Brain tumor survivors lead walk to raise money for more research

According to the National Brain Tumor Society, there are currently 700,000 Americans living with brain tumors. Nearly 94,000 new cases are expected be diagnosed this year, and 19,000 people will likely die. The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke is hosting an event this weekend aimed at raising money for research to help bring these numbers down.

When WRAL reporter Amanda Lamb's mother was diagnosed with a glioblastoma and being treated at the Tisch Center, resources were limited, but that is changing.

Alan Stephenson is a current Tisch patient.

"I woke up one day with what I thought was a migraine," he said.

Stephenson had surgery at Duke in January of 2009 after an MRI led to a brain tumor diagnosis.

"It was in a very bad place," he said. "My recovery time was tougher. I had to learn to walk again."

Less than four months later, he was walking in The Angels Among Us Walk for Hope.

Since that time, Stephenson has led a team for the event called the Tumornaters which focuses on pediatric survivors.

"They were such incredible kids fighting such incredible battles, it encouraged people to get involved and to give," he said.

Stephenson has a special bond with the pediatric patients like Howell Brown, whom WRAL News interviewed in 2016.

Howell was diagnosed at age 9 and passed away in 2017 at age 13.

"He was just a kid you gravitated to. When people found out what he was fighting and what he was battling, they wanted to know more," Stephenson said.

Anne Beebe, development director for the Tisch Center, said brain tumors are the No. 1 cancer killer in children, and more research is necessary to improve outcomes.

The $39 million raised over 30 years by the Angels Among Us Walk for Hope goes to fund that research.

“We don't have salaries that come out of what we raise. It all goes to brain tumor research at Duke for the clinical trials, all to help our patients," she said.

Stephenson said he wouldn’t wish a brain tumor on anyone, but calls his experience meeting other survivor a gift.

About 4,000 people are expected to participate Saturday morning in the Angels Among Us Walk for Hope at the Duke Medical Center campus. They have already raised $2.4 million.