SURVIVOR Guest Blogger:

Well, today marks 4 years.  It was four years ago that I had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from my brain.  I was thrown into the cancer world and of course the resulting anxiety.  I initially avoided any mention of the “c” word.  However, over time, I have grown to embrace and even profess my title of SURVIVOR.  While preparing to participate in my second BP5K this year, I made a very symbolic connection through my search for a creative, clever, and meaningful team name.

I chose the team name “HEADSTRONG”.  The symbolic translation, head + strong, is an obvious description of myself and all survivors.  We are strong in the head, that’s for sure.  The literal definition of the word describes our fortitude and determination precisely. 

 head•strong [hed-strawng, -strong] adjective 1. determined to have one's own way; willful; self-willed; stubborn; obstinate: a headstrong young woman. 2. proceeding from or exhibiting willfulness: a headstrong course.

The more I thought about the new team, the name HEADSTRONG rang a bell and reminded me of a famous song by the band Trapt.   I looked up the lyrics and found our survivors story put to music.  The song is perfectly titled “Headstrong” and the lyrics describe our fight against brain cancer and our determination to succeed.

I see your motives inside

Decisions to hide

Back off, I'll take you on

Headstrong to take on anyone

I know that you are wrong

And this is not where you belong

I can't give everything away

I won't give everything away

I discovered the existence of the BP5K last summer.  The 2012 race was my first interaction and over the past year my involvement has grown tremendously.  Kelly and the BP5K provide such a sense of unity and purpose for the survivors of the central Texas community.  The feat of “making a difference” feels much more real and attainable with the driving force and support of the BP5K.

Laura Cook

Join Laura's Team 

Kick-Off Party!

We have had LOTS going in the past several weeks, it has been very exciting to be a part of the Brain Power 5K! To catch you up, May was Brain Cancer Awareness Month and the BP5K was in full force spreading our mission. In May, we created the first EVER attempt of an all brain cancer survivor team to complete a marathon distance together in a relay format called the Brain Power-thon. And we did it! You can see some photos here and here. The Brain Power-thon was a huge success and the survivors had a very special morning sharing their abounding strength with one another and the general public. We were joined by YNN and KVUE to share these amazing efforts of our Powerful People, it was an all around incredible day! Check out the coverage from KVUE by clicking here.

Our other events around town went great as well. I had the pleasure of wrapping up Brain Cancer Awareness Month by attending the annual meeting with the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation at MD Anderson and their extremely talented Dr. Amy Heimberger, Dr. Juan Fueyo, Dr. Paul Brown and Dr. Roel Verhaak (on behalf of Dr. John de Groot) whom presented four projects, two of which our efforts were able to contribute to in 2012. Here they discussed different programs such as personalized treatments- especially important when tumors are changing, the Delta 24-an injected virus that prevents the cancer growth replication pathway and how they are making such great strides in these thanks to funds from efforts like ours. The doctors also spoke on how they desperately need our funding in order to keep improving these life-saving projects. They continue to get closer to answers making great improvements, but just as the tumors continue to change, we must continue to fight. The doctors are not able to make these trials and projects possible just on funding from us alone. From each dollar we contribute, the National Cancer Institute will in turn grant these necessary programs an estimated $5-$10 to keep the project in motion. Every dollar you raise, literally makes a countless difference.

Summer is here!
I hope you have marked your calendar for this Thursday, July 11th! We are having our Kick-Off Party for the 3rd Annual Brain Power 5K at the Rattle Inn from 6-8pm! We will be enjoying their gorgeous rooftop view of downtown Austin, extended Happy Hour prices, complimentary appetizers and sweets from Zocalo Cafe and Galaxy Cafe along with a chance to win some great raffle prizes from Rogue Running and OTL Fitness! Come join us for a fun night out and to learn more about the Brain Power 5K! We'll be glad to help you with any fundraising, training or overall questions as well. You'll have a chance to visit with our Honorary Co-Chairs Matt Cotcher and Iram J. Leon too! Let us know if you can make it on our event page here.

More exciting updates~

We are thrilled to announce that the only walk-through, true-to-life, inflatable brain will be joining us again for 2013, the AmeriBrain! And we are very proud to have Scott & White Healthcare Brain Tumor Center as our sponsor of the AmeriBrain. Not only that, the Brain Power 5K is honored to have the opportunity to support the efforts of Dr. Ekokobe Fonkem at Scott & White Healthcare Brain Tumor Center here in Central Texas with a portion of the proceeds from the 2013 race! We are so excited about this partnership and to see research grow here in Central Texas!

Remember to register today, create your team, email your contacts to join you and let them know that you're fundraising for Brain Cancer Research that is so greatly needed. September 8th will be here before we know it!!

  

 Register TODAY: BRAINPOWER5K.com