Steve Dombek was an active guy who skied three times a year, played competitive soccer, and always dove across the sand volleyball court. Until one day, Steve experienced a pain in his side, which led to a double diagnosis of multiple myeloma and systemic mastocytosis – a rare blood disorder most commonly seen in patients twice his age. As someone who gives it his all in everything he does, Steve had many questions, including how to tell his six-year-old daughter he was sick.
He turned to Jeff Yorio, M.D., hematologist and medical oncologist at Texas Oncology–Central Austin, who introduced him to the Flatwater Foundation, a nonprofit helping patients and families cope with the impact of cancer. Inspired, Steve later began selling “unbreakable” hats through his part-time business, UnbreakableATX, with all proceeds going to the those who have inspired him to this day.
Hear Steve’s story and how he continues to define what it means to be an unbreakable father, friend, and cancer patient eight years later.