About 90,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumor every year in the United States, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. Fifteen-year-old Walker was one of them.
The New York teenager was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant tumor that primarily affects children, after a routine visit to the eye doctor just after he finished kindergarten. He’s in remission now, but the cause still remains close to his heart.
That’s why he decided to organize a baseball game fundraiser in support of children battling brain cancer — just in time for Brain Cancer Awareness Month in May. The event raised over $25,000.
“I used to play baseball before my surgery, and I attend [Poly Prep Country Day School], which has the best baseball program in the northeast,” Walker said on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” “I thought it would be a great idea to have a baseball fundraiser to raise awareness for kids with brain cancer during the month of May.”
Having been through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, Walker knows firsthand how difficult battling a brain tumor can be, but he said he wants to leave others going through the same thing with one note: stay strong.
“My message for kids fighting brain cancer now is always to keep your heads up,” he said. “There will always be struggles in your life, and this will be the worst one, but you have to stay positive and have the right mindset to beat it.”
