Perspective - One Family's Fight with Cancer
Mates,
Came across this and thought it is worth sharing. Some of us will remember a young Nebraska fan named Jack Hoffman who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 5 and endured a very tough couple of years of treatment. He is not cancer free, but he is 15 yrs old now and was able to play football his freshman year of high school. A tremendous victory in his own right. There is a video (linked below) about his getting to 'play' in the Nebraska spring football game years back when he was still in treatment, and running for a touchdown. It will pull at your heart.
But sad news befell the family again this past summer when the father, Andy, was also diagnosed with brain cancer. He passed away this morning at his home. In the intervening years he had written a book called 'Yards After Contact' about the family's journey with their son's condition. He was being interviewed about the book this fall and had this to say, recognizing his own precarious health:
"At the end of an interview with ESPN late last year, while he was at the Mayo Clinic, Hoffman was asked if he had anything to add. When his son was sick, he could research doctors and raise money for cancer research. He could comfort his son and his young daughters.
He paused for a second, unsure of a future he had no control over.
"This is going to sound a little silly," he said as he started to cry, "but I love my wife and kids more than anything in the world."
We all love sports so much, we love the maize and blue, but it's healthy to have a gut check and a priority check once in a while. This one will likely get you right in the feels.
XM
Good stuff xm.
Cancer sucks
Thanks for sharing. Perspective for sure.
Great post, thanks XM.
I've just added Andy Hoffman's book Yards After Contact to my list of books to purchase and read.
Here's the website, in case anyone wants to donate and/or purchase the book and tshirt, to help support the fight against brain cancer.
"Yards After Contact | Team Jack Foundation" https://teamjackfoundation.org/yac/
Thanks for sharing. It can put things in perspective.
Goodness. I read the story. I’m 42 and I’m a lawyer. I have had two former colleagues in their 40s die in the last 18 months from brain cancer. This hits home. Time to donate.
XM, for the record, you are one of my favorite posters. Keep up the good work.
I watched miracle the other night with my ten year old son. Half way through I was compelled to tell him how glad I was he was my son. You have to appreciate those moments.
redhot, the story obviously rings home for you - 42 yr old lawyer with dear son. and wow, losing two colleagues at that early age from cancer, too. points us to being more intentional about 'redeeming the time', for our days are not long and we are not to take our time here for granted.
ty also for the poster comment. maybe that will help outweigh those for whom i am their least favorite.
Also a lawyer with 3 kids (45 yrs old) lost my best friend in law school to lung cancer when he was 36. Was the best man at his wedding less than two years later I read his eulogy. Never smoked a day in his life and had a 6 month old daughter.
All this to say thank you for posting. We get caught up in the day to day so much it's important to stop and look around sometimes. He got 7 months from diagnosis to death. Cancer does not care who you are or what you are doing. Hug your kids, if you are fortunate enough to still have your parents call and visit them and mostly be kind to each other.
Cancer Sucks
I watched miracle the other night with my ten year old son. Half way through I was compelled to tell him how glad I was he was my son. You have to appreciate those moments.
I have two young sons myself now, and I have tried to make it a point to tell them that I love them, I am proud of them, and I am thankful for them, and that nothing will ever change those things. I don't tell them often enough, but I think those are important things for a kid to hear from their dad.
Thank you for sharing. Perspective is critically important.
Remember seeing that story on top 10 plays on ESPN. Was incredible! Everyone was cheering for the huskers that day. Puts things into perspective for sure.
When our 3 year old was diagnosed with leukemia this past fall we decided to become involved. Amazed how many programs like make a wish and many others are available to make this process easier . People from near and far. Wish we would of started years ago. The blood shortage is real. Its Dangerously low right now..
Thanks for sharing! Cant wait to read his book.
Life is quite the deal. My many years as a pediatric oncology nurse formed a "world-view" within me that is certainly outside the norm. I remember driving to work on 9-11...and thinking about how I and my colleagues stare down death day after day-we knew 9-11 intimately. 9-11 was never mentioned at work. Our daily worked changed us-as we walked with these children and their families on the most excruciating and devastating path one can tread. On the one hand my colleagues and I were the most deeply committed and empathetic people in the world. On the other hand, outside of work, we are/were brutally unforgiving to anyone who dared whine about the pathetically silly things we all, at times, whine about. For me, this experience continues to hold an inescapable influence...and y'all get to catch a glimpse of this in me as I brutally and fearlessly blurt out my opinions based on my life experiences.
