SAN ANTONIO – A few months after losing their loved one due to brain cancer in 2014, one family found comfort in walking alongside people they had never met but related to more than anyone.
“It had been two and a half months after he passed, and I was watching KSAT and saw Head for the Cure,” said Katherine Price, who helped create Team Frederick to honor her stepfather, Frank Frederick, who was diagnosed with brain cancer.
“We did everything together,” Price said. “He was the kind of person that wouldn’t say no, and if you needed something, he was there in an instant.”
Everything changed on Nov. 10, 2012 after doctor determined why Frederick’s headaches became increasingly strong as time went by.
“He had been having headaches, and then I guess one day at work, he got dizzy and he fell,” Price said.
Doctors said Frederick had a tumor in his brain.
"You never really think that you have cancer because you have a headache,” Price said.
Frederick battled brain cancer for nearly two years, undergoing two surgeries. His wife said his health deteriorated quickly to the point where he needed help going to the bathroom and getting dressed.
“He stayed strong, though,” Price said. “I think that’s what helped (us) a lot is, even though he was dealing with it, he stayed positive the entire time.”
Frederick passed away on July 11, 2014 from brain cancer.
“Every now and then I’ll think about him or something will happen and I’m like, ‘I wish you were here,’” Price said.
Price and her family have found strength and community through their involvement through the annual event Head for the Cure San Antonio. Their participation began in 2014 with a small group of family members and close friends but has since grown.
“Ever since 2016, we’ve been the top five largest teams,” Price said. “This has done so much for my emotional process (that I asked myself) ‘what can I do to help more?’ So, I reached out to Head for the Cure and became the lead volunteer coordinator for San Antonio.”
Leading up to the event held in September, Price reaches out to schools and businesses to recruit volunteers to help with event setup and breakdown.
“I’ve loved every second of being a part of something that means so close to me,” Price said.
It’s an opportunity to increase awareness through community involvement which in turn, according to Price, helps family’s like hers.
“I (helped care for) somebody that has has dealt with this (disease),” Price said. “I know the littlest, tiniest, tiniest support that they see from somebody else can do a lot for them.”
Although this year’s race is being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Team Frederick still hopes to be one of the biggest teams registered for Head for the Cure San Antonio.
The race will be streamed on the organization’s Facebook page.
For more information on Head for the Cure, visit its website here.
