Bay Area widow honors husband who died of brain cancer, Moffitt patients with inspirational rock garden

Spreading hope and joy after loss

FOX 13’s Haley Hinds reports on a Bay Area widow who is honoring her husband who died of brain cancer with an inspirational rock garden at Moffitt Cancer in Tampa.

TAMPA, Fla. - When John Shadock was faced with a terminal brain tumor diagnosis, he and his wife leaned on each other, choosing to embrace hope over fear and joy over anger. That's not always easy to do when you're dealt an unfair hand.

And although John passed away last year, memories of the life he lived continue to spread that hope and joy to those who need it most.

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Big picture view:

Among the gray stones outside Moffitt Cancer Center's Magnolia Campus in Tampa are pops of color and words of hope.

"That one's my friend's from months ago," said Ali Shadock, scanning the assortment of rocks. "Little ones like 'I believe in you' and 'dream big.'"

Each one is meant for someone who could use a little encouragement.

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"I write little like one or two-word sayings on there just to give them a hopeful minute," Ali said.

The rock garden has grown to what it is today thanks to John and Ali Shadock.

The backstory:

In April 2019, John was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of brain cancer.

"Super healthy. He was 35 years old," said Ali. "The only symptom he had was headaches."

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They vowed to stay positive together, sharing their journey online with the motto, "Strong All Along."

"We're going to show people that we're tougher than cancer, and it messed with the wrong couple, and we're going to see what we can do with it, and we're going to be our positive, happy, loving selves," Ali said. "So, we just started bringing some more in and giving people hope and thinking it was a little thing we could do to make someone's day a little brighter."

By the numbers:

"Miracles do happen. They 100% do happen," John told FOX 13 last spring.

About 25,000 new GBM patients are diagnosed each year, given a timeline that's much too short – about 10 to 22 months, according to Moffitt.

"Instead of being scared of your diagnosis, just be courageous about it and know you're going to beat it," John said.

Dig deeper:

John was given just six months to a year. He fought courageously and lived life to the fullest for five and a half years, but he passed away last November.

"He's tough as nails, amazing, super quick with the wit, and he always carried that with him throughout his whole journey," Ali said. "Our doctors here at Moffitt, we wouldn't have gotten this far in our journey without them, for sure."

What they're saying:

Dr. Peter Forsyth, the chair of the Department of Neuro-Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center as well as one of John's doctors, said that while glioblastomas can be hard to predict, immunotherapy and clinical trials are giving hope for patients to live longer. That includes one known as CAR T therapy.

"You take out your immune cells from your arm and then just add this kind of homing device on the T-cell," Forsyth said. "The T-cells, the solvent, attacks and kills tumors. So, in theory with brain tumors, that is, there's not enough T-cells there or they're wandering around that. But if you put this homing device on them, they'll latch on to a protein on the GBM and hopefully kill that and leave the patient okay."

What's next:

While there's not yet a cure for glioblastoma, they're getting closer by the day.

"The science is extremely exciting," Forsyth said. "The technology's there. And so, we just need to keep working on these things to understand them better."

Events like the American Brain Tumor Association's Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K help raise critical funding for research. On March 29th, it returns to Tampa.

Local perspective:

John and Ali were there last year, and Ali will be back this year with a table full of rocks, ready to paint. She'll never stop advocating for him.

"I have one in my car that says "love" that John put there for me," Ali said. "So, he keeps it with me every day."

Where so many difficult battles are fought, John's legacy is a daily reminder to patients and their loved ones that they, too, can be "strong all along."

"A lot of people have messaged me, and it gets them through their appointment," Ali said. "I hope it just gives them something to know that somebody is thinking about them for the day. Give them that extra little, you know, 'I got this' kind of a thing."

What you can do:

The Breakthrough for Brain Tumors 5K is Saturday March 29 at Tampa's Al Lopez Park. The program starts at 9 a.m. and the run starts at 9:30 a.m. You can learn more by clicking here.

And if you'd like to visit the rock garden, you can find it next to the gold valet at Moffit's Magnolia Campus.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with Ali Shadock and Dr. Peter Forsyth, the chair of the Department of Neuro-Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. It also includes information from Moffitt Cancer Center and previous interview footage with John Shaddock.

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