Beth Jordan and her husband, Greg established the Beth Jordan Brain Tumor Initiative with a purpose to support novel, innovative, translational glioma-focused brain tumor research in adult patients, with a priority focus on, though not limited to, clinical trials at Winship Cancer Institute.

To my friends, family and beloved Atlanta and Georgia community,

What does HOPE look like? For someone with a deadly form of brain cancer, I see hope in new clinical trials. I see HOPE in the faces of newly diagnosed patients and caregivers when they meet long-term survivors who have faced the same grim prognosis and beat it. I see hope in hearing researchers talk about novel ideas they are working on in the lab that might actually extend life by years rather than just weeks. There are so many brilliant ideas on the shelves just waiting for funding. The more trials we can fund, the faster we can find a cure for us brain tumor patients.

Dr. Wally Curran is the Executive Director of Emory's Winship Cancer Institute, and Winship is the nation's newest National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center - the only such center in Georgia. We've been talking the past few years, and he knows I want my legacy to be a nationally recognized adult brain tumor center of excellence here in Atlanta. Dr. Curran has spoken to the awesome strengths Winship currently has in the brain tumor space and what pieces Emory still needs to fulfill our dream.

ANYONE who has loved a friend or family member through a brain tumor; ANYONE who just wants to make sure that a brain tumor center of excellence is in their backyard before they need one for their own family is very much needed in this endeavor.

Keep dreaming with me about a place here in Atlanta that would allow patients and families to stay close to home, close to their support network, their jobs and their places of worship while getting the very best care, access to the cutting edge trials, state of art operating equipment, multiple neuro oncologists collaborating on their work, navigators to help walk brain tumor patients through the process. With one in two men and one in three women predicted to get cancer in their lifetime, that's a lot of people I love and care about with cancer. And with 20-40% of cancers metastasizing to the brain (including lung, melanoma, breast, colon and kidney), don't you too want our brain tumor center to be one of the very best?

Greg and I have established a fund at Winship - the Beth Jordan Brain Tumor Fund - with a purpose to "support novel, innovative, translational glioma-focused brain tumor research in adult patients (as determined by Winship Cancer Institute), with priority focus on, though not limited to, clinical trials, at Winship Cancer Institute."

Though we have set an initial goal of $1M, the needs of the Winship Brain Tumor Center are much greater. For example, just like professional sports, our Winship team is constantly on the hunt to recruit top physician researchers to Atlanta. These are multi-million dollar efforts. It's so important to have the money in place, ready and waiting so that when an outstanding doctor becomes available, we can grab him or her and have a nice recruitment package that allows him or her to get their lab up and running without having to waste time seeking out grants.

In meeting so many people over these seven years touched by brain tumors in our community, what would truly be my wish is that others, beyond myself and my own fund, would join me in taking ownership of the philanthropy to truly transform the Winship Brain Tumor Center. I think it will be such a beautiful thing to see the community come together and invest in this cause for the entire state of Georgia.

To support my fund, click the "Give Now" button to the right of my photo. If you prefer to make a gift of stock or make a gift through electronic funds transfer, please call Jennifer Daly in Winship's development office at 404-778-4270 and she will send you the instructions. If you would like to take a Winship tour and/or explore naming your own fund at Winship, Jennifer can help with that, too.

Thanks for walking this long journey with us and helping us to help others who come along after us.

Standing firm,
Beth