SAN ANTONIO – The loud air horn at the starting line of the Head for the Cure 5K rang aloud as 755 people gathered to raise awareness for brain cancer.
Several survivors walked the 3.1 miles around downtown San Antonio on Saturday morning, including Rene Bueno.
“I can’t believe I’m here doing this,” he said.
Bueno said his doctors pulled out a shunt from his brain on Friday.
Twenty-four hours later, he was hitting the pavement. Bueno said he heard about the race after hearing fellow survivor and Head for the Cure’s community outreach coordinator, DJ Stewart, during a KSAT Q&A.
“I saw the stint on KSAT 12 that he did driving in when he was leaving Kansas City, like ‘you know what? I want to go. I need to go,’” said Bueno.
A superhero in his own right, survivor Chris Evans fought to run again.
“The other night, I just had something bugging me to get on the internet and find the community around San Antonio,” he said.
In 2018, Evans said doctors found a tumor the size of an egg in his frontal lobe, leaving him paralyzed on his left side.
During a five-year checkup last month, Evans learned the cancer came back.
He said the strength of other survivors pushed him forward.
“It actually feels amazing,” said Evans.
This year’s run/walk is the 10th annual Head for the Cure 5K in San Antonio. It was inspired by former KSAT News Director Jim Boyle, who loved running.
Boyle died in 2014 from Glioblastoma brain cancer.
Several members of the KSAT family wore black shirts with Team Boyle across their chests.
“It just makes me happy that people think about him and that everybody’s here today, and it’s really nice,” said Boyle’s daughter, Erin Boyle Dempsey.
The event raised $63,919, according to Head for the Cure officials.
To learn more about the cause or to show your support for Head for the Cure, visit its website here.