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Community Corner

Saturday: Lake Minnetonka Women Join the Fight Against Brain Tumors

To date, 'Humor to Fight the Tumor' has raised more than $1 million for brain cancer research and patient support efforts.

Minnetonka Beach resident Nancy Steinke knows more about brain tumors than she cares to. Within the past seven years, her sister-in-law and one of her best friends died from brain tumors.

“There’s so much awareness of other cancers,” said Steinke. “Yet, more and more people are being diagnosed with brain tumors.”

When a mole on her sister-in-law Kari’s cheek was diagnosed as melanoma, Steinke and her friends organized a fundraiser to help with medical costs. The event featured another friend and fellow flight attendant Rene Foss, who performed her one-woman show entitled “Around the World in a Bad Mood,” which has been off Broadway in New York.

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Over $20,000 was raised at the event.

Sadly, Kari passed away in 2004 after the cancer spread to her brain.

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When Steinke returned home the evening of Kari’s funeral, she received a message from one of her best friends from Edina High School saying that she had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Steinke’s friend Krissy had a grade-four glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumor. Steinke and her friends organized another fundraiser, which again raised over $20,000 for medical costs.

Krissy passed away in 2007.

Minnetonka resident Joelle Syverson heard about the fundraising events that Steinke was involved with. In 2001, Syverson was diagnosed with a non-curable, recurring brain tumor at the age of 34. She has had two recurrences, three brain surgeries and a year of chemotherapy.

In 2004, Syverson started the Humor to Fight the Tumor Gala to raise awareness of brain tumors and to raise money for research. To date, the annual events have raised over $1,000,000.

“Joelle knows these people live with drama every day,” said Steinke. “It’s kind of a nice opportunity to have a night of entertainment.”

Syverson attended the fundraising event for Krissy and invited Steinke to attend the Humor to Fight the Tumor Gala the following week. Soon after, Syverson asked Steinke to join the committee.

“I thought ‘why not,'” said Steinke. ”I connected, the vibe was there, the mission was there and I’ve been on the committee ever since.”

Now in her sixth year of being on the fundraiser's committee, Steinke recruits and manages the over 50 volunteers who help at Humor to Fight the Tumor. This year, she found another way to give back to the event by hosting an in-home Silpada jewelry party. Her friends and family bought over $4,000 worth of jewelry, which means that $1,000 worth of Silpada jewelry will be in the silent auction at Saturday's event.

The 8th Annual Humor to Fight the Tumor: An Evening to Celebrate Life Gala will take place this Saturday, Sept. 24, at The Depot in Minneapolis. Over 600 people are expected to attend.

More than 200,000 people will be diagnosed with brain tumors in the U.S. this year. Many of them will be children—for whom brain tumors are the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

The goal of the Humor to Fight the Tumor Gala is to increase awareness of brain tumors while providing an enjoyable evening to celebrate life. Funds raised go to the American Brain Tumor Association for research and patient services.

In 2007, the “Fund-a-Cause” was added to the event. During a portion of the evening, money is raised for local organizations who receive grants from the American Brain Tumor Association to support the needs of families affected by brain tumors.

“Some of the money stays locally,” said Steinke. “We give money to some of the local brain tumor support groups, and some is given to families who have been financially impacted by a brain tumor diagnosis.”

Humor to Fight the Tumor is organized by a group of 21 committee members who meet once a month from January to September each year to plan the event.

“It’s just people who have been touched personally by the disease who are willing to help,” said Steinke.

Orono resident Erin Kieley sees first-hand how people are affected by brain tumors. She works as an oncology nurse with Dr. John Trusheim at the Brain Tumor Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. This is Kieley’s second year of being on the Humor to Fight the Tumor Gala's committee.

“It’s my way of giving back,” said Kieley.

Kieley said that only 2 percent of all cancers are brain cancer and said she shares a lot of tears with her patients—some of whom will attend the Saturday night's fundraiser.

“I get to know my patients as people,” Kieley said, adding that she doesn’t want her patients' diagnosis to define them. “They all had lives before their brain tumor, so I’ll ask them about their kids, their upcoming wedding or a trip they might have recently taken.”

As in past years, KARE11 chief meteorologist Belinda Jensen will emcee this weekend's Humor to Fight the Tumor Gala. Speakers at the event will include Elizabeth Wilson from the American Brain Tumor Association and Dr. Christopher L. Moertel from the University of Minnesota Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Division.

Comedian Billy Arnold of Triple Espresso will provide entertainment.

The event also includes a silent auction, a live auction and dinner. Auction items include sporting event tickets, sports memorabilia, jewelry, vacation accommodations, clothing and artwork, among other items.

In addition, a game of heads and tails will be played after dinner. The winner will receive a pair of diamond earrings that were donated by Evergreene Jewelers in Minnetonka. There will also be a raffle for the chance to win a Honda Civic.

For more information about Humor to Fight the Tumor and to purchase tickets for the gala, visit www.humortofightthetumor.com. For more information about the American Brain Tumor Association, visit www.abta.org.

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