Toronto firefighter back on the job after new drug slows incurable brain cancer [Video]

In December 2020, Steven Stefanidis, a 36-year-old firefighter from Toronto, was responding to a medical call when he blacked out and had a seizure.

After being assessed by first responders, he was taken to the hospital, where an MRI revealed a tumour. It was diagnosed as a Grade 2 IDH-mutant glioma, an incurable form of brain cancer.

It came as a complete shock, Stefanidis recounted to Global News.

“Here I was in my early 30s, living my best life with a dream job when I suddenly had a seizure. I can’t describe what it was like to be told that I had an incurable brain cancer,” he said.

“At first I was in shock and I wasn’t digesting the information because it’s heavy. But overall, the neurosurgeon that I met was very relaxed and confident and I trusted him and he put me in a good situation. I didn’t freak …