Brain tumor survivor to take part in Head for the Cure 5K
Courtesy of Jenna Heilman, Head for the Cure executive director
Karin Brightwell, center, was diagnosed with a brain tumor 14 years ago. She continues to defy the odds and organized a team, K-Lyn’s Fans, to participate in the Head for the Cure 5K Race to raise funds for brain tumor research. With Brighwell are her daughter, Kassidy,and Kassidy’s friend, Makayla Ayers.
Courtesy of Karin Brightwell
Karin Brightwell, bottom left, with her family, daughter Kassidy, husband, Mark, and son, Colton.
Courtesy of Karin Brightwell
Karin Brightwell, with her daughter, Kassidy, at a Head for the Cure race. The annual 5K event raises money to help find a cure for brain tumors.
Courtesy of Jenna Heilman, Head for the Cure executive director
Karin Brightwell, center, hosts a team, K-Lyn’s Fans, for the annual Head for the Cure 5K. Brightwell is a brain tumor survivor. Pictured with her are Brightwell’s friends, Becky Brown and Lois Ruschak.
In May 2006, Karin Brightwell’s world was turned upside down when she was was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
The cause of the tumor, called an oligoastrocytoma tumor, is unknown. But doctors gave Brighwell about six to eight years to live.
Brightwell underwent radiation treatment, followed by one year of chemotherapy.
Now a 14-year survivor, Brightwell continues to defy the odds.
And Saturday, she will serve as captain of a team, K-Lyn’s Fans, which is participating in the second annual Pittsburgh Head for the Cure 5K Run & Walk.
The first Head for the Cure 5K was held in Kansas City in 2003. Since then, more than 115,000 people have taken part in the race in an effort to defeat brain cancer, and more than 30,000 donors have supported 5K participants, raising more than $12 million.
This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the race will be held virtually at 9 a.m.
“I’m living a regular life, other than I have minor seizures, and I don’t let them bother me,” Brightwell said. “I’ve been able to do things that I never thought I’d be able to do, like watch my daughter graduate from high school this year.”
Brightwell experiences seizures about four times a week – at the time she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she suffered 10 to 15 seizures a day – so she no longer drives or works. They typically last less than a minute, and Brightwell can feel them coming on.
She said various activities have triggered the seizures over years – for a while, peeling carrots and listening to certain songs led to seizures.
“Sometimes, I’ll have a seizure and I don’t even know it. My family will say, ‘Mom, you just had one,’ and I won’t even be aware of it,” Brightman said. “When they were little, they would hold my hand while I had one. They are used to it.”
She undergoes brain scans at Hillman Cancer Center every three months, and she visits two specialists – one who treats her for the seizures, and the other who monitors her cognitive abilities and the tumor, which remains.
Brain cancer survivors can face many day-to-day challenges, including fatigue and a reduction in cognitive functions like memory.
That’s the case for Brightwell, who suffers from short term memory loss.
“I have no short-term memory. I have to write everything down,” said Brightwell, 49, a graduate of Charleroi High School and Penn State University. “If something isn’t written down, I will not remember it.”
Brightwell noted, however, there are medications and tools that exist today, which weren’t around 14 years ago during her diagnosis, that can help her and other survivors better manage side effects and other challenges that come their way.
And, she noted, her support system, including her family – husband, Mark, children Kassidy, a rising freshman at Slippery Rock University, and Colton, a rising junior at Bentworth High School – and friends and her church, First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Charleroi – have provided her emotional and spiritual strength to handle her health issues.
When Brightwell turned 40, her family threw a big birthday party with a disc jockey, and family and friends from across the country turned out to share in the celebration.
In December, Brightwell turns 50, a milestone she wasn’t sure she would reach.
Brightwell takes satisfaction in and has an appreciation of each day. She enjoys cooking and spending time with her – and confesses to a guilty pleasure, watching “Grey’s Anatomy” with her daughter.
“I am so happy that I’ve made it this long. There were so many milestones I didn’t think I’d get to see, and I feel very fortunate that I have,” said Brightwell.
Her battle with the brain tumor has changed her perspective on life. “A lot of thing that I used to think were important – silly things – aren’t that important anymore,” said Brightwell. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I couldn’t live without driving,’ but it doesn’t matter. I don’t worry about a lot of things. I’m happy to have my family and I’m happy to be alive.”
Note: Each year, over 80,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor. More than 120 types of brain tumors exist, making effective treatment complicated. Donations to Head for the Cure support the Brain Tumor Trials Collaborative, a network of medical centers with the expertise to participate in clinical trials investigating new treatments for malignant brain tumors. To participate in the 5K race or to make a donation to K-Lyn’s Fans, visit www.headforthecure.org. Cost to participate in the race is $27.