The moments that Mary Kay Ryan Fenlon vividly recalls were as a 4th grader holding the Bible for her Mom, Fran Ryan, when she was sworn in as a member of Columbus City Council and then again when Mary Kay was a law student and her mom was sworn in as a County Commissioner. “First as a child, and then as an adult, I realized how significant and important it is to give back to the community.”
Thirteen years ago Mary Kay didn’t know how much time she would have to give back to the community. In the summer of 2001, Mary Kay, an attorney, wife and mother of two boys, began to experience seizures. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery in November 2001 to remove the tumor from the left temporal region of her brain. At the time, Mary Kay was told that the expected survival rate was approximately 10 years. She was released from the hospital two days after the surgery and returned to work less than 6 weeks later.
Fast forward to 2011, ten years after her surgery. Mary Kay decided to celebrate her 10-year anniversary by creating a fundraiser called “Rock and Roll Over Brain Cancer” to celebrate her survival and say “thank you” to the doctors and nurses at The Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital. The annual event features an evening of rock and roll music headlined by the bands ‘Grey Matter’ and ‘The Reaganomics.’ Both bands have professional and personal ties to the fight to cure brain cancer as Mary Kay’s Neuro-Oncologist Dr. Herbert Newton is a member of Grey Matter and The Reaganomics recently lost one of their band members to brain cancer. The event also includes food, cash bar, raffle and both live and silent auctions with proceeds from the event going to support brain cancer research and related programs at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Hospital – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. After four years of holding the event they have raised over $70,000 to support brain cancer research and related programs at The James.
In addition to her work with Rock and Roll Over Brain Cancer Inc., Mary Kay serves as a General Attorney with AT&T. She also finds time to mentor first-year attorneys through the Columbus Bar Association, provide pro bono legal assistance for homeowners facing foreclosure through the Columbus Legal Aid Society, and is involved in fundraising and projects for The Brian Muha Memorial Foundation’s ‘Run the Race Club’ through the Women of AT&T (an organization with AT&T). In 2014 Mary Kay was recognized by the Legal Aid Society of Columbus for her efforts as a volunteer for the Save the Dream Foreclosure Mediation Project.
Mary Kay hopes to one day help find a cure for brain cancer and plans to work more closely with the Neuro-Oncology Department at The Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital to more fully understand the many research projects that are currently underway.