I am riding in the PMC in memory of my father, Stew Curran. Glioblastoma Multiforme, two words that are not familiar to most people, a quick Google search will tell you that it's very rare, under 200k cases per year. However, that stat was not what popped off the page when I did the same Google search - statements like highly aggressive & this condition cannot be cured are what stood out.
My father was a bear of a human, for us to find him unconscious & unresponsive on the floor of our house was a blindside that started a 13-month battle that ultimately ended with him passing in November of 2021. Through that journey the hospital became a second home & the constants were surgeries, seizures, daily chemo trips, etc; every time you felt there was a step forward; it was accompanied by two steps back.
Glio was something we couldn't control, fortunately my Dad set the tone for the family & his mindset never waivered on what we could control - referring to the seizures, terrible MRI's & loss of mobility as minor speedbumps. Even though he was fighting a battle he couldn't win; he battled as hard as possible - using humor, kindness & courage as his weapons.
Glio as a cancer diagnosis doesn't get the innovation & capital it needs - the clinical trials are very limited & the treatment has been more or less the same for 20+ years. Last year Crus11Tour raised over a million dollars for Dana Farber to fight Glio. Crus11Tour was the name Davey Hovey gave his battle with Glioblastoma Multiforme, Davey was a lifelong lacrosse player, my Dad was a lifelong lacrosse coach. The game of lacrosse has an amazing way of bringing people together - in this case it's to raise money so that way in the next 20 years when you do have to do that quick Google search it no longer says this condition can't be cured