First HIV+ Runner With Terminal Brain Cancer Has C

First HIV+ Runner With Terminal Brain Cancer Has Completed the NYC Marathon

My name is Richard M. Brodsky. I am HIV-positive and have terminal brain cancer, and I completed the November 2, 2003, NYC Marathon in 04:52. My purpose for running the marathon was to serve notice that AIDS does not have to be a death sentence, as long as the AIDS medicines is provided to AIDS sufferers. I would also encourage AIDS sufferers to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Even though I am both HIV-positive and have brain cancer, I have been blessed with strong legs and a will to live. Running the marathon was tough; each stride in the latter part of the marathon run was agonizingly painful. But, at least I was alive to feel pain. Echoing in my brain was the pounding reality that 8,000 people would be dying from AIDS today -- one person every 11 seconds. I had no choice; I had to finish the marathon. 8,000 voices could never be silenced. My having brain cancer could never be considered an additional reason to give up completing the marathon.

30,000 spectators demanded I finish the race. I felt like the hero of the day. Cheered on by the greatest sports enthusiasts from every walk of life, my final quarter-mile to the finish line was a blur between winning a gold medal and coming back from the dead to claim it. A year and a day had passed since I suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. However, coaxed on by my team of doctors from NYU, LIJ and Columbia Presbyterian Hospitals, there was no way that I could not complete the marathon. And just in case I tried to wimp out on my commitment to finish the race, Dr. Casilda Balmaceda of Columbia Presbyterian ran side by side with me to the finish line. A POZ magazine photographer recorded the event for an upcoming issue.

My wife, Jodi, and our three daughters have been very supportive of my coming out and sharing my story. AIDS need not destroy families. The fact that one of my daughters was just voted Most Likely To Succeed by her high school graduating class is testament to that credo.

My book, Jodi, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, is my gift to my wife for keeping our family together and keeping me a part of the family.

Richard M. Brodsky
www.trebloon.com
richardbpc@aol.com

Post Extras: Remind Me!