There’s a saying in show business – the show must go on.
Regardless of what happens, be it technical difficulties, wardrobe malfunctions or the creator/writer/producer/actor of the show is diagnosed with brain cancer, the show continues as planned.
“It was surreal,” Todd Danielson said. “Here we are in rehearsals for the show, then five or six days after the show, I’m having brain surgery to remove a tumor.”
Talk about a plot twist.
Brain cancer survivor has always been at home on the stage
Danielson, 51, found his place in community theater in Steamboat Springs, Colo., nearly 20 years ago. He and his wife, Jennifer Hussey, had just had their first daughter, Harper.
“I got involved with Pirate Theatre,” said Danielson. “It was funny, silly stuff that we wrote ourselves that poked fun at people in town, where we live, the ski culture, current issues. It was less serious and a lot of fun.”
He ended up writing for Pirate Theatre for 10 years, producing nine full-length musical plays and packing a local ballroom for each performance. Because of the amount of intense work required for each show – each with a new script and musical score, Danielson and a friend tossed around the idea of a sketch comedy show in hopes of being able to pull together something more regularly.
Thus, the Super Fun Steamboat Show was born, a mix of Saturday Night Live and vaudeville that features sketch comedy, improv skits, a kazoo orchestra, costume contests, audience games and video shorts, as well as musical and dancing performances.
During preparations for the February 2017 show, which happened to feature a sketch to the Gloria Gaynor song, “I Will Survive,” Danielson’s life abruptly had its script rewritten.
The plot thickens: Brain cancer diagnosis both physical and emotional
Danielson had parked his car and was walking through the alley behind the Chief Theater in downtown Steamboat Springs to watch a series of one-act plays in which some friends were performing.
“Colors got really crisp for a minute, and the next thing I knew, someone was waking me up in an ambulance,” he recalled.
A friend came upon an unconscious Danielson and thinking he’d slipped and fallen on the ice, called 911.
“I was out with girlfriends when I got the call saying Todd was being taken to the emergency room,” said Hussey. “I actually beat the ambulance there. Todd was trying to shake it off, but thank goodness the paramedics were insistent on getting him to the ER to be checked out.”
Hussey said that Danielson didn’t have any bruises or scratches, or a bump on his head from falling.
“It never once entered our mind that it could have been something other than a fall, let alone a seizure,” she said.
Dr. Laila Powers, an emergency medicine physician at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, evaluated Danielson and ordered a CT.
“Dr. Powers came in, turned the monitor around and nothing needed to be said,” said Hussey. “There was a large mass in the right frontal lobe of his brain.”
“Everything was quiet for a little bit,” said Danielson. “First it was denial – ‘this has to be wrong.’ Then it was frightening as the uncertainty and reality of the situation set in.”
Danielson was admitted overnight and the next day, Dr. Brian Harrington, a family medicine physician in Steamboat Springs who was providing hospitalist coverage over the weekend, had the “what to expect” chat with Danielson, Hussey and their two girls, Harper and Finley.
“We had told the girls that Dad fell and had to stay overnight to make sure he was ok,” said Hussey. “Dr. Harrington recommended being honest with our daughters. But in our conversations, when the words ‘brain cancer’ and ‘brain tumor’ were said, Harper turned her back to all of us and started crying, and Finley repeated several times that she didn’t understand what all this meant.”
“I said, ‘Ok, this is what we have to do. What’s the next step?’” Danielson recalled. “There was nothing I could do about it. It was going to be what it was going to be. Whatever they say I need to do, I’ll do. I knew it was important for me to keep my same positive outlook regardless of what I was facing.”
Supporting cast: Ensuring the best treatment plan with a consistent health care team
Danielson was admitted to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus the next day for testing and was ultimately diagnosed with Grade II Oligodendroglioma, commonly referred to as brain cancer.
“I went into research mode and put out feelers to anyone who had ties to the medical field,” said Hussey. “With it being an academic hospital, I felt confident that they were up on the latest treatment technology and studies. That made me extremely comfortable with Todd being at UCHealth and with their neurology department.”
A neurosurgeon successfully resected the majority of the tumor.
