Hi guys! One of my most favorite things to do under my leadership of the EndBrainCancer Initiative is to talk directly to patients with brain cancer and to hear first hand, “their story” and to “see” with my own eyes as well as to “hear” with my own ears how they IMPACT others simply by the way they are living with and fighting their brain tumor. I see such amazing Courage and Inspiration every day from patients with brain cancer and now, I want to meet them and share their stories with all of you and pick one of them to honor at this year’s EBCI National “HOPE” Award. Due to COVID-19, our National “HOPE” Award, sponsored by www.Novocure.com, was not presented in May like it usually is during our annual “Brains Matter” Education, Awareness & ACTION Event as we had to reschedule this event to July 30th. Now, also due to COVID-19, this event is now cancelled but NOT our National “HOPE” Award Initiative! WE ARE GOING FORWARD WITH THIS AWARD COME LOW OR HIGH WATER! We are seeking nominations for this award and now, with the launch of my weekly “Having a Say” Zoom Video Meeting Series, I […]
Today, May 31, 2020, the very last day of #BTAM month, I find myself reflecting on many things and just looked through the photos from last year’s Bellingham Brain Cancer WALK (BBCW) , Presenting Sponsor: Novocure (www.novocure.com) and am smiling and crying at the same time. Just look at these photos! What a super cool day it was! View Event Photos Here: https://www.facebook.com/braincancerwalkbellingham/ Let’s first talk about Hannah. The late Hannah Dashiell was (and, in my mind, is, as she STILL INSPIRES ME) an amazing young women from Bellingham, WA who wanted to honor her grandfather, Jerry Jerowski, who had died from brain cancer in 2007, by creating a brain tumor awareness walk during the month of May, National Brain Tumor Awareness Month, #BTAM, and chose to create this WALK as her High School Senior Class Project. Hannah was and is a bright light for her family, her friends, the entire EndBrainCancer Initiative (EBCI) team and for the brain tumor community and general public that we have been lucky enough to share Hannah’s story with. Thank you Hannah for your desire to make a difference in this world, INSPIRE others, including me and look what you started! Thank you Hannah. […]
Today, it is May 17, 2020 and I am spending my day reflecting on the national brain tumor community. Specifically, I am also spending a lot of time over the last several weeks, amongst COVID-19, reflecting on the my late husband’s brain cancer journey and the last 18 years of co-founding and running the Chris Elliott Fund, now DBA EndBrainCancer Initiative. Geez, I cannot believe it has been 18 years since Chris and I established the then “Chris Elliott Fund” with the goal of not only funding very KEY research related to genomics and targeted therapy for Glioblastoma Multiforme, also known as GBM brain cancer but also for the purpose of providing IMMEDIATE ACCESS for other brain tumor/brain cancer patients to brain cancer specialists, such as world renown brain tumor neuro-surgeons, such as Dr. Mitch Berger, IMMEDIATE ACCESS to Brain Tumor Centers noted for their Excellence as well as to specialists that are neuro-oncologists in the brain cancer space as well as to Principal Investigators involved in brain cancer clinical trials. I am beyond proud of what we have accomplished with my late husband’s request, “Do Something About this Disease”. Gosh, in many ways, I feel like we have just […]
WEBINAR! COVID-19 & BRAIN CANCER! Important information on how COVID-19 affects Brain Cancer (and other cancer) patients. Join Al Musella of the Musella Foundation and Dr. Eric T. Wong, Brain Tumor Center & Neuro-Oncology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School.
The End Brain Cancer Initiative connects brain tumor patients, caregivers and their families immediately to advanced treatments & clinical trials. Connecting to: 1) TOP Brain Tumor Neurosurgeons, Neuro-oncologists and Specialists in the U.S.; 2) Immunotherapy Vaccines; 3) 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions; 4) Genomic Profiling/DNA Sequencing; 5) MGMT and Protein Testing
Our focus is survivorship. Everything we do and advocate is focused on that goal.
We are Here to Talk and Answer Questions: It begins with a conversation. We are here for you to listen and advise you if you have been diagnosed with brain cancer. Our care coordinators standing by to take any of your questions or concerns.
Personal Review of Your Case: Review your case with the End Brain Cancer Medical Advisory board
Ongoing Review: Personal review of your case and any MRI or pathology reports
Help You Network with Others: We put patients and caregivers in touch with other families and survivors who are going through or who have gone through the same thing
Ongoing Support: We help talk with patients and caregivers about how the disease can progress and answer questions
Connecting You Rapidly to Specialists and Cancer Centers: We connect patients with advanced brain tumor treatment centers and specialists. We get the patient medical records in front of other specialists to get first, second, third and fourth opinions.
Connecting you to Top Neurosurgeons: We connect patients to neurosurgeons who can and do operate even when the patient was told the tumor was inoperable.
Access to New & Promising Treatment Approaches: We provide specialists a platform to get in front of other professionals, patients, caregivers, families, etc. to talk about their research or the latest treatment they are able to offer.
Make Appointments: Make appointments and facilitate communication between local medical team and brain tumor specialists.
Insurance Help: Assist with insurance questions
Financial Advice & Resourcing: Find resources to help with financial concerns
Informing Patients: We provide you with the latest information on Brain Tumor Research, including free publications from Chris Elliott Fund and other Brain Tumor related organizations.
Supporting Family & Caregivers: We work with your family and caregivers to inform and support them
Empowering You to Access the Best Specialists: We Provide patients and caregivers the educational materials and questions to ask of their doctors to make sure they are being seen by a top specialist as well as what to demand from their neuro-surgeon, pathologist, radiologist and neuro-oncologist/Oncologist in order to be eligible for advanced treatments, clinical trials, DNA sequencing, genomic profiling, MGMT testing as well as protein testing. All this data supports research but with top specialists, this data helps the specialist identify the treatment option that the patient is most likely to respond to = Personalized Medicine based on the molecular profile of the tumor + makes Immunotherapy, Vaccines and other clinical trials available to P/C.
Helping You Become a Rockstar Advocate: We will walk with you as you yourself advocate for your own health and treatment. It can be a huge challenge to advocate for your own treatment with medical professionals. We are here to equip you to do just that.
Helping You Work with Insurance: We know how to work with your insurance. We will work on your behalf with insurance companies as well as partner with other advocacy organizations, such as Patient Advocate Foundation and Cancer Legal Resource Center, to meet your needs.
