When Matthew Zachary was facing pediatric brain cancer at age 21, his doctors wanted him to get chemotherapy after he already had radiation and surgery. He was afraid that chemo would get in the way of his ability to play piano – so he said no.
Matthew is a concert pianist – and he didn’t want to do anything that might interfere with his ability to play piano any more than cancer treatment already had. “If I were to have taken the chemotherapy protocol, I would have never played piano again,” Matthew says. “I went back to the doctors, and I said that to them. I don’t want your chemotherapy. And they yelled at me, ‘We’re trying to save your life!’ What life would I have without piano?”
Matthew says it’s important to think about what matters the most to you when considering treatment options – and that he hopes medicine can become more personalized to individual needs. “I really believe there’s a revolution that is in play. What personalized medicine means has nothing to do with the drugs, it has to do with what’s important to the person,” Matthew says.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
When Matthew Zachary was facing pediatric brain cancer at age 21, his doctors wanted him to get chemotherapy after he already had radiation and surgery. He was afraid that chemo would get in the way of his ability to play piano – so he said no.
Matthew is a concert pianist – and he didn’t want to do anything that might interfere with his ability to play piano any more than cancer treatment already had. “If I were to have taken the chemotherapy protocol, I would have never played piano again,” Matthew says. “I went back to the doctors, and I said that to them. I don’t want your chemotherapy. And they yelled at me, ‘We’re trying to save your life!’ What life would I have without piano?”
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Matthew says it’s important to think about what matters the most to you when considering treatment options – and that he hopes medicine can become more personalized to individual needs. “I really believe there’s a revolution that is in play. What personalized medicine means has nothing to do with the drugs, it has to do with what’s important to the person,” Matthew says.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
