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Matt Fishman

@fishmern

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NEU ‘21
JPer
Fighting #GBM since Sep ‘22
🧠♥️💵Donate to my cancer fund on Venmo @mattfishman99🧠♥️💵
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🐦‍⬛bird photography account: @mfbirdpics

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Hi Friends. It’s been a few months since my previous post, and I wanted to send out an update about what’s been happening since my brain cancer diagnosis. In November I began six weeks of daily chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but then the side effects caught up to me and landed me a Christmas stay at the hospital for an emergency brain-drain procedure (on the bright side, what better place to get a procedure done on Christmas than at Beth ISRAEL hospital with Dr MOSES and my nurse named THERESA!)

The outpouring of love and well wishes after my first post has been amazing, and it was so nice to reconnect with so many of you. One question I get often is the best way to help. If you would like to, the best way to help by far would be sending ellesse and I some support through Venmo @Mattfishman99, or PayPal or Zelle at 6466390149. This will help us so much on Ubers to appointments, surgery bills, meals and similar adventures to the ones seen in these pics as we continue to fight.

I hope you all have a happy and family filled holiday season as I did, and even if it’s been a while, I’d love to chat with you again, so please do reach out over phone or social!! 🧠❤️🎄 taken in Boston, Massachusetts by @fishmern

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4 years ago

Hi friends. In September, after experiencing some bad migraines for a couple weeks, an MRI showed that I had a tennis ball sized tumor in my brain. A week later I went in for brain surgery where they removed most but not all of the tumor. The surgery went super well but left me totally limp on my left side, and after a two week stay at rehab, I was able to relearn how to walk (with some help), tie my shoes, and even play the sax again! Unfortunately, the tumor is an extremely aggressive form of cancerous brain tumor called glioblastoma - the prognosis for these isn’t very good. We’ll start chemo and radiation therapy at Dana Farber very soon, and I count myself blessed that this all happened in Boston where we’re seeing the best hospitals and doctors in the country.

Through this whole thing, the amount of love and support I’ve already received from so many of my friends and relatives has been amazing to experience, and has made me feel so warm and full of life. Before starting my treatment, Ellesse and I have been spending our time seeing friends and playing board games at our new very cute apartment in Jamaica Plain, enjoying the Boston parks, going to concerts and the symphony and eating our way through the best restaurants in Boston!! Some of the highlights can be seen in these pics. If you’d like to reach out with a message or would like to send Ellesse and I some tasty food, please reach out through dm (and my Venmo is @MattFishman99 😂😋). Even if we haven’t spoken in a while or lost our connection, I suddenly find myself with an abundance of time, and I’d love to chat with you!

We’re staying as hopeful as we can be.

❤️❤️

EDIT: Thank you so much everyone for the overwhelming amount of love and comments and texts! I promise I’ll get to all of them but I’m sorry if it takes a little while. Thank you ❤️ by @fishmern

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4 years ago

Ukulele girl and saxophone boy living one floor apart freshman year getting engaged?? It’s been a long long long road and I can’t wait to spend the rest of it with you Ellesse. Now everyone enjoy our various hair lengths and piercings through the years and how good we both look with all of them. by @fishmern

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3 years ago

Tea for two times two 🤩 by @fishmern

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3 years ago

Cancer sucks. Two months ago I started a clinical trial for an experimental new chemo in New York. A couple of days before starting the trial I felt weak and fell at home, and then once I couldn’t get down my stairs spent about 2 months in various hospitals and rehabs around the city. I’m now staying with my family in New York as I continue the trial, still mostly unable to stand, uncurl my left elbow, or walk on my own. These have been the hardest months of my life, and I am incredibly lucky to have the support i have in my family (especially mom), friends, and Ellesse who came down from Boston to spend a couple days just sitting in my home hospital bed and watch movies and do tarot readings with me. Cancer sucks so bad but I am so lucky to have seen so much love and support from so many people that have kept me sane and alive and full of love. by @fishmern

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3 years ago

Grateful for my family and friends and Ellesse and this hospital dog named Cherry that helped get me out of the hospital just in time for the New Year this year🎉🎉 by @fishmern

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3 years ago

✅ dinner in a 2 Michelin star restaurant in the Moma
✅ 7 courses
✅ free champagne, scallops, and beignets
✅ literally the best service I’ve ever had in my life
✅ tour and group pic with the entire kitchen staff

Just a typical nyc day 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 taken in The Modern by @fishmern

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3 years ago

After 6 years in Boston, we finally came out to the Harvard Natural History museum. Seeing lots of dead/extinct animals has never been so fun! Also those flowers and branches are anatomically correct and made entirely made of sculpted glass 🤯 taken in Harvard Museum of Natural History by @fishmern

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3 years ago

A year ago today, I went in for a brain surgery. Over the course of eleven hours in the OR, Dr Bi at Brigham and Women’s hospital worked with her team in Boston and a second team (half of whom were in Europe) remotely watching my brain waves to cut up and remove as much of the tumor as safely possible. At this point the tumor had grown through my corpus callosum, a bundle of fibers which connects the two halves of the brain, and was sitting right on top of my fornix, which plays a big role in memory and cognition. Dr Bi told me what concerned her during this procedure. If any of the corpus callosum was touched or severed, that would likely mean death or permanent brain damage. If the fornix was touched or damaged, I may lose memories, not be able to recall names and faces of my loved ones, and go through personality changes. I signed the consent anyway, not knowing if I was going to wake up as myself. In many ways, that was true. I woke up feeling the most euphoric I’ve ever felt in my life. Though Dr Bi was only able to remove about half the tumor, I still had my memories, was able to recognize my family and Ellesse and tell them how much I had to pee (which were apparently my first words after surgery).
I also woke up from surgery completely limp on my left side - you can see my first thumbs up after surgery in one of the slides here.

It’s been a long year, with lots of ups but also lots and lots and lots of downs which are harder to share on socials. I’ve had to learn and lose and learn and lose my ability to walk, put clothes on, shower, you name it. I’ve learned how important community, group therapy (shoutout @cactuscancer and @elephantsandteamagazine ), and family and friends are in staying sane through the cancer journey. Oh and lots of pills… so many pills.

Here’s to the next year being filled with a lot more friends and adventures, a lot fewer trips to the ED and, hopefully, an effective treatment and cure for GBM. taken in Boston, Massachusetts by @fishmern

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3 years ago

Emmett’s latest album was my go to soundtrack during radiation treatment, and tonight I got to hear it live. Scroll for a sample of the tri state area GOAT taken in Birdland Jazz Club by @fishmern

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3 years ago

🎼Started the night out by Putting on the Ritz and ended it with a life-affirming show from @coryhenry And yes even though he spent 3 minutes trying to hawk his tour merch we still love him (and yes we bought a shirt before he even started his set) by @fishmern

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3 years ago

This week I was lucky enough to be invited to conduct the Stars and Stripes with the incredible @metwinds at one of their outdoor summer concerts! With a band like this, they basically conducted ME through it, and I was more than happy to be along for the ride. Swipe for the video! taken in Hastings Park by @fishmern

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3 years ago