David Brandt Beats Cancer

The end is HERE
by David Brandt


Hello, friends.

I kept my word. I'm still here.

In case you haven't read or heard in the past few days, I'm now in remission following six months of chemotherapy sessions (12 total sessions). While I am certainly "out of the woods," I am still dealing with overcoming a negative side effect of a chemo drug called bleomycin. The drug created small clouds of toxicity in my lungs which can sometimes leave me feeling winded or have shortness of breath. It also makes me cough a little more than I care to, but not to the point that I'm hacking up a lung (although that WOULD kind of help with getting rid of the toxicity). I'm taking a prescribed steroid for it that should help eliminate the clouds in the near future. This is NOT cancer and it's a short-term problem that is much less severe than the very thing I managed to beat.

Adios, Hodgkin's lymphoma. Don't let the door hit you in the mass on the way out.

So, things are suddenly going marginally better for me than they were, say, a month ago, when I was spending a week in Northside Hospital. Certainly better than four months ago, when I broke down and cried for the first time under the heavy weight of facing the disease. And far better than seven months ago, when I was first told I may have cancer.

And while I may have been calm, cool and collected in the early and middle months of treatment, the experience really became a battle during the last month of treatment. I never felt I was losing and failing in my road to remission, but I definitely felt like I had to keep throwing punches just to stop from being hit. But as it turned out, I was Ali eventually knocking down Foreman.

"OK, Dave, you KO'd cancer. What are you going to do now?"

Part of me would respond that I have no idea. But that's not necessarily true anymore. I've had months to think about what I'm going to do next - I've even made a list of things I'm eager to accomplish, big or small, within the next few years. I don't care for cliches - particularly those involving life and death - but I won't turn my head from the idea that I've been given a second chance.

I also won't be opening up about just what I plan to do with that second chance. Much of the reasoning behind this decision is that I'm still trying to process that the fight is over. I can't speak for other cancer survivors, friends or otherwise, but I don't believe there is immediate recovery from cancer - biologically, physically, or psychologically. I'm going to need time and, to a large extent, privacy. Some of you may call that hiding. I call it becoming.

What I will admit openly is that before I began to suspect I was sick, I was driven by two things: my career and - in recent years - politics. For many years, I've been a workaholic. And until I had more time to consider my life as a whole, that never really bothered me. Things have changed, so in some ways over time, so will I. But now that absolute control of my life has been returned to me, changes are going to take place on my terms and done my way.

But the reward of this second chance didn't come easy, and I'm not sure I could've achieved it by myself. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my family, friends and colleagues. Some of them have stepped up beyond favors and visits and really gave a great deal of time and energy to making sure I was able to eat, that I made it to my doc's office or chemo appointments, keep watch over me when I was feeling most ill, and allow me to continue doing my job to the best of my ability throughout my treatment (the last item helped maintain a sense of purpose, which is always important to me). All of these things helped keep my spirits up and maintained my optimism about the outcome of my situation. All the help, words of encouragement, and general expressions of support are great debts that I will never be able to repay.

With that said, I think I'm done with these long notes for at least a while. I'm looking forward to the holidays and I'm curious to see what I'll accomplish in 2011. There's some lost time and activities to make up... visit with old friends, attend more Braves games, spend more evenings out and about, maybe learn some sweet new dance moves. Might even start spending equal time between Best Buy and the Home Depot... can't appreciate those home theater systems without knowing just how to best install them.

Jeez, I'm getting old.

I hope all of you have a terrific holiday season and new year with your loved ones.

And thanks again, everyone.

-David Brandt


Dec. 10, 2010

Opportunity for Recent Graduates

SCHOOL OF BROADCAST & CINEMATIC ARTS

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
2011-2012 GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS

Earn a Master's degree in Broadcast & Cinematic Arts while assisting with the School's undergraduate teaching, production, and administrative activities.
Assistantships are available in the following areas:

Video teaching and production
Audio teaching and production
News production
Film studies

Graduate assistants receive full remission of tuition and fees, and a stipend of approximately $10,300. Assistantships are potentially renewable for a second year.
A Graduate Assistant Application can be downloaded from the School website: http://www.bca.cmich.edu/.

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Peter B. Orlik, Director
School of Broadcast & Cinematic Arts
Moore Hall 340
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
orlik1pb@cmich.edu

Assistantships are filled on a rolling basis as high-quality applicants are identified.
CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity within its community (see www.cmich.edu/aaeo/).

Newest Alumni

Shhh don't tell them I said so, but I think our four Capstone presenters did such a good job yesterday, they are surely going to pass. I predict they'll be walking across the Johnny Mize stage next week to pick up their PC diplomas and become the newest Mass Comm alumni. Here are the presenters and their topics:

• Michael Barry - "Promoting Piedmont Debate"
• Matt Curtis - "How to Get It on Tape"
• Kathy Nicholson – “Building an Effective Imaging Campaign”
• Lee Robin – “Starting a New Radio Station”

I was happy to see alumni Heather Bardinelli, Justin Poole and Joy Ugi in the audience. Speaking of alumni, I heard from Eric Mathews recently. He is a development associate with Disability Rights International. It's a nonprofit that exposes abuses of the disabled. DRI released a Mexico Report and it was covered by the New York Times and ABC Nightline. See the Times report here:  Abuses Found at Mexican Institutions for Disabled