About

The Chronicles of a Cancer Patient (CCP) is a cancer blog written by David J. Hahn. In July of 2005 Dave was diagnosed with Stage IIIB Hodgkins Lymphoma when a CAT scan showed a large tumor in his chest. He began 6 months of ABVD chemotherapy on August 9th, 2005 and ended on January 9th, 2006.

This cancer blog was written between July 2005 and May 2008. It has been featured in Men’s Health, the Boston Globe, Elgin Courier and Northwest Herald newspapers and named a top 100 health blog by both the Nurses Online Database and OrganizedWisdom.com.

Cancer was a huge drag. But it led to some great things for Dave.

During treatment he recorded a jazz piano album – part of which was later used in the movie Takers, starring Hayden Christensen and Matt Dillon.

He left Elgin, IL to pursue a career as a Broadway pianist and conductor. He achieved his goal in 2011 when he performed with Harry Connick, Jr. as the Associate Conductor for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever on Broadway. He also served as the Associate Conductor for Priscilla Queen of the Desert on Broadway.

Maintaining this blog taught Dave a great deal about the internet and writing. After CCP Dave founded MusicianWages.com, one of the largest and best-respected blogs for working musicians. He also founded TheatreMusicDirectors.org, a website for music directors in the theatre industry which revolutionized the way music directors find work and network internationally.

His interest in technology led him to develope the Christmas yule log app, WinterSpark, which features his Christmas piano album and broke into the top 100 Christmas apps at the iTunes App Store in 2011.

These days he lives in San Francisco and writes music for film, television and theatre. A portfolio of his work is showcased at Songwriter.fm.

So, you see, sometimes the worst parts of your life contain the seeds for the best.