StacheStrong

🎂 Today would be my brother’s 36th birthday and what I wouldn’t give to celebrate with him. 🗓️ It’s that time of the year and we can all CELEBRATE HIS LIFE at the annual NYC Fundraiser which is only 16 days away on Friday, October 18th!!! 🎟️ Register now in support of brain cancer research by visiting https://lnkd.in/d6vTS7-Q 🗽 This year's event will take place at Legends in New York City at 6 W 33rd St. (33rd St and 5th Ave) on Friday, October 18th from 7:00pm - 11:00pm and your registration includes a 4-hour open bar and finger foods throughout the evening. We will also have a silent auction consisting of memorabilia, experiences and other items/baskets. 💥 This night is about raising awareness and funds for brain cancer research, but it’s also about celebrating life by ensuring we all #LiveStacheStrong, just like GJ! Get your family, friends, neighbor, coworker, etc. to buy a ticket because ultimately a friend of yours is a friend of StacheStrong, as we join together in the battle against GBM. Join us!!! ❤️ Special thanks to our Sponsors for 2024, including Dolphins Cancer Challenge, EY, Novocure, McKinsey & Company, Regeneron, @Hermes Helpers, Lenox Hill Hospital, Merritt Point Wealth Advisors, Samson Funding, DR Bank, National Brain Tumor Society, SkyBridge Capital Armistead Mechanical, Inc.!!! Together we ARE making a difference 💻 https://lnkd.in/d6vTS7-Q to register!

It’s been 5 years since the world lost one of its brightest lights. We still miss you and think about you every day. Resharing Colin’s Eulogy from 2019 honoring Geej (remainder is organized 1-5 below in comments section). * George John Gerner III. GJ. GEEJ. G MAN. GG, Georgie, first born son, big brother, cousin, friend, CPA, manager, coach, my everything. These are just a few ways to describe the man my brother was, but will never pay him true justice. I shouldn’t be up here today. I should be giving my Best man speech on his wedding day. We should have flutes of champagne and endless Maduro Brown Ales. We should be crying happy tears watching him start the next chapter of his life and all the futuristic joys. All things that will unfortunately never materialize. However, that’s exactly what we’re going to do - my brother is deserving of a celebration of the amazing man he is, not simply a somber remembrance of the last few months of the man GBM forced onto him. As we celebrate Geej, let’s remember that Cancer was only a portion of his life. A messed up, unfair, vicious portion of his 30 years on this earth. Let’s also remember that Geej did NOT lose his battle to GBM. In fact GBM told him that the average survival is only 10-15 months and he doubled that. It took GBM to spread through his whole brain last week to stop him. THAT’S the thing about my brother. He didn’t accept average. He strived and achieved greatness in every. thing. he did. So honestly, where do you begin to properly honor a man like Geej?! I will begin with the GJ SMILE which is simply my all-time favorite characteristic of him. Even in his darkest days, he found a way to let the smile stretch from ear to ear as he slipped in the wittiest of comments. Nobody was safe when he was on and boy could he be ON. Ya see, he truly was always happy. He didn’t need much and he asked for nothing. He was plenty happy to be around people he loved and often times that was beyond enough. He’d for sure give a GJ smile at this part...ultimately, we can all take a page out of his playbook. Next I wanted to touch on him as a big brother to both myself and Kelly. He always had our back. Always. This truly started to resonate with me when I followed him to the University at Albany and lived under the same roof with him again. Although this time our doors weren’t directly across the hall like they were growing up and it was certainly without mom’s supervision. Whether it was with my college classes, the fraternity or another late night at the bar, he was always the first person to be there for me. That’s the funny thing about the last few years. Ya see he always took care of ME - it really wasn’t ever the other way around. He was the cool, calm and collected big bro. I was anything but. All of a sudden I found myself taking care of him and everyone always jumped to ask me how I did it. The truth - I had learned how to do so after decades of watching Geej do that for ME and Kel.

🌟 Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center August 2024 Highlights 🌟 ✔ Mouthwash-Based Test: New study suggests saliva-based biomarkers could predict head and neck cancer recurrence. 🧪 Elizabeth Franzmann ✔ Colon Cancer Research: 10-gene biomarker identified to predict chemotherapy and immunotherapy benefits. 📊 ✔ Brain Cancer Funding: $1M from Dolphins Cancer Challenge and StacheStrong to support Sylvester Brain Tumor Institute. 🎗️ ✔ HIV Screening Guidelines: New CDC guidelines for anal cancer screening based on Sylvester-led research. 📋 ✔ Early-Career Scholars: New K12 Calabresi Program awardees focus on innovative cancer research. 🌟 https://lnkd.in/enJUngaa #CancerResearch #Cancer #Oncology #OncoDaily #BrainCancer

🚨 Our 7th Annual 5K Run/Walk is only 3 weeks away and the post below from last year is a great reminder why your registration and support is so vital!!! 🏃🏻♂️🏃🏃🏽♀️We currently have 59 teams and 700 registrations from across the country. 🗓️ Remember, this event takes place during the weekend of September 21st and you can run/walk virtually from ANYWHERE you are - it’s that easy to support brain cancer research!!! 👉🏻 Visit StacheStrong.org/event/5k to create/join a team or simply register yourself today!!! ‼️We can’t do this without you - share this post and send to 5 friends, family members or coworkers. 1 minute of your time can make a difference for all those fighting this dire disease.

