Keeping the Faith

As we celebrate 20 years of dedication to raising funds for brain cancer research and inspiring hope for the brain cancer community, we want to know who you run or walk for! At each 5K event, we pay tribute to extraordinary individuals who are currently fighting or who have survived a brain tumor, selected from the nominations submitted by their loved ones.

Sharing the personal stories of those in the midst of their fight is an important part of the awards ceremony. While we recognize the athletic accomplishments of our top runners, we also spend time presenting a Keeping the Faith to the special people for whom Head for the Cure exists.

The struggles and triumphs of our Keeping the Faith recipients are even more poignant when shared with everyone on race day as we pay tribute to what they have survived and what lies ahead for them.

Search Recipients

William (Bill) Bergman has a larger-than-life personality, great sense of humor, and love for telemarketers and door-to-door sales people.
Bill Bergman was diagnosed with inoperable Glioblastoma January of 2020.
Megan had surgery to remove an anaplastic astrocytoma January 20, 2017. She completed her radiation followed by chemotherapy this spring.
In August 2009, while floating on the lake on a hot, sunny, peaceful afternoon, we received the call that upset our tranquil world.
Susan's nomination came in the form of a letter from her younger sister Wendy... August 2011 Dear Susie,
Kenna Biddle was an active athletic kid when she started having dizzy spells in 2013. A couple weeks prior to starting 7th grade, she was diagnosed with a Pilocytic Astrocytoma in her brain stem.
On Sunday, May 1st my younger brother, Steven, lost peripheral vision in his left eye.
There are no words to fully explain the beauty and strength within my mother, Karen Bienz.
I met Dorothea Billy (AKA "Dottie") a few years ago at one of the monthly Henry Ford brain patient/caregiver group chats and immediately knew I was meeting a hero.
Jeni is a Catering Sales Representative with Panera Bread by day, and a loving wife and mother to her 6 month old German Shepherd she calls her "monsterpuppy" by night.
Jeni is an over eight-year survivor, having been diagnosed in early April of 2013 with a GBM4; the same tumor that had taken her father only two years prior, but doctors insist it’s just lightning
September 18, 2019, my sister, Pam Blackburn was rescued off Piestewa Peak. It was the day that changed her life forever. On September 20, 2019, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma.