And now I want to introduce you to a notable organization,
improving the quality of life for brain
tumor patients and their families through research,
counseling, education, and most importantly, support.
So, from the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation,
please help me welcome Andrew Dawson and our very own Chris Holcomb.
Hello, gentlemen. Good morning. Good morning.
Good to see you. Good to see you too. Um We're talking about something serious.
So I, I, you know, switching gears a little bit, but I wanna ask you, Andrew,
how did the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation?
How did it start?
Uh It started in 1995. Uh It was founded by the Warshaw family.
Um Their son was diagnosed with a brain tumor
and they wanted to create an organization that would
uh support brain tumor patients and their families. Yeah.
And what would you say the foundation's purpose is Chris, I'll
ask you the purpose. We have so many purposes.
The main thing is raising money for research and
we have raised millions of dollars since its inception
in raising money for research so that families
wouldn't have to go through what my family went
through and what Andrew's family has gone through as
he is a brain tumor patient and survivor.
Um So it's raising money is the main thing, but then also support with the,
the brain tumor patients and their families.
We have an amazing support group.
We have scholarships that we offer to brain
tumor patients or their family members as well.
So it's mainly raising money just to help
the quality of life of families impacted by brain
tumors as well as raising money so that we can put an end to this terrible,
terrible thing.
And you say you're already so burdened
with just the health complication and situation.
So anything that this foundation can do to ease
that burden for the families and the patients themselves,
you alluded to it, Chris, but Andrew talk about your personal experience.
Sure. Yes. So uh Valentine's Day of 2021
I was at home exercising and had a seizure, went to the hospital,
found out I had a brain tumor
uh and try to, you get a lot to learn when you get that kind of diagnosis.
Uh Fortunately, I connected with
uh a fellow board member, Brad Roberts,
um and the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation.
It really helped
guide me through my treatment. Thankfully, I'm, I'm doing well today.
Cancers in remission.
Yeah.
But uh
it's been a particularly impactful organization for me and uh I'm really
grateful to be able to help uh raise money to as,
as Chris said, help uh
improve the way we treat uh both cancerous and non cancerous
brain tumors that give people a little bit of help.
And Chris talk about your.
So, my experience was a little bit different.
My sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This was back in the mid eighties.
She was only in her mid twenties.
She was married, had a three year old little boy
and was diagnosed with a brain tumor,
had a seizure at work one day and then was diagnosed.
The thing about brain tumors is that there are all different kinds.
Andrew's brain tumor. Tell me the name of yours again. Ogden
Glioma. Ok. You can spell that. Yeah.
And my sister had a glioblastoma multiform, which is
a, a really more aggressive one. And so
she went through a couple of surgeries,
chemotherapy radiation and she eventually passed away from a brain tumor on,
it was on July 4th of 1986.
So I say she found her freedom from her brain tumor that day.
But
you know, I often say to people
this was back in the 19 eighties when she passed away. And I wonder
what her quality of life would have been if she was
diagnosed now because we have had so many advancements in technology
and what this research money is doing to come up with
things so that we can have more stories like Andrews where people
it's not, doesn't necessarily have to be a death sentence.
I remember when I got a call,
I was a sophomore at college and my other sister called me to tell me, hey, Chris,
you know, we didn't have cell phones then, you know, on the bottom of the wall,
you need to come home, you need to tell your professors,
you have an emergency at home,
come home because Debbie is having surgery tomorrow or in two days at
home
and
it, you know, it was just a shock and I, I used to think that,
you know, a brain tumor, you know what, that's only what they do to people on TV,
when they're trying to get, move their character away or something.
But, and I had never heard of anyone
that I actually knew with the brain tumor.
And unfortunately, I feel like now
there's so many other times now that we hear it's becoming more and more common,
whether it's
a celebrity, a politician, a family member or just a friend
that
it's out there and we really need to do something to help stop this.
Well, we're glad that
you are here to help us spread the word and to, you know,
keep raising money for that valuable research.
Um, and, and I wanna ask you, we talk about the race for research,
speaking of raising money.
So, the, the research, uh, race for research is this coming Saturday?
It is the, uh, the key fund raising event for the organization
of the money. Right. Well, there's A five K, which is the main event.
There's a one K and there's also a uh
uh to,
to
for the kids. So, uh it really should be a, a family affair.
There's a face painting and a balloon guy.
So uh bring your whole family, there's still time to register.
Um So you can do it online at S BT FRFR for race for research dot com.
And you can also register day of.
Uh, so if you don't go online come Saturday morning to Atlantic Station,
and registration will start at 6 30
we'll start the race at um
7 15.
All right, Andrew. Thank you so much, Chris. Thank you so much. Thank
you for sharing your stories and I'm excited for
this weekend and let's keep raising that money.
All right.
Thank you both so much for being here,
learn more and get involved with the Southeastern Brain
Tumor Foundation at S BT F dot org.