Patient Advocacy Campaign for the UCLA Brain Tumor Center

PATIENT ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN

Brain tumors are complicated, and UCLA Brain Tumor Center has done outstanding work improving brain tumor patient outcomes. While success has occurred through the UCLA Brain Tumor Center, more is necessary for a challenging disease.

Research is paramount, including from laboratories to clinical trials in patients. Due to COVID, many fundraising events canceled, and the need for more treatments, we started the Patient Advocacy Campaign for the UCLA Brain Tumor Center. Specifically, we explain the campaign, share our stories, and ask for donations to the UCLA Brain Tumor Center for research. The goal is $75,000.

ABOUT THE UCLA BRAIN TUMOR CENTER

The UCLA Brain Tumor Center is a network of preeminent scientists, researchers, and physicians dedicated to delivering best-in-class care to patients with brain tumors, while leading pioneering research for a cure.

The center, directed by Timothy Cloughesy, M.D., and Linda Liau, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., and W. Eugene Stern Chair in Neurosurgery, is a vital component of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; and UCLA Health, whose hospitals are ranked No. 1 in California and No. 3 in the nation for 2021-2022 by U.S. News & World Report.

The UCLA Brain Tumor Center cares exclusively for brain tumor patients, treating more than 30 dissimilar conditions, and is one of only six brain tumor programs in the nation to be designated as Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) by the National Cancer Institute. The center is unique for the depth and breadth of its clinical research, which advances the science and treatment of brain tumors, and makes available to its patients leading therapies and clinical trials. Investigations lead to better diagnostics through improved imaging, as well as innovative molecular and cellular therapeutics. Working with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the center brings new treatments—including small-molecule drugs, biologics, and immunotherapies—to patients.

The UCLA Brain Tumor Center seeks to be the undisputed leader in the discovery and development of next-generation brain tumor therapies, making it a destination for patients from all corners of the globe. With a philanthropic investment to meet immediate funding priorities or to support endowments, the center’s collaborative team of physicians and scientists will accelerate the pursuit of novel research and treatments.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Fundraising helps give physician-scientists at the UCLA Brain Tumor Center the resources they need to pursue innovative and leading-edge research for brain tumor patients. Please know your tax-deductible donation of any size will make a difference. If you have any questions, contact Jeannine Walston, founder of the Patient Advocacy Campaign for the UCLA Brain Tumor Center at patientadvocacyUCLABT@gmail.com, or Nora McCarl, Director of Development, at NMcCarl@mednet.ucla.edu or by phone at (310) 210-5795.

Thank you for your support!

PATIENT TESTIMONIALS

Here are five brain tumor survivors treated at UCLA. These incredible individuals help illustrate the life-changing power of the UCLA Brain Tumor Center. But, more research is necessary for UCLA’s physician-scientists to further their work. Please donate today!

JEANNINE WALSTON

My name is Jeannine Walston, a brain tumor survivor since 1998. I’m privileged to be a patient at the UCLA Brain Tumor Center. When I needed more treatments in 2013, I went to UCLA for top-notch care. I had my third awake brain surgery, radiation, oral chemotherapy, and a UCLA dendritic cell vaccine clinical trial. I am incredibly grateful to have those treatments at UCLA.

BRAD SILVER

My name is Brad Silver. I was a Glioblastoma patient at UCLA, and was diagnosed back in 2003. That makes me now an 18+ year survivor. When I went to a local hospital before I had that opportunity to go to UCLA, I was told that I had 2 months to live and that surgery wasn’t possible. When I decided to get a second opinion, my life was saved.

JAMIL NEWIRTH

My name is Jamil Newirth. I was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumor in 2012, and I was treated at UCLA. While the journey was still difficult and grueling both physically, mentally, and emotionally, I’m still here today. I attribute all of that –still having my normal life— to the care of Drs. Liau and Cloughesy.

JOHN LEVOFF

Hi, I’m John Levoff and I’m a patient at UCLA. I was diagnosed with GBM in December 2015. I was given 14 months to live. I have now been living for 5.5 years, and I credit that to the staff at UCLA. The treatment that we received at UCLA was just extraordinary, and I was so grateful as I am today.

STACY BRAND

My name is Stacy Brand, and I’m a UCLA brain tumor patient and survivor. In 2015, I was diagnosed at another hospital with a brain tumor. I received the standard of care, which was chemotherapy and radiation. Unfortunately, the tumor mutated into a Glioblastoma. I consulted with Dr. Linda Liau at UCLA , and she performed a successful surgery in 2016. It is my honor to share my experience and partner with UCLA.

If you do not wish to receive further fundraising information from UCLA Health Sciences, please either call us at (855) 364-6945 or email us at hsd_optoutucla@mednet.ucla.edu providing your name, address, phone number, email, and from which department you're requesting to be removed. Should this fund reach the campus minimum required for the establishment of an endowment or quasi-endowment, The UCLA Foundation reserves the right to convert this fund to an endowment or quasi-endowment. Please review UCLA and The UCLA Foundation’s Disclosure Statements for Prospective Donors and to learn more about how The UCLA Foundation invests and manages its endowments at www.uclafoundation.org/disclosures.