Our Crowdfunding Groups
It was 2009 when Lisa, age 29, learned of the brain cancer diagnosis. To say this came as a surprise is an understatement. Lisa was pursuing her master’s degree at The Ohio State University, and through her surgeries and treatment she successfully acquired that degree and worked in the field as a speech and hearing pathologist.
At the same time, Lisa’s brother, Michael, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, stage IV. His battle would ensue to a much more serious level at a later date.
In 2014, prior to going into Hospice care and passing away, Lisa made last requests to me. One of her requests of me was to continue fundraising in an effort to keep other families from enduring a brain cancer diagnosis and going through what our family had experienced. We have continued our fundraising efforts to fulfill that very commitment to Lisa. Progress has been made toward fulfilling that wish, but we have a long way to go. Lisa was 33 when she died.
Michael’s journey with melanoma ended in 2022 when he succumbed to the disease at the age of 47. Melanoma is an underfunded disease in the way of research, education and awareness. Many of our family and friends were shocked that melanoma could be such a brutal cancer and a potentially fatal disease. The goal is to change that and raise awareness while educating the public on the severity of this disease.
Our family has endured a tremendous loss and the reminders of that are ever-present. Raising funds for both brain cancer and melanoma research has been and continues to be a positive action that gives us great hope for a cure for both diseases.
