Dec 31, 2017
TRANSCRIPT
This is Episode 020 of Glioblast‑O‑Cast.
What is my biggest brain tumor fear?
Hello, and welcome to Glioblast‑O‑Cast, the podcast about my life beyond glioblastoma. I'm your host, Meg Turecek.
In this episode, I will answer the question, What is my biggest brain tumor fear? And in my show notes, a kind of roll call remembering 2017.
Getting a terminal cancer diagnosis can stir up many fears. Leading up to my surgery, I was feeling the fear of the unknown. Would I still be me? I was afraid I might be paralyzed. I was afraid I would lose my memory. I was afraid I wouldn’t be me anymore. I was afraid I might die.
But I had an excellent medical team that found me recovering and still mostly the same.
Then, with the diagnosis, I had new fears. I was afraid again of dying. Afraid I would never see my family again that live on the other side of the world. But my sister came to visit and other family can video chat.
And once treatment was over—with no options for continuing to medically fight the possibility of recurrence. Again, the fear of death came to bother me.
Being worn out from treatment left me a bit concerned, not exactly fearful, but concerned that I wouldn’t be me.
As I continue to live and find meaning in my actions and plans for my creative projects, the initial fears have no real power over me. I won’t let them.
But the one fear that remains, that still makes its presence known, the fear that hovers over me and motivates me is the fear of being forgotten when I leave this life. Will anyone remember me?
I don’t know why that is a primary motivating factor now, but it’s one of the reasons I do this podcast. It’s why I am focusing on my writing. It’s why I make the effort to keep in touch with old and new friends.
So, with that in mind, on the last day of 2017, I want to take a moment to remember some fallen brain tumor warriors that the world lost this year.
Now, I know that my list is not anywhere near complete. It’s a list of public figures and famous faces who battled brain cancer and passed away in 2017.
I hope you take a moment to remember. On my show page are links to Wikipedia for these fallen warriors.
Thanks for listening. This has been Glioblast-O-Cast Episode 20.
Theme music for Episode 020: “Christmas” Alan Berlin
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Brain Tumor Warriors Lost in 2017:
Sam Taylor (President & CEO Oriental Trading Company), age 56, died 29 December 2017 http://corp.orientaltrading.com/leadership/
Heather Menzies Urich (actress), age 68, died 24 December 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Menzies#Personal_life_and_death
Renan Martins Pereira (Brazillian footballer defensive midfielder), age 20, died 21 December 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renan_Martins_Pereira
Maureen Prinsloo (Canadian politician), age 79, died 2 December 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Prinsloo
Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Russian operatic baritone), age 55, died 22 November 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Hvorostovsky#Death
Jimmy Steele (British dentist), age 55, died 16 November 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Steele_(dentist)
Mikhail Nikolayevich Zadornov (Russian stand-up comedian), age 69, died 10 November 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Nikolayevich_Zadornov#Death
Gord Downie (singer for The Tragically Hip), age 53, died 17 October 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gord_Downie#Death_and_reactions
Bob Holland (New South Wales cricketer), age 70, died 17 September 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Holland#Personal_life
Bucky Scribner (NFL punter), age 57, died 16 September 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucky_Scribner
Alan Root (British documentary filmmaker), age 80, died 26 August 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Root
Darren Daulton (MLB Catcher), age 55, died 6 August 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Daulton
Laurie Brokenshire (CBE Royal Naval officer), age 64, died 4 August 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Brokenshire#Illness_and_death
Harvey Atkin (actor), age 74, died 17 July 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Atkin
John Blackwell (drummer for Prince), age 43, died 4 July 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blackwell_(musician)#Death
Anthony Young (MLB pitcher), age 51, died 27 June 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Young_(baseball)
Jack Ong (actor), age 76, died 13 June 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ong#Death
Diane Torr (Canadian performance artist), age 68, died 31 May 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Torr
Wendell Burton (American tv executive), age 69, died 30 May 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Burton#Personal_life
Grace McCarthy (Canadian politician), age 89, died 24 May 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_McCarthy#Death
Jan Faiks (Senator from Alaska), age 71, died 10 April 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Faiks
Ken Donnelly (Massachusetts state senator), age 66, died 2 April 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Donnelly
John Derrick (Welsh cricketer), age 54, died 22 March 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Derrick_(cricketer)
Richard H. Solomon (US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), age 79, died 13 March 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_H._Solomon
Howard Schmidt (Cyber-Security Coordinator Obama Administration), age 67, died 2 March 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Schmidt
Peter Skellern (English singer/songwriter), age 69, died 17 February 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Skellern
Rafael Kadyrov (Russian ice hockey referee), age 47, died 19 January 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Kadyrov
Richard Machowicz (Navy SEAL and tv host), age 51, died 2 January 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Machowicz