  The next thing I remember is waking up a day later (on Christmas Eve) having had emergency brain surgery to remove part of a tumor and a giant cyst.  The first couple of days were the hardest, trying to digest the news regarding the suspected diagnosis, while at the same time no family or friends could me visit due to the world still being in COVID lockdowns.  

Immediately after surgery, my wife Carrie and I decided it was time to fight.  As I was feeling low, feeling sorry for my situation, one of the very first things Carrie said to me was this, “You have a very important decision to make.  Do you want to be the person dying from brain cancer, or do you want to be the person living, in spite of the cancer?”.  That was a very powerful question, and at that moment I chose to fight!  Because of that decision, I landed at University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia.  

While undergoing imaging for radiation treatment, it was discovered that I had a second recurrence of Glioblastoma and thus had a second surgery just 30 days after the first one.  After the second surgery and six weeks of daily radiation, my results have been progression free to date!

A few things I'm most proud of on this journey center around remaining active and striving to do what I can each day.  This past year I joined a cycling team (The Keystone State Riders) who went on to raise $24K on behalf of the 2024 Breakthrough Challenge.  The Breakthrough Challenge has directly helped support some of the Glioblastoma research being conducted by my own care team at UPENN as well as dozens of other research requests from the UPENN cancer researchers.  I have also participated in the Race for Hope in Philadelphia, achieving first place in the survivor runner category the past two years.

This summer, I plan to complete 1,000 miles of cycling across several events to raise funds for cancer research.  My rides will kick off in mid-July with RAGBRAI, a 400-mile ride across Iowa, and end 60 days later with the Keystone State and the Breakthrough Challenge rides.  In-between I will be completing several other challenging rides to achieve my targeted miles.

I hope to continue finding ways to help drive the next Breakthrough!

Lou