The Brad Kaminsky Foundation

Lisa Millar never expected that she would be the founder of an organization that has raised almost $500,00 for brain cancer research. That is, until her brother was diagnosed with the most malignant form of brain cancer in 1999 and passed away 19 months later. Then Millar became determined to fulfill a promise that she made to him.

“He asked me to promise him that I wouldn’t stop fighting. I did and it’s now what drives me and helps me cope,” Millar explained. So in 2001, the Brad Kaminsky Foundation was born.

When doctors diagnozed Kaminsky with glioblastoma multiforme in 1999, he and his family soon discovered that for 20 years, there had been no research or funding directed toward that type of cancer. Because the brain is an extremely difficult area to treat, doctors were putting their energy into researching other types of cancer. With an estimated six to 18 months to live, Kaminsky and his family fought in every way they could.

Kaminsky became involved in seven very experimental clinical trials at Duke University. One of the treatments worked for nine months, giving Kaminsky quality time to spend with his family. The relationship that the family formed with Duke University later helped Millar determine the mission of the Brad Kaminsky Foundation and how it would contribute to finding the cure.

“The doctors at Duke were fighting for Brad," she explained. "Now we want to help fund their research.”

Through the help of innovative and generous people that have rallied around Millar and the foundation that was established in her brother’s memory, BKF has been able to raise $414,000 through various events and fundraisers. The organization sold cook books, hosted golf tournaments, galas and silent auctions, organized pub crawls and races, raised money any other way they could think of. Millar is known as a woman that will turn any event into a fundraiser.

“I’ll do anything to help find a cure,” she said.

The money raised through the Ashburn-based Brad Kaminsky Foundation goes strictly toward research. It funds vaccine trials, gene therapies and immunotherapies, which are less toxic ways of treating cancer.

“These treatments are the waves of the future,” Millar explained.

It also funds pediatric cancer research.

And progress has being made. During the past ten years, standard protocols have been established, chemotherapy specifically designed for brain tumors has been developed, and the FDA has approved many cancer-fighting drugs. But until there is a cure, Millar and her team will keep fighting.

“The happiest day of my life would be the day that we shut down the foundation,” said Millar.

If you are interested in supporting the Brad Kaminsky Foundation, there are several upcoming events in the area:

• , March 5, 2011, Belmont Country Club, $75/person, Enjoy dinner, casino games and a silent auction.
• The Ashburn Blue Waves Swim Team Swim-a-Thon, April 2, 2011
• , April 30, 2011, Lansdowne Resort, Dinner and silent auction (open to the general public) to follow golf.

For more information on the Brad Kaminsky Foundation, visit www.tbkf.org.