Join the Brain Tumor walk in honor of Jovita Moore this weekend

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
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Channel 2 Action News is remembering our own Jovita Moore for Brain Cancer Awareness Month.

Moore died in 2021 after a brave fight with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

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Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was at the Battery in Cobb County Wednesday, where the Brain Tumor Society’s walk and race will happen on Saturday.

Laura O’Neill lost her husband, Kevin, to a brain tumor. This Saturday, she’ll join hundreds of others to take part in the annual walk to end brain cancer one step at a time.

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Kevin O’Neill, who was a father of two, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017. O’Neill said he was seemingly healthy until he started to have problems with his speech.

“Our lives changed in a millisecond,” O’Neill said. “If we don’t stop, we will be successful. You have to keep fighting, keep looking, keep searching.”

According to the National Brain Tumor Society, more than 90,000 people in the U.S. will receive a primary brain tumor diagnosis in 2023. At least 19,000 people are estimated to die from brain cancer this year.

Studies show that brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in children 19 years old and younger, accounting for three out of every 10 cancer deaths

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Washington spoke to Laura McKeithen, whose 21-year-old daughter, Liza Burke, died shortly after doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumor on her brain stem.

“A tumor on your brain stem is just a matter of time before your death,” McKeithen said. “I hope they can make some strides and be able to eradicate brain tumors.”

The event will include survivors, patients and even research scientists.

If you would like to register for the Georgia Brain Tumor Walk and Race, you can register HERE.