Ep 15 | March 11, 2026 | 19 mins

The conversation revolves around Melissa Schladt's experience with her partner Greg's diagnosis of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. It details the shocking moment of diagnosis and the emotional turmoil that followed, highlighting the stark contrast between their previous life and the sudden health crisis they faced.

Greg was diagnosed back in May of 2023 with glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma is a very horrid and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Greg and Melissa were living the dream before the diagnosis.
One day he came home from a jog and showed signs of a stroke.
Melissa just knew something was horribly not right.
They took him to the ER immediately.
The ER doctor informed them he had two masses on his brain.
This diagnosis changed their lives dramatically.
Greg was very involved with the creation of Team Schladt Foundation.

Resources
Check out a list of the most common medical terms relating to the brain tumor experience: rewired-minds.com/terms
Connect with brain tumor organizations here: https://www.rewired-minds.com/braintumorresources

Connect with Rewired Minds
Website: rewired-minds.com
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Instagram: @rewiredmindspod
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Connect with Team Schladt Foundation
Website: https://teamschladtfoundation.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Team-Schladt-Foundation/61561033456047/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamschladtfoundation/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-schladt-foundation

Be a Guest
Interested in being a guest on a future episode? Visit rewired-minds.com/guest for more information and to submit your request.

Disclaimer
The stories shared here are personal accounts from the brain tumor community for informational and awareness purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Always consult with qualified healthcare professionals regarding your specific situation. Most importantly, take care of yourself as you listen and process.

Transcript
Bri (00:06)
I'm Bri Salsman, a brain tumor survivor and identity integration coach, and you're listening to Rewired Minds, a podcast that shares brain tumor stories that change us. Sometimes guests use medical terminology, so I've partnered with Northwestern Medicine Malnati Brain Tumor Institute to provide definitions of common terms. You can find the full list in the show notes. Most importantly, take care of yourself as you listen and process.

Bri (00:30)
Today, we're spotlighting the Team Schladt Foundation. Joining me to share more is Melissa Schladt, who is the current president. Welcome, Melissa. How are you today?

Melissa Schladt (00:39)
I'm doing very well, Bri. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to join your podcast and tell our story.

Bri (00:45)
Yeah, absolutely. I'm so glad that we got connected. I found out about you through Northwestern Medicine. But let's back up before I get ahead of myself. I know you have quite a personal connection that kind of Team Schladt Foundation. I'd love to hear a little bit about where it all started.

Melissa Schladt (01:03)
Sure! You mentioned I'm president of Team Schladt Foundation, but I'm also the spouse and a previous caregiver for my husband, Greg. He was diagnosed back in May of 2023 with glioblastoma, which I think most people know in this community is a very horrid and aggressive form of brain cancer.

Greg and I were living the dream. We've got two daughters, Emily and Olivia. We were both able to retire by 2021. And we started, like I said, kind of living the dream as empty nesters. Our daughters were in college and we really felt that we were in great health.

He was out for a jog one day and literally came home and we thought he had had a stroke. He had some signs of droopy face and some drooling and other things. And I just knew something was horribly not right. Took him to the ER and unfortunately, while all the scans relative to his carotid and everything else that they would look at as a potential stroke all looked great, you know, the ER doctor had to come in and inform us that he had two masses on his brain. And that date was May 24th of 2023. And it really began the journey for us of a very, difficult diagnosis to hear basically at a left field.

He wanted to throw everything in the kitchen sink at this disease and he survived almost 16 months. He went through your typical standard of care with a craniotomy and radiation and temozolomide. And we had the second round of temozolomide and he eventually wore Optune. He eventually had a reoccurrence, a second craniotomy. He was on a clinical trial, the SonoCloud-9 trial. Really interesting technology that uses ultrasonic energy to open the blood brain barrier. And it did help Greg. I believe… we have no regrets. Any of these things I believe served a purpose to help extend his life. And, you know, if you have a strong team around you, I, we put him in a position to succeed and battle this cancer. And like I said, I don't have any regrets about the things that, the therapies that he pursued.

