Stories

A Whole New Life: Loving the New Me I had a central neurocytoma removed in 2008. I had an anoxic brain bleed and a stroke. I developed left-side paralysis and aphasia. I tried returning to college three times. I gave up on school.  I was a full-time student at MSU. I was a cheerleading coach at a local high school. I had a […] June 20, 2025

My Journey with 3 Hemangiomas I was diagnosed with three hemangiomas in October 2020. In April 2022, I had to have a craniotomy to remove one of the tumors that was wrapped around my left optic nerve. As of today, I still have two hemangiomas that the neurosurgeon has been watching. The first thing I had to do was learn […] June 20, 2025

How a Hiker’s Life Changed Overnight: A Metastatic Lung Cancer Story My life is 100% different than it was a year ago. A year ago, my partner Kirk and I spent Memorial Day snow camping and ski touring up Broken Top, our local backyard mountain. We skied in with heavy packs and plenty of snacks for several days…a prospect I can’t even imagine right now.  A […] June 20, 2025

The Unseen Toll: A Caretaker’s Glioblastoma Story My husband Joe (that’s his American name) was born in Laos on September 11, 1973. When Joe was around five years old, his family escaped Laos over the Mekong River to Thailand with bullets whizzing over their heads as they were escaping at night. They left everything behind and spent about 1-2 years in a […] June 18, 2025

Lizzy Dixon My mom, Elizabeth “Lizzy,” was diagnosed with an inoperable right thalamic glioblastoma this January. She began having symptoms in mid-2024.  Mom lived alone (and an hour away from me), so caregiving (getting her to treatments, daily tasks, everyday daily activities like dressing, bathing, and eventually walking) was a struggle. With great support from my job, […] June 16, 2025