Battling a recurring brain tumor since high school, 31-year-old Anthony Greco’s daily routine begins with opening the curtains and saying, ‘thank you.’
Greco first found out about his brain tumor as a freshman in high school and was re-diagnosed in college, causing him to miss a semester of school.
“You are faced with your mortality,” Greco said.
In his early twenties, Greco was treated in the pediatric floor, being one of the only adults in the space, he became friends with a fellow cancer patient, Adam.
During their friendship, Adam was re-diagnosed with cancer and had only two months to live. But he continued his work with Cycle for Survival, a rare cancer fundraising program of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was part of an indoor cycling team that raises money for cancer research.
Three days after that event, Adam was in hospice and died.
“That’s like the only time I’ve ever seen a superhero,” Greco said. “It was his last Saturday pretty much alive, and he was there.”
Since then, Greco has participated in the yearly Cycle for Survival event but takes it to the extreme. The indoor event is a four-hour cycling fundraiser that is typically done in teams to raise money for rare cancer research, but Greco doubles it and completes eight hours of cycling alone.
This year, the event will be held on March 8, 10 years after Adam’s death.
In June 2024, at 30 years old, the doctors found a brain tumor for the third time. But this time, Greco was told not to have surgery.
The tumor, which is on the frontal cortex, if removed, would cause a change in function, personality and speech.
“I feel like I’m living a philosophical nightmare where it’s like, I am okay, but I still get monitored as closely as possible,” he said.
While continuously faced with the mortality of death, Greco takes health and physique seriously, as it became about taking control over his body.
So much so that the day before a 10-hour brain surgery, Greco did 1,000 push-ups, 1,000 sit-ups and 100 pull-ups.
“It did become about control over my body, you know, just because there’s so much I can’t control,” he said.
Working out with his dad as a kid, Greco continues to move and push himself as much as he can to feel as though he is at his healthiest.
“When I’m at the gym, I try and do the same workouts I did last week, and I think that’s just to prove to myself that I’m as healthy as I am,” he said.
Greco, who works in sales for Pepsi, is also a stand-up comedian, calling his shows ‘tumor humor.’ Performing around the city, he brings dark humor into the room, allowing people to hear his story.
“I just feel like I have a story to put out there and stand up is kind of the lowest barrier to entry,” he said.
Greco also hosts fundraisers during his comedy shows to raise money for cancer research.
This Sunday, he will be participating in the 20th anniversary of Cycle for Survival in Woodbury, Long Island, but continues to search for others who will double the challenge and cycle alongside him for eight hours.
