The Founder

In April 2003, Tony was diagnosed with a Grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer. He was given as little as two years to live. An active adventure racer, sporting event organizer, and cyclist, Tony drew from his love of the outdoor active lifestyle and the athletic community and decided to treat his disease as an adventure race. Tony says, “I quickly realized that I wanted to embrace the gift of living everyday and not let a disease or its symptoms impact the integrity of my spirit and ability to focus on living well and pursuing future goals.”

Tony credits his survival to The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. He had five surgeries, two years of radiation, four years of chemotherapy, and several experimental treatments. Tony believes he’s cancer free because of the tremendous medical team at Duke, wonderful support of family and friends, and support, knowledge, and sharing of experiences from other cancer survivors.

Tony has dedicated his life to raising awareness for cancer research, cancer support and to inspire people to live their lives to the fullest. In 2007, he walked across Florida to raise funds and awareness for the need for more wellness programs to assist those diagnosed with cancer. That wasn’t enough for Tony; he wanted to do more. So, in 2009, he laced up his shoes and walked from Durham, N.C. to Sarasota, FL logging over 800 miles in 43 days. Along his journey, Tony collected $24,000, which he donated to Duke to fund brain cancer research. Darell Bigner, MD, PhD, Director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center said of Tony, “The dedication of people like Tony is amazing. With donations like his, we are able to research new therapies that will enable patients to live longer with a better quality of life.”

Tony’s dream was to start a foundation that focuses on providing cancer patients the support and resources they need to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally engaged during their journey with cancer. This dream became a reality in September of 2010 when Team Tony Foundation was launched.