Her mom was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now this KC woman bikes for her, research
.jpeg "Mary Gerend, right, is spending the month of April biking 300 miles to raise money for Head for the Cure Foundation, an organization which began in Kansas City that raises money and awareness for brain cancer research and helps families and patients affected by the disease. Gerend’s mom, Amy, above, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a Stage 4 brain tumor, roughly 16 months ago.")
Growing up in the Kansas City area, Mary Gerend would watch her mom dedicate her professional life to helping kids and young mothers as a social worker.
“She’ll literally fight, until the end, for a cause that she believes is worthy,” said Gerend. “It’s always an inspiration. … She just really, really wants to help our communities and, you know, be a villager.”
Now, the 21-year-old junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who is studying psychology, finds herself following her mother’s lead. For her mom and other patients and their families who are dealing with cancer.
After Amy Gerend was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a Stage 4 brain tumor, last year, her oldest of three children found herself wanting to do something. She landed on a goal of running 100 miles in the month of April with the hope of raising at least $2,000 for cancer research.
Now, after having accomplished that — bringing in about $2,400 last year for the American Cancer Society — the college student upped the ante and set herself a new goal of biking 300 miles this April and raising $5,000. Her GoFundMe account titled, “300 Miles for my Mom and Brain Cancer Research,” has already brought in more than $4,200.
This time, Gerend is raising money for Head for the Cure Foundation, a Kansas City organization dedicated to supporting the community of brain cancer patients, their families, friends, caregivers and other supporters. The nonprofit uses funds for research and programs that benefit families dealing with brain cancer.
“I set what I thought was a hefty goal, but it kind of blew up within the first week,” said Gerend, who as of Friday morning had racked up 88 miles in nine days. “And now I’m 85% of the way to my (fundraising) goal. I saw people donating that I haven’t talked to in years, or like people I didn’t even know.”
It’s a testament, she said, to “my parents and my family’s support system and network.” And the fact, she said, that her mom has always made friends wherever she goes.
Amy Gerend, 48, has had four surgeries since early last year. And from Jan. 8 until a couple of weeks ago, she had spent 100 days in the hospital in 2026 alone, her family said. But now she’s back home with her husband, kids and their English Golden Retriever, Pearl.
“She has a good spirit,” Mary Gerend said. “She’s just grateful at the end of the day, especially to be at home.”
During the family’s journey, which Mary’s father said has been “a really difficult time,” friends and relatives have often asked, ‘What are the things we can do?’ Together, they’re figuring that out.
“The disease is a quandary to science,” Tom Gerend said. “And it’s unfortunate that there hasn’t been the investment, the research, the awareness that we’ve seen in other strains of cancer research. ... It’s one of those things that you read about, you have some general awareness, and you never think it will happen to you or to your family.”
That’s where he and others have realized they can make a difference.
“We can raise awareness,” he said. “We can help raise money to make progress. The disease is horrible, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
He’s watching his daughter begin to make a small dent in that.
Being a part of the change
At one point, as her mom was seeing doctors and scheduling surgeries, Mary Gerend noticed ads popping up on her Instagram page about fundraisers for brain cancer research. She could do that, she thought.
“I don’t have to sit here and wait for something to change,” Gerend remembers thinking. “I can be a part of that change. And so that was where the inspiration came from. It ended up being one of the best things I could do for myself, because it gets me out moving. I feel like I’m being productive.”
Running in April last year gave her mind and body something to do. But she said it was more than that. It was also about reaching out to other people, and other people reaching out to her and her family.
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Cora Skaggs, who has known Mary since the fifth grade, said Amy Gerend’s diagnosis and the realization of how many families are affected each year, was a “call to action” for her friend.
“As long as I’ve known her, she’s always been trying to help her community and give back and just use her voice for good,” Skaggs said.
Hopping on her bike each day this month is helping do that, her friend said.
Maggie Haynes, executive director of Head for the Cure Foundation, said often after someone is diagnosed, family and friends and colleagues want to know how they can help.
“And there’s only so many casseroles that somebody can have made for them, right?” Haynes said. “But getting out there and saying, ‘I care about you’ in a loud and proud, public way, the way that Mary is doing for her mom, is something that I know, even others who have been on this journey, that they can feel hopeful about.
“And hope is something that we have to have in this disease.”
‘The least that I can do’
What’s been different this year is how Amy’s daughter has shared her family’s story and the goals she has set to raise awareness and money.
Last year, during her fundraising campaign, she posted on social media “a little bit, but not every day.”
“I didn’t feel as confident in reaching out to people and talking about it and talking about my story, because I felt like it was more fresh,” Mary Gerend said. “I just wasn’t as open.”
But now, she posts after each ride, even adding a “song of the day” with a photo and update on the goal.
“I love getting the daily updates and seeing how much money they’ve raised and watching that number grow,” Skaggs said. “I think that if she can surpass her goal and keep raising even more, then that’s awesome. It’s so awesome to see.”
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Mary Gerend now envisions herself as a strong advocate for brain cancer awareness and action for “the rest of my life,” she said. That means more fundraisers down the line.
And fighting for a cause she believes in, something she’s learned from her mom.
“I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon,” she said. “I don’t know what it’ll look like or what I’ll do,” she said. “Maybe I’ll stir something different up, but I believe there’s a lot of work to be done, so I can’t quit after $5,000.
“The least that I can do is bring my mom’s energy into a cause that is important to my family.”
