We fight for hope, we fight for a cure.
Stories of Survival
I remember like it was yesterday when I first heard the doctor say, “You have an orange-sized mass in your brain.” My initial response to the doctor was, “Thank goodness it is not dementia!” That was my own biggest fear based on my symptoms. But within a matter of seconds reality began to set in.…
It was another otherwise normal drive home from a hockey rink with my 15 year old son, back in late April of 2008. Nothing out of the ordinary... cold rink, warm car, long ride home. Suddenly, I felt queasiness in my stomach and a slight headache...probably shouldn't have eaten the McDonalds at that…
During my first year of law school in 2007, I suffered from tremendous headaches and double vision. I wrote it off, thinking it was stress and poor vision so I took some Advil and made it through the year. The headaches and double vision worsened and on July 1, 2008, I was diagnosed with a large…
This past winter, my 5-year-old son needed an MRI due to frequent migraine headaches and a newly found eye problem. Doctors were concerned that the problems he was having may be due to a brain tumor and they ordered him to have an MRI. Because of his age, policy at the children's hospital is for him…
My name is Ebony Adams and I am an African-American and a 3-year survivor of a rare, malignant life-threatening brain tumor. I had something called cervicomedullary ependymoma. In late December 2007, I was having these very bad excruciatingly painful headaches. It felt like something was pulling or…
Georgia is my cousin through marriage she is 50 yrs old and as had a few surgeries do to neck surgery and then knee surgery. After receiving anesthesia for the knee surgery she had serve headaches, after 2 attempts to the local hospital here in Poughkeepsie NY she was sent home saying maybe she was…
My 9 year old daughter Giana had been vomitting since she was in kindergarten. It wasn't anything alarming to her pediatricians since it was only abt once or twice a month. Prior, she would come down with extremely high fevers over 105 degrees but they would only last a few hours with no other…
My 30-year old brother was diagnosed with a brain stem Glioma almost 5 year ago. He has been through Chemo, radiation, trial of surgery to remove the tumor and now is on a successful immuniotherapy trial sponsored by the Voices Against Brain Cancer foundation. He is a tribute to strength, positive…
My mother is a 2-year survivor of Glioblastoma Multiforme. She had her first surgery in 2007 followed by several smaller Cyber Knifes at St. Rapheals hospital
Lois is a woman of honor, good faith and unconditional love...a strong example for family and all around a mentor and a leader. She has been a part our lives for many precious years and many more to come!! She has just been recently diagnosed with a sudden brain tumor. She is in great hands with the…
Three years ago today, my five year old was recovering from anesthesia introduced during his preop MRI for a non specific brain tumor. The "mass" was resected in May of 2011,in a 12 hour procedure and he was paralyzed postop on his left side. After a brief stay at the Hospital for Special Care, he…
Thank-you for your donation to CCMC. Morgan was eligible for funds to help us buy oil this winter. Morgan is currently defying the odds. She's attending school and doing things most 8 year olds do. Her tumor has gone from bigger than a golf ball to thumb nail size! Thank you for your support –…
In 2011 my sister underwent surgery to remove her brain tumor. I was a teenager when it all happened so I didn’t quite understand to the full extent what was going on. She went through surgery successfully and they were able to remove it all. I remember riding up to the hospital (about an hour and a…
In 1997 I experienced a grand mal seizure and was hospitalized. I had two surgeries that year. My husband was by my side the entire time and my daughter was in a daze. 2004-2005 I started chemo and my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. I broke my tibia and fibula and had to go on…
My niece Tarae is 10 years old and she suffers from Brain Stem Giloma. She was diagnosis with it in November of 2009. She has recieved radiation treatment which strunk the tumor about 20% but in May the tumor started growing very rapidly. She is now on Kemo but it isn't working. I don't know what…
My Fiance Tim and I started dating in 2010. For a few months things went really great until he started to complain of soreness in his joints and always being tired. On August 19, 2012 he started to lose his vision and went to the hospital only to be diagnosed with end stage renal disease. He was on…
Our son Tom, who is now 17-years-old, was diagnosed with an optic pathway glioma, now with pontine involvement, when he was only four. He has been through several surgeries, all at Johns-Hopkins, many, many chemotherapy regimens, all prescribed by NYU and/or Duke University, an experimental clinical…