When Kelly’s brain tumor was officially diagnosed in September 2002, Chris and Kelly had just a few days to decide what treatment route to pursue. Not having any prior exposure to information about brain tumors, they were under enormous pressure and even further burdened by the amount of data they had to go through just to understand what was happening.
We feel those who are affected by brain tumors need to be supported in every way possible, especially emotionally. For that purpose, we’ve assembled a list of some of the amazing organizations that helped Chris and Kelly in their fight against Kelly’s brain tumor. We also added a few additional ones we found after her passing.
Please contact us if you would like to share information about a resource that provided exceptional emotional support to you or a loved one.
Chris.Grundner@khgbraintumorfoundation.org
The Wellness Community
www.wellnessdelaware.org - Delaware Branch
www.thewellnesscommunity.org - National Organization (click here to find one of the 22 locations across the U.S.)
The Wellness Community is an international non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with cancer and their loved ones by providing professionally led programs of emotional support, education, and hope as an integral part of conventional medical treatment. They offer support groups, stress reduction programs, informational and educational workshops, and community activities for people with cancer and their families. All of their programs are free of charge!
"As Kelly’s cousin, I can personally vouch that the support they offered to Kelly and Chris was phenomenal. I personally experienced the priceless value of their services when I visited Kelly during the summer. We all went to a Brain Tumor Support Group meeting. We were saddened as Kelly just started taking a new chemotherapy drug the night before, which her doctors were considering her last hope, and she got extremely ill from it. Kelly didn’t want to take it anymore. One of the members of the support group had actually used that particular chemotherapy drug and told us what he did when he took it to prevent him from getting sick. We tried it the next night and it worked! As I said, I know the peer support, caring, and creative programs offered by The Wellness Community greatly benefited Kelly and everyone else who experienced it."
Cancer Care Connection
www.cancercareconnection.org
Cancer Care Connection is a non-profit service organization that helps people make informed decisions through professional coaching and personalized information and resource connections. Whether you contact them for yourself, a family member, a co-worker, a friend, or a neighbor, their Resource Coaches are ready to provide the immediate help you need and connect you to useful resources and information that will help you along the way.
i[2]y
www.ImTooYoungForThis.org
i[2]y is proud to be an emerging leader in health resource literacy, patient education and cancer advocacy for the adolescent and young adult survivorship community.
The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults
www.ulmanfund.org
The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults provides support programs, education and resources, free of charge, to benefit young adults, their families and friends, who are affected by cancer, and to promote awareness and prevention of cancer. For more information, visit their website.
The Tug McGraw Foundation
www.tugmcgraw.org
The Tug McGraw Foundation was established by Tug McGraw in 2003 to raise funds to enhance the quality of life of children and adults with brain tumors and their families by stimulating and facilitating research that addresses the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual impact of the disease.
The Brain Tumor Foundation (BTF)
www.braintumorfoundation.org
The Brain Tumor Foundation (BTF) guides and supports patients and families during the turbulent times when their lives are touched by a brain tumor by offering support groups, medical referrals and peer matching programs such as Phone-a-Friend. BTF also seeks to raise awareness about the need for the early detection of brain tumors and recently launched a ground-breaking program called The Road to Early Detection.
The Healing Exchange BRAIN TRUST (T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST)
www.braintrust.org
T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST helps people communicate about brain tumors and related conditions via the Internet to promote a healing exchange of information and support. The mission of T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST is to improve quality of life for people living with brain tumors and related conditions, today!
They run more than a dozen online support groups and distribute over 300,000 emails weekly. They serve over 2,200 people through groups daily. They work 24 hours a day, to respond to the needs of people via email, the Internet, and snail mail too. It is a terrific networking resource for patients, family members, and those in the medical community. T.H.E. BRAIN TRUST also provides a number of emotional support services to patients and family members.
National Brain Tumor Society
www.braintumor.org
National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) was formed in 2008 through a merger of The National Brain Tumor Foundation (San Francisco, CA) and The Brain Tumor Society (Boston, MA) with a goal of bringing greater collaboration for progress on brain tumor issues - both the development of research into new treatments and to assist patients, survivors and families who are coping with this devastating diagnosis. NBTS offers education and information to help patients, families, and caregivers make informed decisions and develop strong support systems during every stage of their journey. They can be reached at 1-800-934-2873.
Delaware Hospice
www.dehospice.org
As the leading provider of hospice care throughout Delaware, the Delaware Hospice care team brings more than 20 years of high quality, cost-effective, licensed services to our community. Delaware Hospice delivers specialized treatment and caring support which assists each patient to live each day to its fullest. A care team staff of professionals provides palliative care and emotional and spiritual support to patients and their families. Delaware Hospice provided great support to Kelly, her husband, and her entire family during the very difficult last weeks of her life. They were amazing and provided exceptional resources and caregivers. They were an outstanding resource and friend.
Crossing the Finish Line
www.crossingthefinishline.org
Crossing the Finish Line is a non-profit organization that assists young adult cancer patients and their caregiver. Inspired by the late Peter R. Bossow, Jr., Crossing the Finish Line offers the young adult cancer patient and the family a retreat from the unyielding physical and emotional demands of treatment — a hopeful respite during the throes of a courageous battle. Eligible candidates, along with their caregiver, will receive a one-week all expense paid excursion to select locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Carolina, Florida and California. This organization offers a very special and unique opportunity to young adult cancer patients and their families.
The Littlest Heroes Project
www.littlestheroesproject.org
The Littlest Heroes Project is a non-profit organization founded in January 2008 and is made up of professional photographers nationwide that provide free photo sessions to our nation’s Littlest Heroes. It is a way of giving back and taking a stand for children with serious illness or life altering disability, who may sometimes feel forgotten because of their illness. The Littlest Heroes Project photographers want to let these children know that they are heroes to many, and to share their inspirational stories and photos with the world. The whole family… Super Sibs and Brave Parents are welcome to participate in the photo session which is done by a local photographer.
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