Karen Brooks
Posted by Love Hope Strength on Aug 31, 2009
I lost my mom to a debilitating brain tumor in 2003. She was 56, full of love, and about to embark on an exciting new phase of her life when she was diagnosed. Twenty months and a world of suffering later, my selfless, patient, supportive, thoughtful, kind and inspiring mom was gone.
Brain tumors are among the most aggressive and virulent forms of cancer. Survival rates are dismal. Although each year more than 200,000 people in the United States alone are diagnosed with the disease, brain tumor research is under-funded and the public remains generally unaware of the magnitude of this disease. Senator Kennedy’s recent struggle with a brain tumor has generated more awareness, but there is still so much work to be done.
My mom was a doer. She recognized problems, identified solutions, and then committed herself to fix whatever was broken. To honor that spirit, I have made a series of high altitude climbs in recent years to raise money for cancer research in general and for brain tumor research more specifically. Through climbs in the Himalayas, Alaska, the Alps and the Caucuses, I have been able to generate over $200,000 for research grants, partnering with the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and the National Brain Tumor Foundation.
A close friend of mine is now struggling with the same tumor that took my mother’s life. I was visiting him in early August when I received an email from the love Hope Strength Foundation saying that one of the team members for Kilimanjaro Rocks, who himself had been recently diagnosed with a tumor, would not be able to make the climb and asking if I would take his place. The timing, coming just as I was watching my good friend battle this awful disease, made only one answer possible: yes.
I first heard about LHS when I was training for Nepal and learned about the Everest Rocks climb. Although I was to be at Everest before LHS and not able to synch up with their expedition, I was so impressed with what they were doing that I made a donation. When not climbing mountains to raise money for the cancer community, I jointly run an advisory services company that helps Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and hedge funds, and international organizations achieve results in the Asia-Pacific. The company, called BrooksBowerAsia, has offices in six Asian countries and its headquarters in Washington, DC. I speak Indonesian, Javanese, Mandarin, and am learning Thai. I hope to learn some Swahili on the climb!