We had a strong team at Northwestern University, as you mentioned, the Malnati Brain Tumor Institute. But as things were becoming more difficult for him. Again, I would say he displaced that inspiration and said, we've got to make it better for others.

Bri (03:32)
At what point in this journey did the idea of Team Schladt Foundation come into the picture?

Melissa Schladt (03:40)
I would say almost a year into his battle, the outcome was looking more grim. It wasn't looking as positive as previous. We started thinking based on our own experience, right? There's a little bit of a limitation for access to support groups. I mean, we're in a, in a type of cancer that isn't nearly as prevalent as other cancers, like breast cancer. And so just the overall awareness of brain cancer and specifically glioblastoma was very limited.

We were with a great team at Northwestern, but outside of that, we thought for the average person, the community support seemed to be a little lacking. We felt like there could be more. Obviously the education, the awareness, all these things could be improved and absolutely the fact that there was no cure.

I worked in the medical industry all my life in, in both medical devices and pharmaceuticals. And, you know, I just couldn't accept that there was no cure and neither could he. And so we, we really wanted to try to put our best foot forward and create hope for others, give strength while they're fighting a good fight and create hope for a cure.

You know we're just regular people. I did not, I worked all my life. I said that we had retired. We worked for large companies. We never ran a company ourselves. We reached out to attorneys. I would say anyone that's got a vision, you know, to do something like this, just regular people can do it. You put yourself in contact with the right people. And we were able to put the wheels in motion. We actually pulled the, what would I would call, the incorporation of our foundation. We were able to complete that in about two months.

Bri (05:20)
Wow, that's impressive. So you did this while Greg was still alive then.

Melissa Schladt (05:22)
We sure did. We officially say the founder of this organization is Gre, which is absolutely a true statement. It was his vision. He created the original logo. He helped me create some of the first governance documents and, you know, kind of how we would be structured. And then he did reside on the initial board, but we did not give him an officer position based on where he was in his health journey at that time. But he did participate for a few months. He had lost his battle later in the fall in 2024.

You know, I'm trying to say this message because sometimes that could seem really daunting to someone like, wow, you know, create your own public charity. You know, your mission is important. But wow, could I really do that? And I mean, it's not as difficult as one might think. Takes a little bit of time, but we were able to incorporate it while he was still with us.

Bri (06:18)
Talk about a legacy. That's really, really amazing. And that he was able to be part of the inception. Really, really profound. What have been some of the things that you all have been able to accomplish since you originally launched?

Melissa Schladt (06:34)
There's a lot of organizations that are focused on raising funds to contribute to research, right, to try to help find a cure. And that is one of the pillars that our foundation stands upon as well. The problem with that is that, as we all know, the drug discovery process and the clinical trials and all the different steps, even in this case where the FDA can do some fast tracking of things because glioblastoma patients don't have many options for treatment, things can be fast tracked, but it still takes time.

And so those who are diagnosed today, the likelihood that they would be around and still living, right, to be able to take advantage of some of those solutions and those therapies is low. So not only did we want to raise money to support research, but our other pillars were really to spread awareness and try to have people better understand brain tumors as a whole and brain cancer, the overall community, but then also to try to give back to the individual warriors, like on a more daily basis.

We created some programs that fund support groups at cancer centers in the Chicagoland area. So we partnered with the Cancer Wellness Center, which is in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It was the August, September timeframe, we launched that. And so that is an in-person group that meets once a month. The proctor of that is a clinician and they allow conversations about whatever the brain tumor, either patients or caregivers, want to talk about and to try to help provide inspiration and seek solutions where they might have questions. So we've been able to fund that.

We funded some other wellness programming in general through the Cancer Wellness Center. We also have done two grant contributions in 2025 to not only Northwestern's Brain Tumor Institute, they just assigned two $10,000 grants to particular research trials that relate to a glioblastoma cure.

