July 15 marks Glioblastoma Awareness Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer while honoring the thousands of lives lost to the disease each year.
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Health experts say glioblastoma is the most aggressive, difficult-to-treat type of brain cancer. More than 10,000 people in the United States die from the disease annually, and the median survival after diagnosis is just eight months.
Last month, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham led a bipartisan July 15 as Glioblastoma Awareness Day. The resolution honors those who have died from the disease, including late Sen. John McCain, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017 and died the following year.
For NBC6 reporter Christian Colón, the story is deeply personal. His mother, Ivette Colón, died in December 2025 after a year long battle with glioblastoma.
Amber Barbach with the Glioblastoma Research Organization (GBMRO) said experts say the disease can affect anyone, regardless of age, race or gender.
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“Glioblastoma affects anyone… It does not discriminate,” Barbach said. “Glioblastoma can affect anyone from a 6-month-old baby to a 99-year-old person. That’s the part we’re trying to raise awareness and funding for, because we don’t know why. It’s what we need to find out to get to a place where we’re finding cures.”
Barbach also encourages people to pay close attention to persistent or unusual symptoms, including changes in vision, ongoing headaches that do not go away, or other unexplained neurological changes, and to seek medical evaluation if they occur.
Advocates hope the annual observance will increase public awareness, generate funding for research, and provide support for patients and families facing one of the most challenging cancer diagnoses.
More information about glioblastoma and ways to support research efforts can be found at https://www.gbmresearch.org/.
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