History

The Kelly Heinz-Grundner Foundation was established by Chris Grundner as a tribute to his beloved wife, best friend and soul mate, Kelly Heinz-Grundner, who died of a grade-four malignant brain tumor in September of 2004 at the age of 31. Kelly bravely faced and valiantly fought her disease for over two years. And in doing so, she was both an inspiration and a source of strength and hope to everyone around her. Yet, in spite of Kelly's strong constitution, her unbelievable determination and exhausting every possible treatment option, she ultimately was not a match for this terrible disease.

Kelly's struggle against this disease and her death will always be an incredible source of sadness to everyone who loved her. The lives of those who knew Kelly will never be the same without her. It was shortly after Kelly's passing that Chris realized that the best way for him to heal was to dedicate his life to helping others who are enduring or are destined to endure the same thing Kelly suffered through. Chris decided to resign from his job and re-direct all of his God-given energy, passion, knowledge and skills into altering the battle against brain tumors. His vision was that through the work of this Foundation, the battle against brain tumors will ultimately be won and brain tumors will no longer be the death sentence they often are today.

In addition to the thousands of patients living with a brain tumor today, it has been estimated that approximately 176,000 individuals are diagnosed with a brain tumor annually¹. The harsh reality remains that even though there have been some advances in the treatment of brain tumors over the past century, brain tumors are still a very formidable enemy. They often rob patients of many essential things they need in order to carry on a normal life and all too frequently rob patients of their lives altogether.

Now is the time to "up the ante" in the on-going fight. There are still major gaps in the battle today, especially in the area of awareness, which is where we've decided to focus our attention.

Research has shown that although the prevalence of brain tumors is on the rise, they are often not the first thing people, or even the medical community for that matter, think of and pursue when pressed with symptoms.  KHG’s goal is to change this dynamic.  Specifically, KHG intends to build national awareness and to help educate people not only about the symptoms of a brain tumor, but also about how to ask and advocate for proper diagnosis.  In Kelly’s case, she went undiagnosed for so long that by the time she was diagnosed her treatment options and their resultant impact were greatly diminished.  Sadly, Kelly’s situation is not unique, as many, many patients go undiagnosed for far too long, with dire consequences.

Click here for the facts about this disease.

In addition to educating the public about the facts and symptoms and the proper diagnosis techniques, the secondary goal is just as important – to create a platform for people to get involved in the fight against brain tumors.  The bottom line is there simply are not enough people supporting this cause right now and our aim is to change that dynamic for the benefit of the entire brain tumor community.

Why is this important?  Because more people involved translates to more money for important things like research and support.  Our case in point?  Where breast cancer is today versus where it was 25 years ago before the ground-breaking work of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  The truth is that few people knew the facts about or even talked about breast cancer when they first got started.  Now you can't go anywhere without seeing a pink ribbon or hearing someone talking about it (and this is a good thing!).  As a result, breast cancer is now one of the most well-funded diseases (in terms of research dollars, etc.). 

Clearly we have a long way to go to accomplish for brain tumors what the Susan G. Komen Foundation has accomplished for breast cancer.  However, in our opinion, anything is possible with a good vision and great execution.  It all begins with someone taking the first step and, quite frankly, that is what we intend to do.

Although pretty much a grass-roots effort right now, KHG plans are to launch a national awareness campaign in the future using its trademark slogan - Get Your Head In The Game – so please stay tuned! 

Click here for more information on our awareness activities.

Foundation Milestones