American Idol David Cook’s Brother is no More

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The American Idol David Cook lost his brother who was fighting with cancer. David Cook learned that his brother Adam died hours before the Idol champ was scheduled to take part in the Race for Hope in Washington, D.C. – but says that despite the devastating news, he never thought of pulling out. Instead, he wanted to participate in tribute to his late brother.

David Cook Said:

“My brother never wanted his illness to affect others,” Cook, 26, writes on his Celebrity MySpace page. “That was evident in the fact that he wanted his illness to have no part in my experience on Idol, a point he was quite adamant about. So, with that wish in mind, I ran and was involved with the event as an homage to him.”

Cook announced the news of his brother Adam’s death at the event on Sunday. The 5K race benefited the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

“I actually lost my brother yesterday to a brain tumor and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else right now,” Cook, 26, told the crowd at the benefit for brain cancer research (see video here). Cook was both serving as grand marshal and running with a team that raised $98,000.

Cook’s brother, Adam, 37, had battled the disease throughout Cook’s American Idol competition, and had the chance to see his younger sibling perform in April 2008 on the famous stage. At the time, Adam, a married father and lawyer in Terre Haute, Ind., was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

“I’m not going to lie to you. He still has a tough road ahead of him,” Adam’s longtime friend Darrick Scott had told PEOPLE. “But this trip to Los Angeles has put a whole new pep in his step.”

The Idol judges had even noted that having Adam in the front row may have given David the inspiration needed to win.

Simon Cowell on Sunday offered his condolences. “I was incredibly saddened to hear the news,” he said in a statement to PEOPLE. “I met Adam Cook a few times at American Idol. He was an incredible guy, and right now my thoughts are with David and his family.”

American Idol David Cook’s Brother is no More

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