About
the Project
Here are three facts that will get you up to speed quickly.
My name is Steve Mazan. I am a stand-up comedian. I have
been diagnosed with cancer.
Those are the facts, below the photos is the story.
For
five years I was making a small but fulfilling living doing
the thing I loved: making people laugh. I’m in my
30’s and have had a clean bill of health on every
physical I took. Out of nowhere I experienced some terrible
pains in my abdomen that eventually lead to a diagnosis of
cancer in my liver and intestines. Surgeons removed 12
inches of my intestines, but were unable to treat the
tumors on my liver. At this point in time there is no cure
for the cancer in my liver. Our hope is that a cure or
treatment will soon be found. Doctors told me that
worst-case scenario, I have five years to live.
Surreal is the only word to describe my state upon hearing
this news. I’ve always tried to be an optimist, but
there seemed to be no upside to this news. As the shock
started to wear off, and my mortality set in for the first
time, I started analyzing my life. It was pretty good. I
had already been living my dream. I had a loving family, an
incredible woman, and what I considered the best friends in
the world. But now I had to wonder if I had time to reach
all the goals I had set for myself. This scared me the
most. That the biggest obstacle in my way was one I never
considered: time.
I struggled on how to handle this.
It was my girlfriend (now wife), Denise, who asked me what
the biggest dream I had left was. Almost before she
finished her sentence I said, “To perform on David
Letterman.” I had always planned on being on
Letterman someday, but now I felt a deadline. My girlfriend
smiled and said that is where all my effort should be put:
into getting a spot on Letterman.
So that’s what I’ve decided to do. I’m
pulling out all the stops, calling in all my favors, and
harassing anyone who will listen to try and get a spot on
Dave’s show. I’m also documenting all my
efforts with a film crew. I’m hoping that the
documentary will show a side of the disease not usually
shown: someone living
with cancer, rather than dying from
it. I am
also planning on donating all my proceeds from the film to
a cancer fund I created called
LaughStrong (inspired
by Lance Armstrong’s foundation).
I hope my journey will inspire others, and remind anyone
faced with their darkest hour that it is then, more than
ever, that your dreams matter.
Please visit our blog to
see how we
are
progressing. I say we,
meaning me, my wife, my friends and YOU. Yes, I even need
YOUR help. In fact, I probably won’t make it without
your assistance. Please take a second and drop a line to
The Late Show With David Letterman.
Give them your own personal plea, or just give them the
short message, “Book Mazan!”
(Click Here to send Dave and the show a
message)
Thanks so much! And please refer others to our website!
