MOUNT PLEASANT, N.C. — A mother who lost her son to brain cancer is now trying to fight back. She is educating people about the rare type of brain tumor her son had and clinical trials that are trying to treat it.

What You Need To Know

  • May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month

  • Jennifer Thompson is educating people about her son’s brain cancer, known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas or DIPG

  • According to DIPG.org, this type of brain tumor makes up about 10-15% of all brain tumors in children

  • Less than 10% of children survive two years after diagnosis

Jennifer Thompson says the month of May used to be just a normal month for her. It was usually the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. But now it holds a different meaning. It’s the month she opens up about her son, Jace, who died from DIPG four years ago at age five.

“It’s healthy children that this horrific disease attacks,” Thompson said. “For me, in May, highlighting brain cancer, we just felt it was such an important month to honor Jace.”

Thompson started the Warrior Jace Foundation in honor of her son. Throughout the month of May she has been posting videos and pictures of her son. She said the goal of the foundation is to provide funding for clinical research. 

“When you look into your child’s eyes, and they are telling you that they have less than a year to live, it’s just not the way it should be,” Thompson said.

In the past, the nonprofit would donate to a hospital in Washington D.C. But this year Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte is starting a clinical trial to treat certain brain tumors in children. Thompson said part of the money raised this year will go to that.

“We have to help all these researchers and scientists that are trying so hard to find a cure,” Thompson said. “This isn’t a life any child or parent should have to live.”

A spokesperson for Atrium health says the clinical trial at Levine Children’s Hospital will open up in June. To find out more visit its website and search “brain tumor.”