08/26/09 - "Get Your Head In The Game" Blog Entry

I want to express my sincere condolences to the family of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, who passed this morning from a malignant brain tumor. To say that he was a true American icon and a champion in our country's war on cancer, would be an understatement. He was obviously a lot more than that to a lot of people.

While deeply saddened by today's news, I am hopeful that his valiant battle will lead to greater awareness of brain tumors and, with this, some positive outcomes, including people getting diagnosed faster because they seek to get educated about the disease and more people joining the fight. As I've said many times before, the brain tumor cause is where breast cancer was 25 years ago before the work of the Komen Foundation and other breast cancer crusaders. We (the brain tumor community at large) must bring brain tumors into the national spotlight, if we ever hope to alter the course of this disease.

I may be getting ahead of myself here, but with Senator Kennedy's legacy in health care, bringing the light to this terribly dark disease would be an incredible crowning achievement. People already started to rally for the cause when he was first diagnosed, so I really believe that even more people will rally in his memory. I guess we will have to wait and see.

In the meantime, let's all pray for comfort and peace for Senator Kennedy's family. They lost their hero and patriarch today.