Tom Tucker – Bio

I was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada in 1973. My parents, my older brother and I lived in several other parts of southern Alberta before settling in Calgary when I was 5 years old.

My next twelve years in Calgary were focused on school and ice hockey. In 1990 I graduated high school and immediately enrolled in the University of Calgary. I spent one year at the University of Calgary and played hockey as an underage for the Calgary Canucks, in the local junior league. I had a good season and generated interest from a number of US universities. So the next academic year I left Calgary to move to Princeton, New Jersey.

At Princeton I studied economics and played NCAA Division One hockey for 3 years. My hockey experience at Princeton was not exactly what I wanted, so in my senior year I decided to play rugby instead. On hindsight maybe my decision to play rugby indicated some of the places I planned to live in the future. Also at Princeton my career aspirations began to develop.

I decided that my career aspiration was to own and operate my own business. However when I graduated in 1995, I was 22 years old and was not too presumptuous on my career experience. As such, I moved to New York and worked in investment banking to develop my skills. I stayed in investment banking for 4 years splitting my time between New York and Houston and enjoying a ‘boom’ time in the industry. The time in investment banking was a great experience, but no doubt at a cost. On average my peer group at the investment banks worked 6-7 days a week and going home on Monday to Friday prior to 10pm was considered a win. This was a big lifestyle cost, but like many tough experiences opened a number of doors.

In 1999, I decided to leave investment banking and revisit my initial career aspirations. As a result I moved to Australia and began working in the developing private equity investment market. In 2001, I spent a year in London working with a strategic partner of the Australian private equity fund I had joined. Following my return to Australia I started a new private equity fund with a group of individuals.

Now has this been a solo effort? Not a chance. I have many close friends, a inspirational extended family and a very strong partner, Kim. Kim and I went to high school together and started dating in the late 1980s. Although for a significant portion of the 1990s we lived in different countries I have always relied on her strength and love. To date we have lived in three countries together and in 2002 we got married back in our home town, Calgary.

Kim went to the University of Calgary and University of Alberta to prepare for her first career as a dental hygienist. We moved in together in Houston and she started preparation for her next career. Kim began studying psychology and is a registered psychologist. Kim’s studying coincided with several of our geographic moves and, as such, she has completed her masters in psychology across several universities, including University of Houston, University of London and Sydney University.

Kim and I started doing triathlon separately back in 1997, but our interest in the sport grew significantly when we moved to Sydney in 1999. We have competed in over 40 triathlons and since 1999 our focus has been on the half and full Ironman distance.

In 2003 I picked up my hockey stick again, probably in a country where as a child I would have never guessed this occurring. I began playing and more importantly coaching for the Canterbury Eagles ice hockey club in Sydney. I have always desired to be a coach. I can remember every single coach that I ever played for and would have difficulty repaying the personal development debt I owe to them.

In January 2004 after a number of scans I was informed that I had a tumour in my left temporal lobe. I also learned that the lapses in memory and associated symptoms were likely caused by seizures that were associated with the tumour.

So how does one react to such news? Embarrassingly I replied, “At least its not cancer.” Unfortunately, my neurologist sat in front of me with a perplexed look on his face and told me it was cancer. At that moment my life changed. I knew absolutely nothing about my diagnosis or what was next. I felt helpless. After a couple of deep breaths I started to ask some preliminary questions to better understand my options. Proudly I walked out of neurologist’s office with the mentality that was firmly planted in me as a child; my glass was and will continue to be half full. Nobody can take away one’s perspective.

The next step was to find a neurosurgeon and through referral and recommendation I met Dr Michael Besser. I immediately felt confident that Dr Besser was the right individual for me; he was willing to hear all my questions, laugh at my poor attempts to alleviate stress, and he was a triathlete. We began the process of scheduling a surgery date and some additional testing.

I had a challenge, perhaps this time more mental than physical, which needed to be addressed prior to my surgery- Ironman New Zealand. The race was 2 weeks after my first grand mal seizure. Needless to say my confidence was a little shook up. Nevertheless, Kim and I headed down to Taupo for the race. For both of us it was a tough day, a combination of conditions and no doubt stress. However when I crossed that finish line I was ready for the next challenge- surgery.

On 25 March 2004 I had a “small apple” removed from my left temporal lobe, which represented approximately 80% of the tumour. In addition, the pathology report indicated the tumour was predominantly a grade 2 astrocytoma. The pathology report also noted that there were two other types of tumours; oligodendroglioma and ganglioglioma. This information clarified the diagnosis I had heard over the previous three months, but also reinforced that I most likely had the tumour since I was a teenager.

I attempted not to think about the tumour until the first post operative check up, however it was hard to prevent my subconscious pondering the means in which I could be proactive. As one can imagine, this prompted many conversations between Kim and I. These included discussions around our new perspective and approach to life, which had been developing post knowledge of my tumour. In December 2004, we caught up with Dr Besser to hear the update on my remaining tumour. Fortunately the results did not show any significant changes.

At that time I decided that I needed to begin investing my time to help not only myself but others with their brain tumours. As a result, I decided to start T4T. The objective was to work with other charities to raise awareness and money through the sponsorship of myself competing in Ironman races. Any funds raised will be donated to appropriate organisations for research to help find a cure to brain tumours.

How long will T4T last? To be honest it will depend on a number of factors, such as children and my health. What do I hope T4T can achieve? I would ideally love to assist funding research in order to find a cure for brain tumours. Being realistic, I think that it will be unlikely that this cure will necessarily occur in my lifetime; however the glass is half full. Regardless, I hope the fundraising will help children, teenagers, young adults and the elderly enjoy a little more time.

Click here to donate to the My page at the Tour of Courage site.