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Matthew Vogel Endowment

 

Matthew Vogel

Matthew Vogel Endowment for Cranial Base Tumor Research

The Matthew Vogel Endowment for Cranial Base Tumor Research was established in 1997 in memory of Matthew James Vogel who died August 12, 1997. Matthew was diagnosed with sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma in April 1996 and underwent cranial base surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatments at the University of Michigan Health System. Matthew was a sophomore at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he was pursuing a degree in chemistry. Prior to his diagnosis, he strongly considered using his love of chemistry and the sciences for the greater good – in the field of medicinal chemical research. Matthew fought his cancer with the utmost resolve, never once losing sight of his goal: to return to school and to use his talents to ensure that others would not have to experience his battle with cancer.

From Topeka, Kansas, Matthew graduated from Topeka High School in 1995, ranking second in his class of 375. He was a varsity athlete on the varsity soccer team, which finished second in the state. He also was elected to the National Honor Society and to Thespians. He was an Eagle Scout and enjoyed camping and outdoor activities. As one of 50 students in Kansas, he participated in the Kansas Regents Honors Academy in the summer of 1994. Matthew attended St. Olaf College as a Buntrock Presidential Scholar and was a member of the LEAD team, the Ultimate Frisbee Team and the Great Conversation Program.

Because cancer prevented Matthew from realizing his goals, he asked that the money he and his parents saved for his education be given to a research fund to better understand and treat cancers of the head.

Friends and family have added to this fund, and now friends of the Cranial Base Program also are giving their support. It is the hope of Matthew's family that the amount will continue to grow to give significant support to the research efforts underway through the Cranial Base Program at the University of Michigan.

What I've Been Told

People tell me I'm Strong
Tell me I'm Stubborn
They tell me that's why I'll beat this thing.
They ask me how I do it
How I make it through
How I deal with all the emotions
I wish I knew
I wish I could tell them all
I wish I knew I was going to beat this thing
I would bottle it.
I would give it away.
I would help everyone doing this too.
I want to help people
I want to ease suffering
I want to know how to do that in this world
I pray for the insight
I pray for my health
I pray to God for a more perfect world
One where everyone's happy
One where no one suffers
One where we all live peacefully together
But then that would be heaven
At least, that's what I'm told.

M.V.
6/30/96

  
Setting Sun

Blue sky slowly becomes pink.
I gaze out at the world,
Stretching seemingly forever.
As the burning orange sun slowly sets,
The hills and valleys my focus.
The haziness of dusk blurs them.
They soon become one,
A silhouette against the last vestiges of light.
It makes you feel so small.
And all at once part of something larger.
I pull a wool cap over my head.
The wind whips by, biting at my nose.
I wonder the part I'm going to play.
Dreams, Hopes, Thoughts, Memories,
They buzz through my mind.
In the same haziness of the landscape,
They too become a silhouette.
The light is that of truth,
The darkness of my own ignorance.
I await the sunrise.

M.V.
4/30/97