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Chris Sanderson was on the Wings bench immediately following cancer treatment

This column, written by freelance reporter Joe Santoliquito, appears in the March issue of Inside Lacrosse Magazine. To see this issue’s table of contents, visit InsideLacrosse.com/current-issue

There’s a nasty jagged scar running down the left side of Chris Sanderson’s head. It’s the reason he wears a protective helmet behind the Philadelphia Wings’ bench.

It causes a few stares in public, but the long mark that required 64 staples to close is a source of fun and entertainment for his little girls, Stevie and Clementine.

The 34-year-old Sanderson clutches these little pieces of life more firmly than ever these days; he was diagnosed with a grade IV glioma (a malignant brain tumor known as Glioblastoma multiforme) and underwent brain surgery in December.

Glioblastoma multiforme is life threatening in almost all cases. It’s been life enlightening in his.

The ’98 Virginia graduate, three-time Team Canada goalie (gold medalist in ’06) and fifth-year Wings assistant coach is completely throwing himself into battling this disease.

That’s typical Sanderson, who’s received support from his immediate family and extended lacrosse family. With an infectiously positive persona and sharp wit, he’s finding he has courage and determination beyond anything he could have fathomed a year ago.

Sanderson doesn’t want to hear about time frames; he counts days by experiences. An indefatigable quality has surfaced, like facing blazing hard rubber balls in a goalie’s crease. The mundane, everyday chore of living means everything to him.

“I want to be that 1 percent who beats it,” Sanderson says. “From the beginning, whether it was a doctor, my wife, my family, I don’t want to hear about numbers. It makes it a lot easier [for everyone] to handle. The only numbers we hear is that I’m 34 and in great shape and my functionality is unbelievable.

“I want to create a profile of someone who will outlive this. People look at my situation and think I should be angry at the world. Not being with my daughters, my wife — that bothers me. The end doesn’t bother me for some reason. I don’t know what it is.”

Beating odds isn’t new to the Sandersons; his younger brother Dustin was paralyzed during a box lacrosse game in 2001, suffering severe spinal injuries that rendered him a quadriplegic. Doctors said he’d be in a wheelchair the rest of his life; he made remarkable strides in just six weeks and is now walking in a limited capacity.

“I lived through a miracle,” Chris says. “My wife and I stayed with my brother when he went through that. You see him today and he’s walking and functioning. I’ve seen someone beat the odds and the prognosis. I have my wife and my girls. The time with them means everything. To be 34 … I realize what I have is a gift.”

And caring, committed people surrounding him. His wife Brogann, his brothers Ryan and Dustin, and his brother-in-law, Mark Tassie. Wings’ coach Dave Huntley, Princeton coach Bill Tierney and Virginia coach Dom Starsia. And the patience and support of doctors Allan (who performed an awake craniotomy on Dec. 22, 2008 at Duke University Hospital) and Henry Friedman and Dr. Peter C. Phillips at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

But mostly it’s been Chris.

“Chris’s attitude has been extraordinary,” says Dr. Henry Friedman. “Chris has what’s thought by many to be incurable. We’ve had patients live 12 years with treatment, but that’s the minority. With surgery and novel interventions, who knows what’s ahead. Chris has the right attitude to beat this thing. You go through different emotional states when facing something like this. I give him all the credit in the world.”

“You see the way Chris handles it, how upbeat he is, and I asked myself why [I’m] acting like a baby; his positive attitude and strength made me stronger,” Huntley says. “The players all find Chris inspirational, but everyone makes sure [not to] treat him in a certain way. Chris wouldn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. It’s really important everyone treats him the same [as always]. The guy this affects the most has been a source of strength for everyone.”

Sanderson was back with the Wings two weeks after surgery, and appeared for the Wings’ shootaround in Rochester, N.Y. Jan. 9, prior to Philadelphia’s second game (he was only missing from the bench for Philly’s season opener).

Nothing major’s really changed, outside the five days a week of radiation and chemo. There are no limitations placed on him, and he isn’t about to let anything inhibit him.

Sanderson’s uncomfortable when he hears he’s an inspiration. He struggles to speak after radiation treatments; he struggles to find the energy to play with his girls.

He goes about his business, keeping the same routine — coaching the Wings, running his Fighting Beavers Lacrosse Club and his retail store, True North Lacrosse.

“If I’m inspirational to someone [in] what I was doing three weeks after surgery, that’s great, but right now I don’t feel it,” Sanderson said in mid-January. “I feel pretty good; I know the radiation will wear me down. So far, so good. I have peace with how I’d live the rest of my life, and how I want to live my life.”

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