About Me
I’m Matt, a Houston firefighter. For years, I ran toward emergencies, never away from them. In 2024, after choosing to be medically separated from the department, I faced a new kind of fight: one for my own life. My wife, Wendy, and I had already faced cancer once before, when she battled breast cancer, so I knew something about what it meant to listen to your body.
How This Started
I was 57 when things started to feel off. I was exhausted, chilled, nauseated, having a hard time putting my thoughts together. I even started having strange, repetitive dreams and an overall odd body sensation. Like so many firefighters, I initially chalked it up to fatigue, or maybe something I ate.
What I Noticed
The symptoms didn’t fit anything I recognized. I’ve lived with my body for all these years, and I’ve had the flu, strep, allergies, colds, COVID, and so on — what I was experiencing did not fall into any of those categories. It was totally different.
My Decisions Along the Way
I tried to explain my symptoms away first — food poisoning, too much to drink, running too far and too fast, dehydration. But when none of those explanations held up after three days, I made the call to go to the ER rather than keep waiting it out.
Why It Was Easy to Wait
As a firefighter, toughing out physical discomfort is second nature — there’s always a plausible, ordinary explanation close at hand before you reach for a serious one.
The Moment Things Changed
What made me finally go to the ER was recognizing that this didn’t match anything I’d felt before. Once the spinal tap came back clear, I went straight to the neuro team, and within days I had the diagnosis.
What Happened Next
After 72 hours of feeling worse, I turned to Wendy and said, “Take me to the ER — something’s not right.” I was delayed about 36 hours in the ER while doctors ruled out infections, but once the spinal tap came back clear, it was straight to the neuro team. Within days, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Glioblastoma.
What Would Have Helped Sooner
Knowing 3 Steps Detect® ahead of time, rather than following it by instinct, might have gotten me to the ER before 72 hours had passed.
What I Learned and What I Want Others to Know
I later learned I had unknowingly followed DetecTogether’s 3 Steps Detect®, the early detection toolkit that teaches people how to recognize subtle early signs of cancer and act on them. It has been a ride, especially with the initial diagnosis, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay positive, enjoy your family and friends, and do not always pay attention to the statistics. Cancer doesn’t just test your body — it tests your spirit. The diagnosis alone can be overwhelming. It takes real courage and persistence to keep fighting, and even then, you never think it’ll happen to you, until it does.
Changes I Noticed
Chills, Fatigue, Nausea.