Beyond proud of Costas Hadjipanayis who has been a vital part of our Board of Directors for the past 5+ years. This is an incredible achievement for a one of a kind person. Prior to joining our board, he performed two craniotomies on my brother and became a dear friend as he gave us more time with Geej. Anyone who’s come across Costas knows he’s beyond deserving of this honor - congrats!!!

🚨 Today is not only Glioblastoma Awareness Day but it’s also also a monumental day for us because StacheStrong has officially funded $5M+ of brain cancer research!!! That’s what our thousands of dedicated supporters have made happen and we can’t thank you enough. 💫 To commemorate #GBMDay, we’re proud to announce that we've joined forces with Dolphins Cancer Challenge. This partnership is committing $1 million over the next four years to fund cutting-edge research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s new Brain Tumor Institute at University of Miami. Together, we’re making strides toward better treatments and fueling cutting-edge research. #OneTeamOneFight * 💪🏻 Let’s keep the momentum going!!! * 😢 I saw a post encouraging others to comment on what GBM has taken from us. Our friends all know the answer to this. GBM took our big brother, oldest child and friend to all. GBM took a brilliant, confident, witty, humble, quiet, funny young man from all of us. It snuck in with zero side effects. It tipped our world upside down for 24 months and 15 days. Yes, that’s precise…because for every single one of those days, we had anticipatory grief. We counted the days until the next MRI (every 60 days). We fist pumped every positive MRI and were shaken to our core when, at 14 months and 28 days we learned he had a recurrence that, although statistically we expected, none of us were ready for. Then, 9 months and 17 days following his recurrence, another group of tumors took his last breath. My family will never ever be the same. When people say “I can’t imagine”, I agree with them. ‼️ You cannot imagine. ❤️ So, on Wed July 17, please talk about our co-founder GJ Gerner and SO many others affected by GBM that have become part of the StacheStrong family. Please advocate for more money towards research. Please advocate for more support for caregivers and please never forget the incredible people who have been taken from us. GBM affects so many families like ours, so please take this one day a year to spread the word that more needs to be done. Please join us in this fight with the hope that other families may one day have a few more days, weeks, months or years with their loved one because we funded research that allowed that to become a reality.

#GlioblastomaAwarenessDay is 24 hours dedicated to highlighting a dire disease that has taken far too many, including my brother at 30 years old. This Wednesday, we ask that you find a way to advocate, whether that be sharing our website and information, registering for an event, donating, or simply. It’s one day, but for patients and families, #GBMDay is every single day post diagnosis. Support today! ww.StacheStrong.org

This is only possible because of YOUR support. Let’s continue to raise the bar together in the fight against brain cancer!!! My brother would be so proud… the V Foundation

🚨 We'll be sharing stories all month long from families across the globe facing bran cancer - hear from our leader to kick things off and follow us @StacheStrong on Instagram and Facebook to read these inspirational and emotional stories every day at 7:00pm est.

🎉 To celebrate StacheStrong turning 6 (yesterday), we launched a BRAND NEW WEBSITE to showcase all we’ve accomplished and been through. Check it out at StacheStrong.org and read below for more on reaching 6 years. 🤯 I still remember submitting the documents to incorporate a 501(c)3 with GJ in 2018 with no clue what we were doing. All that mattered was that we were going to flip the script on this disease and help others in any way we could – together. 📈In 6 years since that point, we’ve funded over $4,000,000 of brain cancer research, including 40+ grants at 25+ institutions across the country. 💻 We’ve provided a platform for thousands as we’ve continued to inspire and provide hope. We’ve even helped patients/families navigate this disease, both medically and emotionally. 👨🏻🦱 It all started with my brother keeping the mood light by going into brain surgery with a fresh mustache. Something so simple is changing lives EVERY day. That’s who GJ was – and continues to be – through StacheStrong. 💪🏻 Reaching 6 years as an org is 3x longer than GJ lived with GBM, which almost seems impossible. We’ve been running full speed ahead since starting StacheStrong and have far exceeded anyone’s wildest expectations along the way. Throughout it all, I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve stayed true to our roots of raising funds and awareness for brain cancer research. That’s what GJ did – and continues to do – through StacheStrong. 👨👩👧👦 95%+ of those diagnosed with this disease will never get to live as long after being diagnosed with GBM as StacheStrong has been incorporated. That. Has. To Change. The grants, advocacy, events, and support are the lifeblood of what StacheStrong is, but to me, there’s nothing more important than the community we’ve created. We’ve met countless people/families facing the same diagnosis that we once walked through, and their stories have become forever intertwined with StacheStrong. In fact, this has now become THEIR story, just as much as it is ours. That’s what GJ built – and continues to build – through StacheStrong. 🧍🏼♂️🧍🏻♂️One day, I hope a set of brothers have an answer and a viable treatment through the collaborative efforts of all those fighting for change. That’s what GJ fought for – and continues to fight for – through StacheStrong.