My name is Cully. The first picture is my brain on August 29, 2025, and the second picture is my brain on September 3, 2025.

Tumor Boi Summer (and Fall and Winter and Spring and Summer again…)

The short story is that I have brain cancer, it’s glioblastoma (aka gbm, all of which are grade IV), and I’m recovering from a masterful gross total resection performed 9/2/25 at Rush by Dr. Arka Mallela. I’ve made a lot of progress from total right-side hemiplegia (paralysis) to hemiparesis (general weakness, stiffness, spasticity, lack of control of limbs and digits, etc). I have a long way to go to regain full function, and I have to keep the cancer from recurring until science delivers a permanent cure.

I’ve kept it off the socials, which has been good and bad. Texting with people I haven’t seen for a while, it feels weird not to say anything but it’s impossible to just casually drop “oh good, except for the brain cancer and rehabbing from surgery and getting chemo and radiation and MRIs and clinical drugs and trying to both retain a sense of normalcy but also embrace every second of every day but also I’m really tired a lot of the time and I’m expecting the best and recovering really well but preparing for the worst even though the worst isn’t gonna happen, I’m sure of it, and the family is doing great but also in a constant state of panic and confusion but also just living our lives like ya do, y’know? How about you, still living in LA?”

And everyone wants to help! Which is amazing. But also really hard to ask for and accept, and like we’re doing ok and powering through except all of this is deeply weird and tremendously difficult.

I’m extremely fortunate to be in an Expanded Access Protocol Clinical Trial for a drug called SurVaxM. An EAP means no placebo group, I’m definitely getting the drug. For the foreseeable future, I go to NYC every 8 weeks for MRI and drug injections. It’s shown great results and has been fast-tracked as a result. Hopefully I’ll be getting it for years to come.

We’re trying to create amazing core memories for the kiddos without it feeling like rushing to check off bucket list boxes and because it takes me So Long and is So Exhausting to do pretty much anything there’s a superhuman weight my better half is shouldering. And she’s doing an incredible job while being exhausted and overwhelmed at the same time.

So how can you help?

Three ways — GoFundMe, Grinner vinyl reissue, and BrainUp 5k Walk Run.

If I have a recurrence, I’ll be out of the EAP and it’ll be a mad dash to find another clinical trial and/or travel internationally (some 14 trips to Germany or Croatia) for custom peptide vaccine treatments tailored to my tumor’s genetic markers, figure out more surgery and recovery and time off of work and all of that.

If SurVaxM keeps working, I’ve still got a massive load of therapy ahead, Botox treatments (not a vanity thing, they’re going in my arms and legs and hands; apparently my sign language is flat and expressionless), a Cionic Neural Sleeve to buy, nerve stimulation therapy that insurance doesn’t cover, adaptive equipment, travel to New York, medications.

All that to say, if you have the ability to help out with a donation, here’s my GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/10f10730a . I didn’t want to have to, but I have to.

If you know me at all, you probably know I play music. Grinner, the band I moved to Chicago with who’s been on hiatus since 2008, is releasing our final record, The Trap, on vinyl for the first time. The 20th anniversary special edition has been remixed and remastered. It also includes two bonus tracks that we recorded during the Trap sessions. We’ll be selling it through our Bandcamp page (http://grinner.bandcamp.com) and launching the preorder on August 7, which is Bandcamp Friday — a day they waive their fees.

My bandmates have graciously offered to donate proceeds to the cancer fight, so please get your orders in early and often on 8/7/26. Limited to 250 copies.

And finally, I’ve been selected by the Rush Neuro-Oncology team to receive a Bravery Award at BrainUp’s annual 5k Walk/Run. BrainUp is a remarkable organization run by two parents who lost their daughter to brain cancer and resolved to spend the rest of their lives helping researchers, doctors, and patients in the Chicago area.

The annual run/walk is their big fundraiser for the year. While I need your help, I and thousands of other people need a cure. Please help our BrainUp team raise money for the cause here:

https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/BRAINUP/team/HeDontUseJelly

I believe this Bravery Award is the brain cancer version of being knighted, so you’re welcome to address me as “Sir Cully” come September 19. I’m not getting a big head about this (it’d just echo even more than it does now), I’ll still answer to Cully or Dude or Jagoff or whatever.

This here website is where I intend to share updates, anecdotes, and get more in depth about how we got here and where we’re going.

My Latest Posts

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• 7/14/26 – Progression (Ffffff#&@+@!)July 14, 2026
  Last week I went to New York City for what I thought was going to be another routine MRI and dose of SurVaxM. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In… Read more: 7/14/26 – Progression (Ffffff#&@+@!)
• Email update sent 9/22/25 (backstory)July 5, 2026
  The following is a moderately edited email I sent to work/colleagues on 9/22, the day before I got my diagnosis and discharge from the rehab hospital: Good morning! I wanted… Read more: Email update sent 9/22/25 (backstory)

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