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In 1994, Steve Mathews was a picture of strength: an accomplished athlete, Empire State Games medalist, and loving husband and father. When he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and devastating forms of brain cancer, the prognosis was grim: six months to two years.

But Steve’s story defied every expectation.

“He walked out of hospice on his own two feet,” Steve’s son Anthony told us in a heartfelt conversation with the National Foundation for Cancer Research. “And we got 27 and a half more years.”

Initially misdiagnosed as a benign tumor, Steve’s cancer returned shortly after completing chemotherapy and radiation. With no standard treatments left to offer, his care team managed to enroll him in a clinical trial using RMP-7, a therapy designed to open the blood-brain barrier and deliver targeted radiation. Of the 40 participants worldwide, Steve was the only one to survive.

Though the treatment came with long-term effects, including strokes that would eventually contribute to his passing in 2022, it also gave Steve something rare: time. Time to watch his children grow up. Time to become a source of hope for other patients and families. Time to live.

“This is my thought,” said Michelle Mathews, Steve’s wife. “My husband did not die in vain. He took one for the team, and every person thereafter that is being treated right now for a GBM…I feel Steve had a little part of the development of the treatments going forward since 1997.”

Steve became a beacon of resilience in his community. At the request of his neuro-oncologist, Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, Steve helped start a brain tumor support group in western New York. Over the years, he mentored countless families, offering them what most needed: proof that hope was still possible.

Even after a stroke in 2017, Steve remained deeply connected to the support group and his family. “He never let it define him,” Anthony recalled. “He mowed the lawn, went to work, and showed up for everything. He was my best friend.”

The Mathews family’s story is one of miracles, both medical and personal. It’s about the power of persistence, the strength of community, and the profound beauty of borrowed time. Anthony and his family remain committed to helping others facing a glioblastoma diagnosis, honoring Steve’s legacy by offering what they know best: hope.

As Anthony put it, “We were supposed to have two years. Instead, we got 27. And we are nothing but grateful.”