If you know cancer, you know that every day is unpredictable.
Keeping Chris Funk's biography up-to-date is a nearly impossible task, because his story never stops evolving. Yesterday's struggles become today's triumphs, and, unfortunately, vice versa. Of the endless ways cancer is heartbreaking; perhaps the toughest is that it is completely out of one's control. The only thing you have any control over is your own attitude, and nobody embodies this philosophy better than the Funks.
Chris Funk, a Wisconsin native, was living in San Francisco in December of 2001. He was 28 years old, with the entire world at his fingertips. He was climbing the corporate ladder as a Merchandiser for The Gap, he and his wife Brandi had just celebrated one year of marriage, and they were expecting their first child. As an avid mountain biker and snowboarder, Chris was in the best physical shape of his life. Then the other shoe fell.
Shortly before Christmas, Chris began feeling strange. He developed intense headaches, memory loss, speech arrests and seizures. After several misdiagnoses by a myriad of health care professionals, an MRI finally revealed the worst; A level 2-3 Glioma Astrocytoma - a cancerous Brain Tumor the size of an orange - was taking over the left frontal lobe of Chris's brain.
One week later, surgeons at California Pacific Medical Center performed a high-risk craniotomy, removing most of the tumor. Like trying to extract bubble gum from hair, the surgeons were forced to leave the parts of the tumor that were attached to Chris's optic nerve and thalamus, to avoid damaging his vision or brain capacity. Eighteen months of chemotherapy shrunk what remained of the tumor, and in the mean time Brandi gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Parnassus Rae. The Funks went home to Wisconsin, where they received the comfort and support of family and friends, as well as much needed rest.
Perhaps rest is the wrong word.
Believing everything happens for a reason, the Funks began giving back to the cancer community almost immediately. After thoughtful research they formed the non-profit HEADRUSH in 2004, an annual Brain Tumor awareness fundraising event. Not knowing what to expect and relying solely on family, friends, and a handful of corporate sponsors, the Funks set a fundraising goal of $5,000 that first year. They raised $50,000. In 2005, they raised ANOTHER $50,000 at their second annual event! That's when the HEADRUSH Event Team learned that initiating a Research Professorship would create permanence in long-term research, treatment, and survivorship for the Brain Tumor community. It was then that ALL efforts were focused on creating the HEADRUSH Brain Tumor Research Professorship.
Exciting experiences continue to find Brandi and Chris. During the fall of 2006, HEADRUSH was approached by an anonymous donor who was willing to help get the Professorship started. "Mr. Anon", as the Funks call him, offered a very generous matching gift challenge. Through the HEADRUSH Professorship Matching Gift Campaign, their friends, family, and supporters generated more than $625,000 dollars in three months to initiate the first Brain Tumor Research Professorship in the state of Wisconsin.
HEADRUSH is now in its fourth year, evolving from a broad, frenzied effort to raise as much money as possible, into what it is today; a carefully-planned, professionally-run non-profit organization, with all proceeds funneled directly to the HEADRUSH Brain Tumor Research Professorship at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.
As HEADRUSH gears up for their annual fall event, the Funks show no signs of slowing down. They have two beautiful girls, Parny and Bea, ages 5 and 2. In the summer of 2006 they bought a home in Madison, on the same block several of their very best friends live. Chris commutes daily to his dream job in Waterloo, where he works for Trek Bikes.
Just as Chris's triumphs have continued, so have his struggles. Since his tumor can never be fully removed, he will never be in "remission". Just before Thanksgiving in 2005, Chris suffered a 20-minute seizure at work. After numerous tests, bloodwork and MRIs, they hunkered down for battle once again, this time six weeks of daily radiation treatments in the capable hands of Doctor Minesh Mehta, the leading radiation oncologist for Brain Tumors internationally, and his expert team at the University of Wisconsin.
This latest round of treatment has been successful, and the Funks now monitor Chris's status with regular MRIs at the UW. They continue to coexist with cancer, and endure the ongoing battle with their trademark humor and grace, one day at a time.