Support the inaugural International Brain Tumo(u)r Awareness Week, 21 - 27 October 2007 and the 2007 Walk Around the World for Brain Tumo(u)rs where individuals and groups are aiming for a collective target of 40,000 kms or 25,000 miles (the circumference of the globe).
See: www.theibta.org

For Immediate Release Contact: Harriet Patterson
September 2007 415-834-9970, x103
patterson@braintumor.org

6th Annual Orange County Angel Adventure® 5K Walk and Community Day
To Raise Funds for Brain Tumor Research

Brain tumors account for almost one-fourth of cancer-related deaths in children and teens and are the second leading cause of cancer death in adults ages 20-39.

Brain tumors do not discriminate – they affect people of all ages and ethnicities. In the U.S. alone, over 500 people a day are diagnosed with a brain tumor. A brain tumor diagnosis can be devastating but there is hope. Brain tumor patients, survivors, caregivers, their families and friends will participate in the Orange County 5K Brain Tumor Walk and Community Day to support the brain tumor cause. Funds raised benefit brain tumor research and patient services.

What/When/Where: The National Brain Tumor Foundation (NBTF) will hold its 6th Annual Orange County Angel Adventure® 5K fundraising walk on Saturday, October 20th, 2007, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA. Maria Hall-Brown, Producer Host of KOCE, will emcee the event.

The Orange County Angel Adventure® is more than a fundraising walk– it is a community day where brain tumor patients and survivors, their families, friends and supporters come together to celebrate life and walk to fight brain tumors. It is also a time to remember and honor those who have succumbed to this indiscriminate disease. People walk for different reasons but everyone shares the desire to create awareness about the need for more funding to help battle this deadly disease.

Why: To raise funds for medical research and patient support services. Currently, 359,000 people in the U.S. are living with a brain tumor diagnosis. Over 500 people a day will be diagnosed with brain tumors, and the five-year survival rate is only 29 percent. In addition, patients may also be left with long-term side affects. Since its inception, NBTF has awarded over $5 million dollars to brain tumor research. Effective treatment is complicated and there are more than 120 different types of brain tumors, making fundraising even more necessary.

Event Details: The Angel Adventure® Walk will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, October 20th at the Huntington Central Park. Check-in and registration open at 8:00 am. Registration includes an event t-shirt, food, beverages, and full access to activities. Fees for students 6-17 are $15; children under 5 can walk for free. Adults (18 and over) pay a $40 registration fee ($50 after October 5th, 2007) and are asked to raise an additional $300. Prizes will be awarded to the top fundraising individual, team and team member.

For more information or to register for the Orange County Angel Adventure Walk, visit www.braintumor.org or call the Angel Adventure® voice message information line toll free: 1-866-455-3214.

About NBTF: The National Brain Tumor Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization that serves people whose lives are affected by brain tumors. The NBTF is dedicated to promoting a cure for brain tumors, improving the quality of life and giving hope to the brain tumor community by funding meaningful research and providing patient resources, timely information and education. Since its inception, the National Brain Tumor Foundation has awarded $5 million to research projects. For additional information on the NBTF, call toll free at 1-800-934-CURE (2873), or visit NBTF website at www.braintumor.org
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Mind Over Matter, A Spiritual Journey, is the poignant story about a young filmmaker, Scott Gerow, who embarks on making a documentary about his father’s struggle with obesity.  In the process, Scott discovers he has brain cancer.  One man has the choice to live-the other does not.  While coming to grips with his own mortality, Scott continues to chronicle the struggle of both father and son addressing their separate illnesses.  At the end, he gracefully accepts his own valiant death.  We are left behind feeling the beauty, courage, and dignity the filmmaker never stopped having for the world in which he lived.  The film is a salient reminder of how delicate and precious life truly is and the human spirit’s will to live or die.

Andrea Meyer of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival Daily Insider Newspaper, wrote on January 22, 2006,

Chris DeBenedetti, Staff Writer for Inside Bay Area, on January 27, 2006, wrote,

Dennis Kaiser, Editor of the Sun Newspaper, wrote on February 23, 2006,

"The director, who is also one of the film's subjects, draws the audience into his world; then we watch as it crumbles, devastated as life is stolen away from the promising young man we have gotten to know. We witness as Scott gently prods his father about sticking to his diet and comforts both his parents through the divorce. Never does he give in to bitterness or despair, even when his death becomes inevitable."

"Scott Gerow stood both in front of the camera and behind it, asking tough questions of his parents and remaining optimistic in the face of his cancer. The film is a story of incredible pain, both physically and emotionally and the courage of a family to look honestly at their sad situation. The only thing that doesn't seem to die is the basic respect and love they feel for each other at the core of their sense of family its value."