KANSAS CITY, Mo — From the outside, orthopedic and spine surgeon Douglas Burton doesn’t look like he has terminal brain cancer.
The former orthopedic chair at the University of Kansas Health System still puts on his white coat, seeing patients two days a week.
“I feel like I am able to help people and that was what the plan was all along,” Burton said. “That’s what I wanted to do.”
Burton said he likely has months, not years, to live.
“Unless you get lucky, that’s the hope," he said. "That’s the big change now. Before, I never talked about hope; that was never the plan. Now, hope is a critical aspect of what we are doing, and it’s also allowed me and our family to focus on our gratitude.”
The Burtons have three kids. Their middle child had the idea to start a 5K team for the Head for the Cure, a nonprofit started in Kansas City after founder Matt Anthony lost his brother to brain cancer.
“Head for the Cure is the answer to the question of tell me what I can do to help," Burton said, "and it’s the simple words of 'show up.' When you show up for others, especially when it is unexpected, there’s no greater gift.”
More than two decades after their first race, Anthony said he’s proud of the hope and connections they’ve created through his brother’s idea for a local 5K.
Head for the Cure is now in 25 cities, partnering with some of the most innovative brain tumor centers, including the University of Kansas Health System, where Burton receives some of his treatments.
Burton said he is focused on living each day with hope, despite the low likelihood of seeing his children walk down the aisle or have kids of their own.
“I’m not going to spend the time I have left being sad,” Burton said. “My goal and what I’ve told my family is, we are not going to focus on what we haven’t had. We are not going to grieve things we’ve never had."
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