Clearly, stories like this strike a deep chord in my soul...as the faces and names of (too) many scroll across my memory...and the tears rolls. Heaven help this family in their immeasurable and unrelenting grief-a grief that will always be with them. It may be a part of life...but it's a very sad part.
"My many years as a pediatric oncology nurse ..."
Seriously, thanks for your service. I can't imagine anything more emotionally demanding.
XM's post is another reminder to live in the moment as much as you can.
Anyone who has had to face cancer in their life or in the lives of family members know only one thing for sure: cancer sucks. This disease will leave supporting family frustrated, angry and often in tears. Little can be done for the victim. Prayer can help. Support systems can help. Trying to understand the consequences on the surviving victims can help.
Cancer changed my life outlook in 2007. My sisters son (age 9) was very ill for a few months and they thought he had mono. They finally found a massive tumor on his kidneys and he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage 4. He was hospitalized immediately and I had to become my sisters rock and I felt guilty because my children were so healthy. I spent 9 months in the children's cancer ward in Columbia, SC and I met several children who were also hospitalized. I began putting my own life into perspective as I watched how brave and innocent these kids were. I began to thank God everyday for waking up and for my children being healthy. I also asked forgiveness for each and every time I had bitched and moaned in life when something didn't go my way. I also learned a great lesson about judging others. Prior to my nephew becoming ill, I had met Coach Steve Spurrier a few times at coaching clinics and thought he was an arrogant person. At this time in 2007, I had a player who was on the roster at South Carolina and he knew about my nephew. Coach Spurrier showed up at my sisters house with a team signed football and the Gamecock mascot to cheer up my nephew. I was able to thank him for that. My nephew lived only 9 months but this changed my outlook on life wholeheartedly. Even to this day, when things do not go well I am able to look back upon this and life seems not so bad at all.
Cancer is the most evil thing in the planet. It took the love of my life last June, a loss that will haunt me for the rest of my days.
Losing a spouse or a child are by far the worst things you can experience. Watching the love of your life slowly slip through your fingers and then dealing with the reality that you will never see their smiling face or touch their hand again is the hardest thing I have ever dealt with.
Remember, tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Don't waste the time you have with loved ones, there will always be another game.
Thank you. Great read. As some of you know, my wife, a U of M class of ‘98 graduate, was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with our second daughter. She fought like hell for 6 years, but passed away 4 years ago yesterday.
We had many memorable sports memories together. And if it wasn’t for feeling a little off at a hot, NFL game in the Coliseum (when the Rams played their first game back in LA), we wouldn’t have known the cancer had spread. Cancer definitely puts sports in perspective, but like this blog, it can also be a nice escape.
i remember. how has it been with yours in the intervening years? has to be so challenging. hopefully you have great support around you.
our mom died of cancer when we were kids, she was a smoker. no bueno.
Kids are resilient...but working full time and taking care of two elementary school students that were in Zoom for a year (finally are back now) during a pandemic was not all rainbows and sunshine. ? Most of our family is close by and has been a huge help. Thank you for asking.
Two brain cancers in one family is just evil.
I did a month rotation with the neurosurgery team at Henry Ford and shadowed Dr. Rock for two weeks. I met many people with glioblastoma multiforme and scrubbed into 10 or so surgeries to try and remove as much of those tumors as possible to add a couple months to the prognosis. All cancer is brutal, but that is the worst of any that I’ve witnessed first hand. Hits so many healthy people with a certain death sentence without any hope with current treatments. Just so brutal.
Perspective is important. I love sports and the outcomes of important games used to drive my mood. I lost my step-mother to cancer in November and have not been able to visit with my father since he was widowed.
My youngest son was a superfan at Mississippi State University (where I have been on the faculty for 18 years). He suffered from epidermolysis bullosa. I post this video where I can to raise awareness.
I still enjoy watching games and rooting for my teams but there are more important things in life and my mood is no longer driven by the outcome of games played by other people.
Lost my Dad to a GBM when I was a year out of U of M. If I ever had that diagnosis, I wouldn't treat it.