Former Sun-Times Critic Pat Bruno Battles Brain Cancer

As if the news of his dismissal last month from the Sun-Times wasn't shocking enough, today we learn (via Robert Feder at Time Out Chicago) that food critic Pat Bruno has been battling brain cancer. The writer, who penned a lengthy recount of the struggle in the Washington Post, was diagnosed in 2009 after suffering a seizure and awoke at Northwestern Memorial Hospital post surgery with staples in his head.

Bruno has stage IV Glioblastoma multiforme, a rare form of brain cancer that only affects two to three people per 100,000 and is more common in men. He said it's possible he contracted the disease after eating something "virus infected." Ironic, no?

He talks about the side effects from treatment; how he learned to make pot brownies and found the Betty Crocker chewy fudge mix worked great; and how he is determined to finish his memoir, knowing that his disease isn't curable and it's only a matter of time. And instead of thinking he was hit with bad luck, Bruno looks over his life at all of his experiences and instead said, "Bad luck? I hardly think so." He battles on.
· Food Critic Reviews His Ordeal with Brain Cancer
· Brain Cancer at Age 77 Doesn’t Stop Writer From Going on With a Good Life [WaPo]