Raising Awareness

Although the prevalence of brain tumors is on the rise, they are often not the first thing people, or even the medical community for that matter, think of and pursue when presented with symptoms. The reason for this is simple – people are not educated about the disease. KHG’s goal is to change this dynamic by launching a national awareness campaign aimed at educating the public and medical professionals about the facts, symptoms and proper diagnosis techniques. For KHG, increased awareness will result in earlier diagnosis for those with the disease and earlier diagnosis, in turn, will then give the patient a better chance of beating the disease. At minimum, KHG feels that earlier diagnosis has the potential to extend the patient’s lifespan and to improve the patient’s quality of life during their illness, both of which are positive outcomes.

In addition to this, KHG feels that raising awareness will also bring more people to the fight, which translates to more money for research and support across the board.  The case-in-point is where breast cancer is today versus where it was 25 years ago before the important work of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The reality is that very few people knew the facts about the disease or even felt comfortable talking about breast cancer when The Komen Foundation first got started. Now, through their awareness efforts, people are not only educated about this disease, they are also involved in the cause. In fact, breast cancer is now one of the most well funded diseases (in terms of research dollars, etc.).

Finally, increased awareness and education can help to reduce long-term health-related costs associated with the disease. Sadly, delayed diagnosis often leads to more complicated surgical procedures, longer hospital stays, advance rehabilitation needs and a greater need for at-home nursing care.

As the centerpiece of its awareness efforts, KHG worked with its advertising agency, WH2P Marketing Communications, to create and launch the "Get Your Head In The Game®" Movement, which includes the following four components:

• a multimedia awareness campaign for the general public
• a continuing medical education program for physicians and nurses
• branded awareness events
• a national awareness alliance/collaborative

In 2008, KHG conducted a pilot test of its general public awareness campaign through a partnership with The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. This campaign can be viewed online at: www.GetYourHeadInTheGame.org. In addition, KHG also conducted a pilot of its continuing medical education program through a partnership with The Delaware School Nurse Association and The Delaware Department of Education. KHG’s plan is to develop the necessary partnerships to expand its "Get Your Head In The Game®" efforts to the Mid-Atlantic Region and, ultimately, nationwide.