Mazza1

Life isn't always easy. I was born in 1971 to a teenage mother and into a childhood of trials, tribulations and triumphs that came with it. In 1997 I married my high school sweetheart Jenny. Less than two years later I was diagnosed with a Grade 3 mixed glioma brain tumor. I was 27 years old. I had an awake craniotomy during which the neurosurgeon was able to resect the entire golf ball sized tumor. Unfortunately, he had to cut into my motor strip to do so, and I was temporarily pralyzed on my left side. After the surgery he told us that I'd never run again and that I'd be lucky to walk with a limp after a few months of therapy. My life changed pretty quickly after that. The surgery was followed with four rounds of PCV chemo and six weeks of radiation. When Jenny and I asked if the upcoming chemo would destroy my fertility the pathologist told us, yes, it most likely would, and that we should wait at least two years before we considered starting a family. In other words, we'd better make sure I was still around in a couple years. At that point I simply decided to get busy living rather than waiting around to die. We asked about sperm banking and I did what I could in the ONE week I had before starting chemo. Now more than ever my life was about making memories and creating moments with my friends and family. I began making lists of all the things I wanted to accomplish between MRI scans. It was time to take my life back. We traveled down the East coast, up the West and even ventured to Canada, Maui and Mexico.

We conceived our first child in April 2001 via IVF. In early 2002 we celebrated the birth and mourned the loss of our son Aidan who was stillborn at 40 weeks, six days. Three weeks after Aidan's birth I carried the Olympic Torch in Sheridan, WY as part of the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City. I had been nominated by a close friend and co-worker and had been looking forward to the celebration for months. I dedicated my run that day to our baby son. A little more than a year later our IVF son Liam was born! Son Quinn (2005) and daughter Nadia (2007) were born a few years later - no in-vitro, just a lot of good luck!

In between all the craziness I hiked up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs with five close friends, ran a half marathon in LaJolla with one of my best buddies and my brother-in-law, and biked 100 miles in a LIVESTRONG Challenge ride up and down mountain switchbacks in Denver. A hit-and-run motorcyclist knocked me off my bike around mile 70. I didn't look too pretty coming across the finish line with my arms and legs all bandaged up and my bike rims bent but I finished. I've also taken more trips with friends and family than I can count. In March 2006 I was inducted into Pfizer's Hall of Fame at the Mar a Lago club in Florida.

Cancer has taught me to make each day count! I hope to make a difference in someone's life by sharing my story and by doing whatever it takes to help others along their journey. Life isn't always easy, but you can still choose to LIVESTRONG!