JOIN CHRIS, GWEN AND THE KELLY FAMILY AS WE PARTNER WITH THE BCRA TO CHANGE THE TREATMENT PARADIGM IN BRAIN CANCER.

WHO WE ARE

The mission of the Brain Cancer Research Alliance is to raise the awareness and funding for brain cancer research and ultimately enable new treatment options. Through partnerships with related industry and nonprofit organizations and coordinating fundraising events we aim to fuel our efforts and bring support to the brain cancer community.

Our end goal is to change the treatment paradigm and help bring forward new treatments for patients within the next decade.

WHY WE ARE HERE...

Children's Hospital Interview

NOLAN, GWEN AND A MILLION MORE

GWEN

Growing up playing sports with her three older brothers ensured that Gwen had no shortage of motivation. It was in her second year of college when she started noticing she was having back pain after sitting for longer than an hour. It started to affect her tennis playing, so she saw some doctors, but they couldn’t figure out why she was having that pain. She was on her way to watch a baseball game when Gwen noticed that her left leg wouldn't move. It was then she knew she was about to have a seizure. She was immediately taken to a hospital in New York where they found a tumor in her brain.

Gwen underwent brain surgery in New York to have her tumor removed. As she was recovering from surgery back home in Minnesota, she got a call from her care team: the tumor they removed was a stage 4 astrocytoma. Even though she was diagnosed with brain cancer at only 19 years old, Gwen quickly resolved that this cancer wouldn’t define her or make her put her life on pause. She finished college (early!), started working for her dad’s company, and still goes to the gym every day. She took that passion for movement and activity to the next level and started powerlifting – participating in and winning a tournament just this past summer!

NOLAN

The inception of the Brain Cancer Research Alliance stems from the Hsu Family's personal journey, when Nolan was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma – a type of malignant brain tumor -- at age 30.

A cancer diagnosis brings life to a standstill, yet you have to continue on—a whirlwind of appointments, decisions, and the relentless pursuit of "what's next?". On September 7, 2021, Nolan underwent a craniotomy, successfully achieving a full tumor resection. Fortunately, the cancer had only advanced to stage 2, granting Nolan invaluable time.

However, the search of treatments for brain cancer revealed scarce options, mostly medications and techniques approved in the 1970s. Despite brain tumors being relatively common, compared to other cancers, brain cancer research receives significantly less financial support due to its complexity, variability, and lower profile -- owing to lower survival rates.

In our endeavors to change current treatment landscape, we've forged an alliance with the Kelly family.

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Gwen and Nolan serve as poignant examples among the 1,000,000 individuals in the U.S. with a primary brain tumor diagnosis. Despite an average 35% five-year relative survival rate for malignant brain tumors, inadequate funding and awareness persist, hampering support for these patients.

Our objective is to change the narrative. The Brain Cancer Research Alliance aims to boost awareness and funding for novel therapies. With your support, we strive to offer patients and their families not only more time, but a cure.

Thank you for being with us on this journey to make a meaningful change.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

All of our donations go directly to brain cancer research. We do this by partnering with organizations such as the National Brain Tumor Society, University of Florida Brain Cancer Research Center and the Dana Farber Cancer Research Center.

A PEEK AT OUR PAST EVENTS...

Click on the video below to see a bit of what we have in store for you...

Click Here To See Previous Brain Cancer Benefit Highlights....

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

The best of Lake Como, The Valtellina on Lake Como and Private Italian Castle