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Hope Starts Here a worthy cause for community support

Advancing treatment for brain cancer requires a collaborative effort, and we’re glad to see this taking place locally.

IncredibleBank recently presented a $5,000 check to the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center as the title sponsor of the Hope Starts Here Challenge, a virtual event scheduled for May 8-16. The event raises funds and awareness for the UMBTC, whose mission is to empower patients and families dealing with brain tumors through advocacy, research, education and treatment.

The UMBTC is a collaborative effort between UP Health System, Northern Michigan University and the Superior Health Foundation.

Shane Kentala, operations manager for UPHS’ Brain and Spine Center, said community partnerships are what make the collaboration for the Hope Starts Here Challenge successful, stressing that supporting the UMBTC helps build the foundation for future research scientists and medical professionals “who will certainly one day beat this terrible form of cancer.”

That form of cancer is glioblastoma, an aggressive form of the disease.

In collaboration with UP Health System- Marquette, the UMBTC works to better understand how glioblastoma multiforme works in the human brain, according to the NMU website. Students can create their own research projects, or work with NMU faculty.

Understanding the “how” of brain cancer is the key to creating less invasive and more effective treatments for GBM patients, NMU said, and we agree.

All this takes money, of course. If people want to make a tax-deductible gift to the UMBTC, they can visit https://www.nmu.edu/umbtc/giving for more information. Gifts assist in the area of the center’s greatest needs, consumables and reagents.

These funds have also helped with the purchase of surgical tools for the operating room, assisted families getting to clinical trials and funded research on the quality of life of caregivers.

Their financial support will not only advance the treatment of brain tumors, it will foster the training of future cancer scientists and clinicians who, we sincerely hope, will be at the forefront of eradicating the disease.

For more information, visit hopestartshere.org.

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