Dan Brown Dan Brown NJ Journey

My name is Dan Brown and I live in New Jersey with my wife Amanda and our dog Keely.  I am a Systems Engineer working for a great company, Dell EMC.  I am a brother to four sisters and one brother, an uncle to six nephews and three nieces, and a great-uncle to two nephews.  I am a dedicated road cyclist, avid walker/hiker, amateur landscaper/gardener, devoted dog dad, and frequent traveler for pleasure.  I love the great outdoors.  One of my life list items is to visit all 59 US national parks.  I'm up to 22 at last count.

Until recently I was cruising through life.  Wonderful wife and home life.  Great career.  Near perfect health.  Preparing to turn the big 5-0.  My odyssey started with a back injury around Thanksgiving that was slow to heal.  Hmm... almost 50 so I don't bounce back as quickly as I use to.  Off to see the chiropractor.  That's not helping.  What else can we look at here?  Back to see my GP.  A few rounds of blood tests, some waiting in between.  Some of my blood tests are off. Better see a urologist.  A few more tests, followed by a biopsy.  Diagnosis came in early April.  Prostate cancer that has already spread into other parts of my body.  Not catching this thing as early as one would hope.  That means this can't be fixed with a surgery or a few quick treatments.  It has to be "managed" over a longer period of time.

I am already receiving excellent care at Robert Wood Johnson Cancer Institute of NJ.  I don't plan to share many medical details here.  That is not what my site is all about.  Yes I want family and friends to know how I'm doing from a health perspective, but more importantly, I want them (and you) to know about my inner and outer life as I go through this journey.  This is all new for me.  My personality type is introvert and I don't normally "put myself out there" beyond my inner circle.  However at 50 I suddenly find myself growing in new ways which are a direct result of my new journey and I think there may be some benefit in sharing that with others.  So here it goes! I'm launching this site and we'll see where it takes me.  Thanks for checking it out and I look forward to hearing from you!