Positive Psychology and Brain Cancer | Game on Glio

SEASON 3 Ep 9: “My Journey into Positive Psychology After Brain Cancer” Guest Chris Baccash

Being a professional cyclist with an optimistic disposition and an adventurous spirit comes in handy when, after having a seizure at work and waking up in a hospital, you eventually learn that you have a cancerous brain tumor.

This happened to Chris Baccash in December 2019 when he was just 27 years old. It turned out that he had a diffuse astrocytoma — a slow-growing malignant brain tumor. The recommended course of action: two surgeries, three weeks apart.

At the time of his diagnosis, Chris had a full time analytics job and spent his weekends racing and training with the Doylestown Bike Works elite cycling team. His accomplishments included the hardest event of the season — the 50-mile Bucks County Classic, in his hometown of Doylestown, PA, with a personal-best time. Of cycling at the time, Chris says, “When else do you get to ride through a beautiful countryside, side by side with a good friend, and have an uninterrupted conversation for five hours?”

After being diagnosed with brain cancer, his perspective on what was important in life changed, “I knew that my situation was going to take a while to get corrected and I would have a chance to reprioritize,” he said. “It’s rare that we get these opportunities to pause and stop the show. I thought, ‘This is an opportunity to change my life.'”

And that is what he did. Hear Chris’s remarkable story and what he is doing today only on The Game On Glio Podcast.

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