Chris Elliott Fund dba End Brain Cancer Initiative

The End Brain Cancer Initiative (EBCI), formerly known as the Chris Elliott Fund, works to support and guide patients and their caregivers through their medical journey after a diagnosis of Brain Cancer, a Brain Tumor, or Metastatic Disease to the Brain.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of adult brain cancer. Diagnosed patients have an average prognosis of 12-15 months with the current Standard of Care, better than only 4 months with no treatment. Either way, only about 5% of GBM patients will survive more than 5 years, a statistic that has not moved in over 50 years. EBCI’s mission is to educate the patient population and their caregivers on all forms of available treatment, including clinical trials. We believe that a fully informed patient can have a more meaningful conversation with their medical team and thereby gain access to better treatments for their individual disease. We hope that this will lead to improved survivorship and a better quality of life overall.

 EBCI supports their mission through 3 service programs:

• Patient Disease Education, Awareness and Outreach programs and events
• Advocacy and Access Initiatives
• “Direct Connect” Service Program

Our Patient Disease Education programs occur several times per year, disbursing information on the latest developments in treatments, both drug and device, and advanced diagnostic tools, like comprehensive genomic testing through our website (~15,000 visits/month), disease education materials, social media/digital services, speaking opportunities, and customized 1:1 virtual/in person meetings with patients/caregivers. We regularly engage patients and caregivers in roundtable discussions that get the “Patient Voice” into clinical trial design and to organizations developing treatments. Our “Direct Connect” program is designed to connect patients to premiere specialists in the field to ensure everyone has an equitable opportunity for the best treatment.

 EBCI will celebrate 20 years of service in May 2022. We were founded in 2002 by Dellann and Chris Elliott shortly before Chris’ untimely passing from GBM. Since then, Dellann has worked tirelessly to grow EBCI into the powerful advocacy organization that it is today. We recognize that this patient group does not have time to waste on treatments that are marginally successful, that patients deserve equal access to specialists and treatment options, and that the Standard of Care and Physician guidelines need to be aggressively updated to ensure the best possible care and hope for the best possible outcome.