Some of you may have noticed a decline of activity from me on the blog, and I feel it is time I made some kind of statement about it.
It has been 7 years since my good friend was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma. Prior to that time, I had not even heard the term "astrocytoma" before, neither did I have any formal training in the sciences. The story may be familiar to some of you.
Unfortunately over the past couple years, especially over the last year, I've felt as though I'm "running out of steam" for this kind of work. Burnout is another term that might fit. I've never wanted to abandon this community, as I'm fully aware of how much need there is for the kind of brain tumor research inspired by people such as Ben Williams, who has been the intellectual inspiration for my work. Yet, I have to be honest with myself and with you the community, that I'm feeling its time for a hiatus. Rest assured, this doesn't mean I'm shutting down the blog. If anyone feels knowledgeable enough to step up and take a more active role in answering questions posted here, that would certainly be welcome. I will continue to monitor the activity here and may be able to contribute something, just as others do. I feel like I can continue to be a contributor here, but probably not as the primary voice responding to the majority of posts as I was able to do in past years.
I'm not sure what this will mean in terms of continued lively discussion here. I would also like to mention the new forum at virtualtrials.com, which has started since the closing of the previous yahoo discussion groups. I'd encourage you all to check out
https://forum.virtualtrials.org
Al Musella was a huge help to me when I was new to the brain tumor research community, and provided me with many opportunities to meet others in the field, attend conferences etc. Let's all support his work and the new forum he is providing.
This is not goodbye, just stepping down from the more prominent role that I somehow fell into, when my energy levels for scientific research were higher than they are at present. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck in your research, hope you find the answers you are seeking in the archives here, and from other sources, and of course hope that you will be able to beat the prognosis given to you by the medical establishment.
Sincerely,
Stephen W
Stephen, thank you so much for all the efforts, care and advice. I am very grateful to you but I know how you feel... Please take care , wishing a full recovery to your friend. Please look after yourself. Nina
ReplyDeleteI thank you from the bottom of my heart - at the very beging after the shock of my husband's GBM diagnosis - this place have been my source of hope and knowledge. I thank you for responding to my email, for your time and kindness. I will never forget support I have experienced here. Wish you the best.
ReplyDeletePat
I strongly appreciate all efforts you did, you do and you will keep doing ! THANK YOU SO MUCH
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen,
ReplyDeletei want to thank you on behalf of everyone here for your amazing work in the last years.
You sure helped many many people. You gave hope and perspective and who knows how much additional time for patients to spend with their loved ones.
It's a difficult topic you were dealing with and sure incriminating.
Take the time you need for yourself.
Please keep this blog and your Brain Tumor Library online. It's the best source of information i found on my search throughout the last years.
Now it's the task of all of us to do more to keep this blog alive.
Nevertheless we cannot close this gap.
Stephen, i wish you all the best, i hope to hear from you again!
Thanks so much for your support Stephen - you have definitely contributed so much to the BT community and have been such a great help. Enjoy the well deserved break and recharging of batteries :)
ReplyDeleteStephen--
ReplyDeleteYour exhaustive and rigorous research, thoughtful and timely guidance and incredibly well-organized libraries have no doubt cumulatively added years of life to our community. Your generosity to thousands of complete strangers has been truly heroic. You are an incredibly special humanitarian and we are infinitely grateful.
Wishing you the best on your next journey--
Sharon
Dear Stephen!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your time, your work, your energy. In 2018, you devoted a lot of time to me when I tried to save my mother. I still almost every day remember your help. And I'm still impressed.
You are an example for me to follow.
Have a rest, dear friend. You already did something incredible!
With great thanks for everything, Semyon.
Thanks for all your kind words, it means a lot to me. I will certainly keep the blog and library online!
ReplyDeleteJust a technical note on comments:
ReplyDeleteSomething seems to have gone awry with the commenting process on my computer, and not sure how many others have run into similar problems.
Using the Safari browser, when I sign in with Google then go to the blog, I am signed back out again. Consequently I'm unable to leave comments using the Safari browser, but I am able to when using Chrome. This seems to be a new glitch I noticed maybe a month ago.
A separate issue is the fact that I was getting huge amounts of spam comments a year or so ago, and had to change the comment settings. This seemed to be working, as no spam was getting through, but I just noticed a large stockpile of comments pending approval, which seems to be about 70% spam and 30% legitimate comments. I apologize to anyone who tried to comment here but was unable to. There's still 437 comments awaiting moderation (mostly spam comments, but some legitimate). I was unaware of this backlog until today, and still not sure why some comments get published immediately and some go into the "awaiting moderation" folder.
Oh, Stephen, I agree with all these sweet comments, and for me personally, you were a blessing standing beside me for almost two years. Everyone on Chance's team at UCSF knew how much you meant to us and they appreciated how very fortunate we were to have a guide like you. Thank you cannot begin to describe the debt of gratitude I feel for you from what began as an effort to help your friend. You have blessed so many patients and families. I want you to have mine. No matter where you go or what you do, you will reside in my heart always. I know when you bless others, your kindness is returned in many ways. May the kindness you so freely shared enfold and carry you all the days of your life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your heartfelt note Jude, it means a lot. Chance was blessed to have you as a caregiver, and without your seeking I wouldn't have been able to help him. So good to be reminded of the self-perpetuating nature of kindness. I hope you are well!
ReplyDeleteStephen