Upstate Medical Student Launches First CNY Brain Cancer Research Walk

Syracuse NY

06 May, 2022

3:40 PM

Description

Press release from Upstate Medical University: May 3, 2022 It is fitting that the inaugural Central New York Walk for Brain Cancer Research at Upstate Medical University, organized by second-year medical student Nneka Onwumere, falls on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8. It was Onwumere's mother, Elsweta Gordon, who helped spark her interest in the field of neurology and later, Gordon's own health issues that solidified Onwumere's resolve to become a doctor. Gordon worked as a medical assistant and later as a nurse in the neurology department of a hospital in the Bronx. She died in the fall, so this is Onwumere's first holiday without her. "I won't be alone on Mother's Day," she said. The walk will benefit Debbie's Brain Cancer Research Fund, part of the Upstate Foundation, which supports brain cancer research at Upstate. The walk is being hosted by the Upstate Medical University Chapters of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Colleges Against Cancer (CAC), Medicine in Motion and Upstate Wishmakers on Campus. Squeezing in event planning around med school commitments hasn't been easy, but Onwumere hopes this year's event lays the groundwork for more successful events in years to come. "My general goal is to start somewhere," said Onwumere, who is co-president of the AANS chapter. "And my dream is that even after I graduate this will be a yearly walk. It is something I feel like I can leave as a mark here. This year I just really want to get people walking." After participating in local walks for breast cancer and Alzheimer's in the fall, Onwumere searched for a similar event for brain cancer but finding none, decided to start one, even though she has no event planning experience. This press release was produced by Upstate Medical University. The views expressed here are the author's own.