Steven was diagnosed with Lymphoma approximately 15 months ago and was undergoing various treatments including chemo and bone marrow transplants.  He lost his battle this month after a courageous fight.  Here is his story from his Caring Bridge site:



In February of 2011 I was diagnosed with Lymphoma. It was clear from the pathology that the best way to treat the disease was a bone marrow transplant. The idea was that I would have 6 rounds of chemo to kill all of the cancer in my body, extract healthy stem cells, then put me in the hospital at Stanford, kill my immune system and then put the stem cells back into my body where they would eventually grow a completely new healthy immune system.The transplant took place in September 2011 and it wasn't long before I was feeling OK, weak but OK. Unfortunately our optimism was short lived. We found out shortly after the first transplant that the lymphoma never went away and that a donor transplant would be necessary.The idea behind this one is that after chemo, donor stem cells are infused into my body where they fight with my own compromised cells, take over and create a new healthy immune system. Weird science.



Since we have not been able to find an obituary, if you would like to read more on his Caring Bridge site, his journal and the outpouring of support for him and his family, here is the link:



http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/stevenbalick