Written by Lisa Joerling

My brain tumor journey began 11 years ago when I was diagnosed with a ganglioglioma brain tumor at just 19 years old. I was a sophomore at K-State and was home for the summer with my family who were living in Chicago at the time. I woke up one more morning and my entire side was numb, a trip to the ER revealed the golf ball sized tumor and I was admitted to the ICU that evening.  After a biopsy, I had an awake craniotomy to remove the tumor that was pressing on the motor/sensory strip affecting the function of my right hand. After surgery I went to occupational therapy to regain function in my hand and although it was difficult I was able to return to college just 8 weeks after surgery. I graduated on time, am an elementary teacher and finished my master’s degree a couple of years ago. I had a small recurrence in 2018 and I am doing yearly scans as we watch and wait. 

This year will mark 10 years that I have been involved with Head for the Cure. I found HFTC about a year after surgery, I had always enjoyed running in 5ks and thought what a perfect cause. Each year I became more and more involved in HFTC activities and have participated in races across the country with them, from Orlando to Seattle. A lot of my family lives in St. Louis so that race is special to me and of course you cannot top my hometown KC HFTC 5k. My surgeon and his family came to the KC 5k last year and he was honored with the healthcare hero award. 

Head for the Cure has given me a community of people who understand what I am going through and helping to raise awareness and funding has become a passion of mine. I also know first hand how devastating this diagnosis can be emotionally, so helping advocate for mental health resources for people with brain tumors and chronic illnesses is important to me. Head for the Cure has given me so much, including hope for the future ahead and I am proud to be an ambassador for them!