We also funded money at the American Brain Tumor Association. We gave them monies to fuel some research in the area of translational research for tumors.

The last thing that we did, which is, I think, probably the most novel for us… When Greg had his diagnosis and everything is happening so fast, it can be the case that you're at the hospital and they basically say, we're going to admit you and you need to have a craniotomy.

So we decided that we wanted to put together what we call a Warrior Wellness Bag. I can't change the diagnosis for someone, but we tried to put together a bag that would give them some support, both emotionally, educationally, physically, and even to a certain extent financially.

As we all know, you're attending a lot of appointments, so just a canvas tote is great to have to put all your stuff in. And then inside of that bag, for these newly diagnosed brain tumor patients, there's a very comfortable blanket to make them feel more at home in the hospital setting. Cancer patients are often cold, so obviously the blanket serves many purposes. It's got a whole mantra on there about being a warrior and it's very inspiring. We've got some cozy socks that similarly are inspirational for the wording that is printed on those.

We also have some educational materials that we were able to get through the American Brain Tumor Association. We've got a journal and a pen, as we all know. Your life becomes one of many doctors’ visits. And the journal allows you to keep clean notes of everything that you're learning and things that you need to do and tracking medicines and all those important things as a caregiver. And there's some other fun items in there too, like chapstick and gift card for expenses, maybe for a dinner for one evening for the family. So these Warrior Wellness Bags, we've now launched them at two hospitals in the Chicagoland area. We have a program running at UI Health and we have a program running at University of Chicago Hospital and we have commitments for a couple of other facilities. They've been giving these bags out, which is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It shows that there is a need, so that's good. The sad thing is that sometimes I get a phone call that they give a bag away the very next day.

Bri (10:53)
That's tough. I will say it's incredibly impressive how much you and the team have been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. There's so much that could be done and you have had so much impact. How did you decide these were the pillars that we are gonna focus in on in the midst of all the opportunity that's out there?

Melissa Schladt (11:21)
A lot of that goes back to conversations I had with Greg because it really is the diagnosis from left field. You're trucking along in life and all of a sudden it's a very significant event that occurs and it's not something that the doctor says, ‘well, we're going to have to do some therapy and you can recover from it.’

The morbidity rate is very high, so it's a very low prevalence, high morbidity. And so the often the next sentence is, get your affairs in order. It's happening to folks at a younger and younger age, historically hitting primarily males actually in their 70s and now to me I feel like it's happening a lot more around me. I know I'm sensitive to it. But Greg would have only turned 60 this year. So he was diagnosed in his late 50s.

And as far as the pillars go, we just really felt like we want to make sure that we're helping the warrior day-to-day because it's all those different treatments I mentioned. We really want the message to be that you are never alone. You have foundations like Team Schlatt and others, right, that are here to offer support, whether it be the bags or through education. I mean, that support group I described, that's just our first one. We hope to do one somewhere else and outside of Chicagoland.

To finish the answer, that funding the research is kind of, not to have a pun, but you know a no-brainer. But while that's happening, you know, these people are living day to day and they're caught in their journey right now. And we wanted to support that.

We have this warrior-centric focus as well. It was a priority for Greg and that's how it became a priority for the foundation.

Bri (12:57)
What is the future vision for Team Schladt Foundation?

Melissa Schladt (13:00)
Once you start something and you get some momentum, you just want it to keep going. So we have started the bag project. It's really been grassroots. Our strategic goal is to be at at least five facilities by the end of ‘26. We're already inside of our second hospital. I have a commitment from Rush Hospital in Chicago. That'll be facility number three, and that's gonna start in early 2026. And then we're talking to a few other facilities to help us achieve that goal of five by the end of next year. And of course we can grow from there in the future. And when it comes to funding clinical research, we were able to give away about $35,000 this year for grants. We want to continue to grow that number and be able to co-fund a clinical trial.

