A Family Affair: Supporting Cancer Research
How the Goldstrom Family Supported Cancer Research in Honor of Seth’s Cancer Journey
There are moments in a person’s life where everything seems to stand still. For Seth Goldstrom, one of those moments came in May 2024.
Seth had an elective full-body scan to evaluate his health. Ten days after the scan, he received a call from the medical team saying that the results indicated something serious, and to follow up with his doctor immediately.
He was able to get in quickly with an oncologist friend who confirmed he likely had kidney cancer.
“I had no symptoms whatsoever,” Seth said. “It was a scary thing at the time, but fortunately it was caught pretty early.”
Seth successfully underwent surgery to remove part of the kidney less than a month after diagnosis. He’s currently on maintenance scans every six months, with the hope of reducing to annual scans soon.
Running the TCS New York City Marathon with Team V
While recovering, Seth asked his oncologist what he could do to limit the odds of reoccurrence, and the recommendation was to reach a lower body weight and maintain a healthy BMI. Around the same time, Seth saw highlights of the New York City Marathon on social media. That marathon is a special race for him as he ran it with his wife, Julie, when they were newlyweds.
The Goldstrom family grew up doing local family fun runs and 5K races, but with this new motivation, Seth, Julie and their oldest daughter Reilly signed up for the 2025 New York City Marathon.
“It’s been really cool to watch the marathon journey,” Reilly said. “It was always something I wanted to do, so it was very special to get to do it as a family for my first marathon.”
Following their decision to run, they wanted to make a difference by fundraising for a cause they believed in. That’s when they found Team V, the official endurance training program of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
“I wanted to work with an organization that was cancer focused,” Seth said. “I followed Coach Jim Valvano as a child; he was an icon in the Southeast. I knew of him, I knew of the charity but I didn’t know all the specifics. Then the more we read, the more we got excited to say this is a good fit for us.”
The Importance of Cancer Research
The V Foundation funds game-changing cancer research and all-star scientists to accelerate Victory Over Cancer® and save lives. Cancer research is crucial in developing more effective and less toxic options for patients.
As a pre-med student, Reilly has seen the results of cancer research firsthand.
“I have experienced a little bit of cancer research and the medical side of it,” Reilly said. “So, to get to see how NGOs (non-government organizations) contribute to science and helping cancer funding is incredible.”
While research has been successful, the need for more research remains great as nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer throughout their lifetimes.
“Seth’s oncologist at Dana-Farber talked about the research on the horizon,” Julie said. “These medical facilities and institutions aren’t getting enough money. The opportunities for funding are endless. He talked about all the different paths they can explore just for kidney cancer, let alone every single kind of cancer. There are so many ideas scientists and medical researchers have; it’s just a matter of paying for it to be able to find the cure.”
“Eventually, there’ll be a cure for all forms of cancer,” Seth said. “You’re seeing that every day with the research and findings coming out that just weren’t there a couple years ago. That’s how I would define Victory Over Cancer® – that this becomes a disease that is curable for everyone, irrespective of the type.”
