Physical education teacher Mike Franciscus instructs sixth-grader Meghan Patz on the proper golf club swing as part of the Golf in Schools event at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Edison on April 19. ERIC SUCAR staff David Bier isn’t supposed to be alive right now, let alone running a half-marathon this weekend.
The Milltown resident was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002, and doctors gave him two to five years to live.
This December will mark 10 years since Bier started beating the odds.
“I’m still here,” he said. “That’s the best part of it.”
But getting here hasn’t been easy.
After his brain surgery to remove the stage 3 cancer, Bier underwent radiation treatments. A few years later, when the tumor started to grow again, he began chemotherapy. He said he didn’t have the really bad side effects that people often hear about, but he still ran a 102-degree fever once a month for a year straight. He also suffered from severe constipation, another side effect, which led to his colon exploding in 2007.
The Bier family of Milltown includes David and Diane and their children, Blake, 17, Ryan, 15, and Sarah, 10. “It was a week before my wife and I were supposed to have a week alone in Hawaii,” he said. “That’s why I always buy travel insurance.”
As if that weren’t enough, because his brain tumor was located in the area where seizure activity takes place, Bier suffers partial seizures on a daily basis, leaving him unable to return to his career in computer science, for which he holds a master’s degree. “I’m Mr. Mom,” he said. “I take care of the kids and manage the household.” The couple has three kids — Blake, 17, Ryan, 15, and Sarah, 10. May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month, and onMay 6, Bier’s 26-member team of family and friends will run in the New Jersey Half Marathon in Long Branch for the Central New Jersey Brain Tumor Support Group.
It will be Bier’s fourth half marathon. Also participating will be his daughter Sarah, who completed the half marathon relay last year at age 9, and is believed to be the youngest participant in any of the New Jersey Marathon events.
David’s wife, Diane, is a national coordinator for another fundraiser, The Walk to End Brain Cancer.
“Her goal is to have a walk in every state in the country,” David Bier said. “I always told her I would personally supervise the walk in Hawaii.”
The couple and their children will be participating in the Walk to End Brain Cancer in New Egypt on May 5 and at Edison’s Roosevelt Park on May 19. For more information about the two walks, visit walktoendbraintumors.org.
With as much time as Bier and his wife dedicate to raising money and awareness for brain tumors, he spends surprisingly little time thinking about his own.
“My opinion is I have no time for brain tumors,” he said. “I have a wife and I have three kids to raise. I have other things to do.”