And then what we're working on now too, is we created a corporate sponsorship program. So we're hoping to seek corporate sponsors who also share our vision and will support us in some of these unique programs.

Bri (14:03)
Yeah, lots of opportunity for sure. And I imagine there are some folks who are hearing this and feeling really inspired and motivated to take action and want to support. If they do want to learn more about Team Schladt Foundation or donate or get involved, where should they go to find out more?

Melissa Schladt (14:22)
Yeah, thank you for that question. You can find us online at teamschladtfoundation.org. That's our website. We also have a presence on social media. We have a LinkedIn account. We have a Facebook and an Instagram account. So those are some of the places that you can find information about us.

Additionally, we have some local events. They tend to be in the Chicagoland area right now. We sponsor Dine to Donates locally at various restaurants. Our major fundraiser in both ‘24 and 2025 have been connected to the Cubs for a Cure event, which is a baseball game that Stand Up to Cancer and other cancer-based organizations support. And the Chicago Cubs support that as well in the summer. But we've blown that up, I'll say, into an event that allows people to spread awareness, come together, hear more about the journeys of brain cancer and have the opportunity to support research.

These Warrior Wellness Bags, you can actually sponsor an individual bag, put together a personalized note that the warrior would be able to read when they were given the bag. So it's a lot of opportunities for people to have a personal connection to what this cause is about. Giving money is a wonderful thing and it goes to a great place. You know, sometimes people are looking to really just make a different type of connection with their donation.

Bri (15:47)
Absolutely. I love the intentionality in every program, every initiative, every pillar that you all are using as the framework for moving forward. And I will certainly include your website, your social handles, that you just mentioned in the show notes for those who want to get connected and want to get involved and support Team Schladt Foundation.

Melissa, I've got one more question for you. I'm curious how doing this work has rewired your mind about what's possible for the brain tumor community.

Melissa Schladt (16:22)
It's rewired my brain and my mind in a positive way. I mentioned way back at the beginning of this discussion that I am a surviving wife of someone who died of a brain tumor. And, there's a lot of things about just emotionally moving forward. And I find this to be very rewarding as a former caregiver. Most people struggle to even say the word glioblastoma.

Bri (16:46)
It's a mouthful.

Melissa Schladt (16:49)
It's a mouthful. And, you know, the acronym is GBM. That's a lot easier to say, but I'm proud to be able to make that word roll off the tongue, if you will, for many more people across the US right now. We are really helping to spread awareness and also proving that when people come together, they can make good things happening. So my current outlook on this is very positive. I think nonprofits in the area of brain tumor research have a very big impact right now, so the creation of this has really left me with positive impression about what we can accomplish here in the upcoming years.

Bri (17:28)
I agree. The key piece to what you shared is doing it together. It's practically impossible for any one person to do it, but when we all join together towards this common goal, there's nothing we can't accomplish, that's for sure.

Melissa Schladt (17:44)
That's exactly right. And when someone's sitting home late at night dealing within their own journey, if they just can remember, they're not alone.

I really do appreciate that you're launching this podcast and thank you again very much for allowing me to come on and share our story.

Bri (17:59)
Yes. Well, and thank you for your generosity of your time. I'm excited to spread the word and help make connections so that we can do this together.

Bri (18:14)
Thank you for being part of the Rewired Minds community. Full show notes, resources, and a transcript for today's conversation can be found at rewired-minds.com.

If you or someone you know has a brain tumor story to share, I'd love to hear from you. Visit rewired-minds.com to learn more about collaborating on a future episode.

This podcast is a one woman labor of love. It's a true honor to bring it to your ears and facilitate connection among the brain tumor community. If this episode resonated with you, please rate, review, and share with someone who might need to hear it.

Bri (18:46)
The stories shared in this podcast are personal accounts from the brain tumor community for informational and awareness purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Always consult with qualified healthcare professionals regarding your specific situation.