For This Triathlete and DCMH Cancer Patient, It’s More Than a Race

Coaching, after a leukemia diagnosis, is an even greater reward

DREXEL HILL, Pa. – Steve Brown is at the top of his game. He has spent the last few decades as an endurance athlete, competing at the highest levels in the long-distance swim-bike-run as a triathlete. He is a 12-time ironman. A 26-mile marathon is simply part of his training. But as a triathlon coach, he gravitates toward the reticent runners; among them he finds his greatest rewards.

Brown became a triathlon coach for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training in 2006, the year he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a slow-growing cancer. He was not going to let the disease slow him down – in fact, often he would jog home from chemotherapy treatment. Instead, he decided to add to his mantra: “Train – Endure – Achieve” would now include “Matter.”

“I made a few important decisions right away,” Brown says. “I vowed to remain fit and continue the active lifestyle that I loved, including endurance racing. I would be vocal and visible and live this diagnosis publicly, to lend a voice to the need for cancer research funding. And, since I knew Team In Training well, I decided to get involved as a coach. It gives me the opportunity to take it to heart, to race for my own cause while helping others get across that finish line. It’s very rewarding.”

His doctor, Stephen Shore, M.D., Delaware County Memorial Hospital medical oncologist, understood his need to remain an athlete. He advised Brown to listen to his body, and rest when he felt tired.

“Maintaining some regularity of your normal life is critical to tolerating cancer treatment holistically,” Shore says. “Steve Brown did this extremely well during his treatment. He would get chemo, then run home. He would do two miles instead of 10, and that’s OK.” Shore also notes that Brown and his wife Mary Grace, a nurse, work well with Brown’s medical team to manage symptoms and determine when specialized therapy may be needed. “He uses our patient portal effectively and is in constant communication with us to keep the lines of communication open all the time,” Shore says. “We pay attention to and respond to him in a timely fashion.”

The cancer did return in 2012, and again in 2013, but today Brown is in remission, facing cancer by his rules.

Brown still trains and enters endurance races – he has completed 12 ironman triathlons, 26 marathons and countless other events of varying distances. With Team In Training, he focuses on the new athletes who join with tremendous commitment to the cause, but little experience in endurance sports. “My favorite ones are the tentative ones, because they need the most help. I’ve celebrated their finishes more than my own,” Brown says. At the end of each triathlon is a long run, and the last mile is the hardest. Coach Brown will run that mile about 13 times, back and forth, checking on his teammates and encouraging them to the finish. “It’s the most rewarding part of the race,” he says.

The coach’s team is now in training for TriRock Philadelphia, June 25 & 26. Teammates choose either the sprint distance triathlon on Saturday (.5 mile swim, 15.7 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run) or the Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday (.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run). There are 32 people on the entire Leukemia & Lymphoma Society team; together they have raised $53,000 for cancer research and patient services. Millions are raised each year by LLS Team In Training runners, cyclists and triathletes, turning ‘someday’ into ‘today’ for patients like Steve Brown.

“We have a dynamic relationship,” Shore says. “I learn a lot from him, and hopefully he is learning a lot from me. He’s very inspirational.”

Learn more about Crozer-Keystone’s cancer services at crozerkeystone.org/Cancer. To learn more about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit LLS.org. For more information on Steve Brown, visit remissionman.com.

About Crozer-Keystone Health System

Established in 1990, Crozer-Keystone Health System is the largest employer and provider of healthcare services in Delaware County. The health system comprises five hospitals as well as a network of primary care, specialty practices, outpatient locations and the Healthplex Sports Club. Call 1-800-CK-HEALTH (1-800-254-3258) or visit crozerkeystone.org for more information.

About Team in Training

Team In Training (TNT) is the flagship fundraising campaign of LLS and the world’s largest and most successful charity sports endurance training program. Since its inception in 1988, when a team of 38 runners trained together for the New York City Marathon and raised $320,000, TNT has raised more than $1.4 billion, trained more than 600,000 people and helped LLS invest more than $1 billion in research to advance breakthrough cancer treatments that are saving lives today.  To join the team, call 800-482-TEAM or visit www.teamintraining.org.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org.  Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.