Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowser
(Post 10819781)
My wife's step mom was told she had five years when they first discovered it in her, and she made it 20. Prove them all wrong, Ed. We're all pulling for you.
|
I know every cancer is different, but two guiding inspirations have continued to stay with me lifelong.
First is close to home, when I was 4 and my dad was 29, turning 30, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. That's the 'good Hodgkin's' as lampooned by Larry David in the '00's, but was a death sentence, a
bona fide no need to pack a full suitcase death sentence, in early 1976. Fortunately, my dad . . . . sorry, . . . my dad was diagnosed in mid-late 1976, when Dr. Miller was pioneering what is now a routine treatment for the condition. Today, he's puttering around Casa BL waiting for his dental bridge to come in at the dentist.
In more recent years, bald Bryan has been Adam Carolla's sidekick since he was on LA syndicated radio with Danny Bonaduce. Right around the time that they were leaving terrestrial radio, Bryan was diagnosed with an aggressive glioma, a brain tumor that, again, was an 'enjoy the next 3 months, they're your last' situation. That was 5-odd years ago, Bryan was among the first into a trial of a drug that, while it doesn't cure the cancer, arrests the growth of the tumor, which would have arrested his brain stem function and stopped his life long ago otherwise. We've gone through months of him slurring his rapport with Adam, and having to show up for broadcasts by taxi and using a cane, and it hasn't all been sunshine and roses. But it has been inspiring. And he recently completed a book tour that put a radio lackey on the top of the Time Best Seller list.
If you are one who fancies reading;
http://www.amazon.com/Shrinkage-Manh.../dp/1250039843
Shrinkage: Manhood, Marriage, and the Tumor That Tried to Kill Me, by Bryan Bishop.
And in the immortal seven words of Jimmy V, don't give up, . . don't ever give up.
The case of bald Bryan wasn't close family, but in some ways in the internet age, it was closer. You woke up with the news on the fledgling Carolla broadcast when Adam couldn't hardly speak about news he'd received the evening before. A man whose livelihood he'd subsumed in his move to the internet was on the brink of death with a new bride.
As recovery progressed, Bryan bravely came in and shared his life, warts and all. You shared entertainment time with a guy who was dealing with mortality and the physical effects of being drugged in near real-time. Over months you noticed subtle improvement, clearer speech, snappier jokes. Intermittently, you learned with Bryan as the physician's prognosis improved.
Bryan has not only survived, but watched Robert Schimmel, Greg Giraldo, and now Robin Williams walked through the doors of 'The Pirate Ship' as he journeyed on.
