Category Archives: Uncommon Stories
Georgia’s Uncommon Story: The best doctor in the world
David’s Uncommon Story: We knew we were in the right place
Craig’s Uncommon Story: A patient needs to be vigilant
Barbara’s Uncommon Story: Nothing the surgeon had seen before
James’ Uncommon Story: Support from many sources
Five tips from young survivors
For Alex Casanave, Julia Lisena, and Emily Sommer, the journey from diagnosis to survivorship was different, but it led them all to support other young patients and families through our Peer Connect program, as Peer Guides (Alex and Julia) and trainees (Emily). Continue reading
“Overachieving” survivor beats rare cancer diagnosis
Alicia Jeffreys was diagnosed with chordoma on her 28th birthday. Despite a long, challenging road, her uncommon story has a happy ending. Continue reading
An unexpected champion: Jeff Schilling’s story
Jeff Schilling never expected to be the kind of person who openly shared his experiences with cancer, and he certainly never planned to do it in front of an entire bowling alley full of people.
When Jeff was first diagnosed with chordoma 18 years ago, he didn’t even want to talk about it. At 25 years old, he wasn’t about to let the fact that he had a rare cancer define him or change how people saw him. Continue reading
Iron-maniac: Chordoma Champion racing 10 Ironman triathlons in 10 days
When Kenny Brighton joined the Chordoma Foundation in 2019, his off hours were spent in training mode: preparing for a race involving 10 Ironman triathlons in 10 days. Then came the pandemic; race cancellations followed. Rather than let his preparation go to waste, Kenny decided to pivot, taking the event into his own hands — and legs. As we speak, he’s in the midst of a one-man “Ironman x 10” in the balmy Florida beach town where he grew up. Over 10 consecutive days, he’ll run, bike, and swim a mind-blowing total of 1,400 miles. Continue reading