Burton Snowboard Founder and CEO Jake Burton told his employees in a Jan. 19 e-mail that he appears to have beaten testicular cancer.
“To: All Burton
Re: … and finally some good news
It appears that my cancer is toast. It’s scans and observation from here forward. There is still the possibility of surgery or some radiation down the road, but it will be clean-up in nature and I’m not too stressed about it. As my oncologist Steven Ades said, “Jake, you get your diploma”.
As I transition from being a patient to being a survivor, I move on with enormous respect for both cancer (‘The Emperor of Diseases’) and chemotherapy (how can something so beneficial be so simultaneously harmful).
I have also grown to appreciate those around me more than ever. From my soul mate Donna (I can’t even start) to my three boys: George came home from a semester off in Chile to help out for 3 months (he left as one of my best friends) and Timi and Taylor who went out of their way on a valuable vacation powder day to spend my last day of chemo with me passing out cupcakes to the whole clinic. Our extended families and friends also went out of their way to do anything possible to make life easier for us.
The Burton family and the entire board sports industry could not have been cooler about the whole ordeal. Burton has so much momentum I wonder if they really need me. The Senior Management Team stepped up to the plate big time. Assistants Harriet, Roberta and Katie ran my life without me. I owe so many people so much.
Looking ahead I am pretty much broken. While I am on the mend, I have a lot of healing to do. I take great pride and happiness in my ability to ride 100 days a year and surf a bunch too. I am so far from that level right now it’s embarrassing, but when I look at role models like Lance Armstrong, I know I have no excuses.
See you on the hill, in the water or at some trade show somewhere.
Jake”
