Andover family raises $1M for childhood cancer research in son's memory

Dylan Witschen was just 16 when he died of brain cancer, but the teenager from Andover had one final wish before he passed. He wanted his family to raise money to find a cure for childhood cancer.

"I don't want kids to go through this. I don't want parents to go through this," Dylan's mother, Debbie, recalled her son saying. "I want you to raise money for St. Jude's."

Since Dylan died of high-grade glioblastoma multiforme in June 2010, his mother and father, Ed, have carried out his wishes. The family formed a foundation in their son's name, and on Saturday will host the 11th-annual St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 5K Walk/Run at the Riversbend Bar & Grill in Ramsey.

It's one of 60 walks being held around the nation to raise money for the Memphis-based hospital specializing in treating cancers and pediatric diseases.

This year will mark a big milestone, too. The Dylan Witschen Foundation will surpass the $1 million mark, with much of that fueled by record donations in 2021. The foundation has raised more than $155,000 this year, up from $74,000 last year. Much of the money over the years has come from people who had never met the happy-go-lucky kid who loved sports, was a good student and had the gift of gab, his mother said.

"I draw inspiration from donors who never met Dylan," Debbie said. "That gives me inspiration to tell his story."

It all started on the Anoka High School football field during the first preseason practice in 2008. Dylan, a freshman at the time, made a hard tackle and minutes later had a seizure. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital. A CT scan showed he had a mass on his brain. He was diagnosed with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (sPNET).

After surgeons at Children's Hospital removed the tumor, Dylan went to St. Jude's in Memphis and over eight months underwent 31 radiation treatments and four rounds of high-dose chemotherapy. A brain scan in June 2009 showed no evidence of the disease. Another scan three months later produced clean results, Debbie said.

It looked like Dylan was going to make it through. But he suffered another seizure in October 2009. Doctors told Dylan on his 16th birthday that he had high-grade glioblastoma multiforme, a form of cancer that was incurable and inoperable. He had only six months to live, his mother said.

"To relapse with brain cancer — we knew it was terminal," Debbie said. "It was one ... hell of a fight."

Debbie said her son got the "best care" at St. Jude's, which doesn't bill families for medical services. She wondered, "how can I pay people back?"

The Dylan Witschen Foundation supports St. Jude's and provides scholarships for local college-bound students. Scholarships are presented to students who exhibit compassion, determination, strength, leadership and confidence, and are giving and a team player, qualities Dylan once showed on the football field.

And events will continue far into the future.

"He meant do it until there is no more cancer," Debbie said. "It was never about reaching $1 million. I want every year to do my best to tell Dylan's story."

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768