From our founder...

On a beautiful Spring day in May 2021, Scott was on his typical walk around Lake Harriet in Linden Hills, a suburb of Minneapolis. He had walked this path thousands of times given that this was also his childhood stomping grounds that he returned to later in his adult life. Ironically, he was listening to the audio book, Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta while on this walk.  Scott was almost home when he had a bystander witnessed seizure. Imaging in the emergency department revealed a tumor on his frontal lobe. And, like many others with this diagnosis out of nowhere, his life was forever changed.

Scott was originally diagnosed with a Grade II oligodendroglioma. He underwent a tumor resection followed by radiation and chemotherapy. In February 2022, he was given the all clear and told to enjoy the next 20 years of his life! In August 2022, Scott’s seizures recurred to the point that he went back to neurosurgery to resolve the seizures and have another resection. The results of that resection showed an Oligo sarcoma/high-grade glioma. Scott was informed that this was a very rare and aggressive tumor and because of the rarity, treatment options are limited with few oncologists aware of the best course of treatment. A recent statistic indicates that this type of tumor is 0.32% of all brain tumors.

While his prognosis was grim, Scott was not! He and his wife worked with oncologists across the country who were innovative and prepared to think outside the box to figure out how to extend his life span while maintaining his quality of life. This group of dedicated physicians extended Scott’s life to more than double the life expectancy with this tumor type.

Scott was one of those people who could have done anything he wanted to.  He did so many things in his lifetime and he did them so well…always with a sense of curiosity and wonder.  He was gifted at every single thing he did because he was an avid daily learner with high expectations of himself. When he realized that there was no standard treatment for his tumor, he set out on a mission to help move treatment options forward for future patients. This was the beginning of the BeWonderNow, Inc.  foundation.

Scott oozed kindness and generosity to those he loved and complete strangers. Those of us honored to know him can attest that he was here to be the best he could be… the best friend, husband, father, son and brother.  He tried to extend to people all that could be considered good in him. He strived to be better tomorrow than he was today. A better human being. And, almost always, he succeeded!

Scott’s legacy confirms his desire to fight brain cancer long after he was gone. His intention was that the foundation will do what he hoped to do… tap into the creative and innovative genius of scientists and researchers who will work tirelessly to find new treatments for brain cancer bringing hope and longevity to patients and their families