Drew Silvern; San Diego Paper Reporter

SAN DIEGO — Drew Silvern, a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune who shared with his readers the anguish and hope of battling brain cancer, has died. He was 37.

Silvern, who had lost his sight and hearing, dictated the final story of his “Living With Cancer” series last week. He died at home Wednesday.

His most recently published installment appeared March 20, when it became clear that experimental drugs and other treatments were not working.

Silvern’s struggle began in 1994, when he started having headaches. Doctors diagnosed a tumor but believed it was benign. A week after surgery, he learned it was malignant.

“After eight hours of surgery to the back of my brain, several weeks of radiation to my head and spine, and six months of chemotherapy, I was on my way to total recovery,” he wrote. “Or so I thought.”

The cancer returned just before Christmas in 1995.

An education reporter, Silvern won a James S. Copley Ring of Truth award in March 1996 for a story that followed the progress of 25 first-graders. The story also won top honors in the Associated Press News Executive Council’s annual awards last year.

“Drew reported with depth and sophistication,” said John Gilmore, education editor for the Union-Tribune. “His gift of writing touched so many people.”

In the late 1980s, Silvern was a reporter for The Los Angeles Times. He had also worked for the Star-News of Pasadena and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Survivors include his mother, Lila; father, Rudy; and brother, Eric.