We lost our husband, father, and best friend on January 28, 2006 after a courageous 15-month battle with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumor. Diagnosed just five days after his 50th birthday with a tangerine-sized tumor in his left parietal lobe adjacent to the brainstem, Bruce looked the doctor right in the eye with a smile on his face and commented, “What a great life!” What type of man would show that type of strength and courage during such a difficult situation? Bruce Kaye.
He subscribed to the idea that everything happens for a reason and no matter how difficult or trying his present situation he was going to do his best to remain positive and be a source of strength for those around him. He knew no other way to live his life. All who had the opportunity to know Bruce Kaye intimately knew that he was a man with purpose and every action he took and word he uttered had meaning behind it. Being diagnosed and dealing with a terminal brain tumor was no different. Bruce was undeterred by his discouraging diagnosis and took his disease as an opportunity to teach everyone around him one last lesson: to ignore those who say “impossible.”
Bruce’s tumor was “the worst kind, in the worst possible location” and his initial prognosis was 3-6 weeks. When this grim estimate was confirmed by three well-respected neuro-oncologists who reviewed his MRI and pathology labs, we decided that doing nothing and being resigned to the fact that Bruce would die within a month was simply not an option. After realizing that “we had nothing to lose, and everything to gain” by charting our own course and having the courage to explore certain treatments that fell outside of the American oncology and pharmaceutical pipeline, we all agreed we had stumbled upon something very powerful.
Our family was blessed with the mentorship of an amazing family battling a similar diagnosis that left us forever changed. Our families soon became “married” and developed a bond that is hard to describe. In learning, sharing, and fellowshipping, our newly extended “family” became more and more committed to its pursuit of the holistic approach. In addition, we were fortunate enough to have the financial means to pursue treatments that fell outside of traditional insurance, but came to realize that many families would not be so lucky. Without the proper information, community, and financial resources others would not be able to pursue this holistic course of treatment that we saw making such a profound impact as easily.
As a family, we discovered some of the world’s best treatment options for battling a devastating brain cancer diagnosis. From organic to ayurveda, from chemotherapy to creative visualization, we were forever changed by what we learned. We were amazed by our experience with food as medicine and the intersection of traditional and complementary treatments providing important life-giving hope and healing to patients battling a so-called ‘terminal’ diagnosis. We could literally see in real-time the beneficial impact that the complementary approach was having on Bruce’s body and immune system.
Through Bruce’s journey, we stumbled upon a world of hope and positivism – meeting people who were not only surviving, but thriving after a devastating diagnosis. Stories of brain tumor patients completing marathons, returning to work full-time, seeing grandchildren enter the world, and other anecdotes filled Bruce and our family with a new found hope that was worth its weight in gold. All of these survivor stories seemed to have one thing in common: they were incorporating a holistic approach to treatment that went far beyond a singular reliance on the conventional path of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and steroids. While no patient’s treatment protocol was exactly the same, all incorporated various complementary protocols that seemed to help them “beat the odds” and feel much better in the process. These stories differed greatly from the doom and gloom we had initially encountered in reviewing conventional approaches to treatment, and the discouraging median survival statistics that seemed omnipresent in our early research and the doctors we encountered.
Pursuing a holistic approach astounded the doctors in its effectiveness and he lived 15 months, seeing another California summer, baseball season, and Christmas, enjoying precious time with family and friends. Unfortunately, the very conventional treatments that saved Bruce’s life in the days following his diagnosis weakened his body to the point it could not continue to fight. He died without regrets, knowing he had supported his body and mind in the fight of his life and that his experience would help others. It is said that “where much is given much is expected,” and it is our sincere hope that the Bruce Kaye Brain Tumor Foundation is able to continue honoring Bruce’s legacy and “pay forward” the lessons that we learned during his battle with brain cancer to others facing a similar situation. We have all said that “if we knew then what we know now” too many times and our hope is that the BKBTF continues to make a real difference in the lives of brain tumor patients and their families.
In both life and now in death, Bruce Kaye continues to teach and inspire many of us each and every day. His presence and passion breathed life into the Foundation at its inception and his memory encourages us each day to do everything we can in the hope that other family’s stories have truly happy endings. We like to say that we are in passionate pursuit of what’s possible…