Following surgery, Dr. Denise Damek, a neuro-oncologist, and Dr. Chad Rusthoven, a radiation oncologist, used a tag-team approach as Danielson went through seven weeks of daily chemotherapy and radiation. For the next year after that, it was five days of chemo followed by a 23-day break.
“We chose to stay with UCHealth and keep his team together,” said Hussey. “We were so pleased with everyone and didn’t want to shake things up. We were willing to continue making the three-hour drive and manage the logistics of Todd and I being in Denver during treatment while our kids remained in Steamboat with family and friends.”
“I knew as long as I survived brain surgery, I could manage the radiation and chemo,” said Danielson. “It became a thing I did every day for a while. It wore me down pretty good. I lost my hair, but it came back and it wasn’t gray anymore. But I don’t pass that around – I don’t recommend this as a treatment plan for gray hair.”
Tight-knit community helped him get through treatment for brain cancer
Danielson said each month of his 17-month treatment got a little easier instead of worse. It was during that time that he realized something.
“You think people care, and then you go through something like this and you really see and feel how much they care,” he said.
Take that February 2017 Super Fun Steamboat Show. It happened a week after Danielson was diagnosed and five days before he was scheduled for brain surgery. The cast and crew made it a free show and gave Danielson’s family the donations.
“We approached that show as, ‘Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.’ We were committed to doing the best show we could and if that was my last one, we would know we gave it our best shot,” said Danielson. “I was blown away by the support. The subsequent Super Fun Steamboat Show were free and donations benefitted a different local cause each show.”
During the March 2017 “STD” show to “Save Todd Danielson,” Danielson was roasted, along with cancer in general, from his vantage point in the front row of the audience. He returned to writing and being on stage in the next show.
“It’s funny, when we were in appointments before the surgery, Todd’s only question was, ‘Will I lose any of my creativity?’” said Hussey. “It’s who he is. Todd never wavered during any of this and continued to maintain a positive attitude. He never once asked about a prognosis because regardless of what was said, it wasn’t going to impact how he lives his life.”
Life with brain cancer: Sharing the stage
Photo 1 – Danielson played The Wiz in a local production of The Wiz. Photo 2 – Danielson with daughter Finley following The Wiz. Photo 3 – Danielson as Mother Ginger in The Nutcracker. Photos courtesy Jennifer Hussey.
Over the years, Danielson’s daughters found enjoyment in the arts as well. Harper, now 19, performed with a local dance studio, and Finley, now 17, gave acting a try in a community production and is now part of the high school dance team.
“When the dance studio did The Wiz, the girls and I performed together. That was really cool because it was kids and friends and the arts community all coming together,” said Danielson. “Harper, Finley and I have all performed in The Nutcracker, too.”
“The kids know they can’t contain Todd and his excitement and creativity,” said Hussey. “Watching them all perform together was really special.”
Celebrating each ‘brain-aversary’ and seizing the day
Danielson’s brain cancer is progression free, meaning it’s still there, but not advancing. Each Jan. 27, he celebrates his “brain-aversary.” He takes anti-seizure medication and will have MRIs and check-ins with his neuro-oncologist for the rest of his life. He’s also continuing his positive outlook on life.
“Physical and mental health are combined – you can’t have one without the other,” he said. I meditate every day and focus on three things I’m thankful for. Yoga is every Monday without question. And yes, I do prioritize skiing during the winter.”
For Danielson, brain cancer is something crazy that happened – “past tense, with an ‘-ed’ on the end.”
“It’s always going to be part of my story, but it seems more in the past now because I’m doing the things I love,” he said. “I was lucky to be surrounded by good doctors, and I continue to do what they tell me to do.”
“Gratitude is what kept us whole and on track,” said Hussey. “We are grateful for everything we have in spite of this hiccup, if you can call brain cancer a hiccup. We leaned on family and friends and asked for support when we needed it, and we were embraced with so much.”
“Adversity is part of life. You can run away and hide, or you can face it. How you deal with it matters,” said Danielson. “There were aspects of my story that weren’t fun, and I caught a few lucky breaks. I’m still here with my family, doing the things I love.”
This story was first published May 30, 2019.