Recently, members of the Lilabean Foundation team had the opportunity to visit Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and spend time with researchers and leaders from the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN).
May is Brain Cancer Awareness Month — a time to honor the children and families fighting and to celebrate the communities rallying behind them. It feels fitting, then, to share a story that moved us deeply last month.
When Justine Carr laces up her running shoes and crosses the finish line of the Bend Half Marathon this spring, she'll be carrying more than miles in her legs. She'll be carrying the memory of a little girl who danced, told jokes, asked questions, and showed up every single day with a smile that could fill a room. Cameron Corno was Justine's kindergarten student and one of the bravest people Justine has ever known. Cameron passed away on June 6, 2025, after a five-year battle with ependymoma, an aggressive pediatric brain cancer. She was six years old. But in the years since Justine first set her goal to run a race in all 50 states, Cameron's spirit has quietly shaped that mission into something far greater than a personal achievement. Bend, Oregon, will be state #47. And Justine is running it — as she has before — for Cam.