Palatine marathoner loses race with brain cancer
Jennifer McDevitt just ran out of time.
The Palatine resident drew national attention for completing marathons while undergoing chemotherapy treatments for her brain tumor.
Just this fall, she was registered to run both the Chicago and New York marathons, but ultimately, the brain cancer she had battled for seven years finally won the race.
Mrs. McDevitt passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 36.
“She started running after her diagnosis,” says her father, Richard Galloway of Itasca. “She always said, ‘I'm going to run the cancer out of me.'”
Mrs. McDevitt was diagnosed with brain cancer eight weeks after the birth of her son, Jack, in 2003. Over the next seven years, she would run seven marathons and all but two were run during her chemotherapy treatments and raise more than $250,000 for brain cancer research.
A graduate of the former Driscoll Academy and Loras College in Dubuque, IA, Mrs. McDevitt studied history and planned to become a teacher. But her disease drew her to become a spokeswoman and advocate for brain cancer patients.
With her husband, Glen, she formed a foundation to advocate for brain cancer patients, called “Joggin' for the Noggin.” The organization's third annual run took place in August in downtown Palatine.
“I created Joggin for the Noggin because I want people to realize that brain cancer has winners and has success stories,” Mrs. McDevitt wrote in a 2009 blog entry. “I am personally one of them. This race is to raise the awareness of brain tumors and help increase funding for a cure.”
For the last six years, Mrs. McDevitt had been treated at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Clinic at Duke University. Her foundation raised money for research projects at the medical center as well as for the Tug McGraw Foundation, on which Mrs. McDevitt served and enthusiastically supported its motto: “Ya' Gotta' Believe.”
Tug McGraw Foundation President Jennifer Brusstar said Mrs. McDevitt was a model of hope for the brain tumor community.
“The Foundation will continue our mission for Jenny and so many other angels,” Brusstar said in a statement. “She will always be an inspiration to our board, our marathon team and the patients and professionals we serve.”
In a 2007 appearance on the Today Show on NBC, Mrs. McDevitt said running offered her a sense of freedom and empowerment over her disease.
“It's a confirmation that I'm still alive and still here, and doing what I want to do,” she said, “which is not letting my brain cancer control me.”
Her doctors at Duke University supported her.
“There's no question that exercise plays a huge role in improving psychological and physiological state, and maybe even the curative state of these patients,” said Dr. Henry Friedman, of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Clinic. “We think it enhances her chances of doing well, and we support her unequivocally.”
Besides her father, Mrs. McDevitt is survived by her husband, Glen, and son, Jack, as well as her mother, Margaret Galloway, brother, Christopher (Angela), and nieces McKenzie and Maddison.
Visitation takes place from 9-11 a.m. Friday before an 11 a.m. funeral Mass at St. Peter the Apostle Church, 524 N. Rush St. in Itasca.