Thank you for visiting my personal page and helping me to reach my fundraising goal!

Each year, over 200,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor. More than 120 types of brain tumors exist, making effective treatment complicated. Cutting edge research is needed as we continue to make strides in this fight.

Head for the Cure works to inspire hope for the community of brain cancer patients, their families, friends, caregivers and other supporters, while celebrating their courage, spirit and energy. Every Head for the Cure event marks a day of celebration where those diagnosed with brain cancer are honored and celebrated by their friends and families, those who have lost their battles are remembered, and we are all inspired to carry on the fight. 

Funds raised by Head for the Cure support the Brain Tumor Trials Collaborative, a network of medical centers with the expertise and the desire to participate in state-of-the-art clinical trials investigating new treatments for malignant brain tumors.

Please consider making a donation (or joining my team) today to help me reach my goal and to help Head for the Cure defeat brain cancer, step by step! The following is my personal journey in the fight against brain cancer. 

MY STORY IS ONE OF FAITH, LOVE, HOPE, AND POSITIVITY

SIX (+) YEARS! Wow! That’s how long I’ve been fighting as someone diagnosed with a Glioblastoma (GBM)! That’s how long it has been since my world was rocked! That's how long I have been a CANCER SURVIVOR! 

I was a 31 year old Travel Nurse on assignment in sunny San Diego! What started as a beautiful day on the beach turned into craziness. I started having seizures on the beach and don’t remember much from there for the next several days. Throughout my 10 days at the hospital, I had multiple CT scans, MRI’s, new medications started, and finally a craniotomy to remove the almond size tumor they found on the left temporal lobe of my brain. The surgery went well, but they quickly knew it was cancer. As I said, I don’t remember much of the time I was told I had cancer, but family and friends do. How heartbreaking for them to have to hear that! My life instantly changed. 

Quickly I had to decide where I would live,  where and what kind  of treatment I was going to need, how would I afford this after not being able to work. With treatment would come an attack of my ovaries so I had to decide about an egg retrieval to save by somewhat healthy 31 year old eggs. Well I did all of the things. Moved to Texas, started fertility meds and on 11/11/2015 I had a egg retrieval (13 good ones)in the morning, started radiation in the afternoon, and started Chemo that night!  I also had so much financial support from my friends and family, that some of that burden was relieved. What a whirlwind, but I made it through! 

I eventually settled in Austin, continued chemo for a year and started back working as a L&D nurse 6 months after my diagnosis. It was hard but so worth it to be taking care of others again. I dated, worked out, made amazing new friends and was living a (new) normal life. 

Then BOOM, March 2018 I started having seizures again. After a month of seizures despite increasing my medications, another tumor was growing. I had to make more decisions on what to do. I originally wanted to be a part of a research study that seemed promising but I ultimately decided just to get my tumor out and do what worked before for 2+ years. I did chemo and a different form of radiation. I stayed on chemo for about 7 months until we thought there might be new tumor growth.  Thankfully we were wrong and life has been moving forward.

There have definitely been scares since my second diagnosis, but overall my MRI’s continue to be “stable”. I continue to live with some anxiety, but with so much support, medications, and talking things out, I feel like that is the least of my worries these days. I am beyond thankful to have survived over 6 years now and will continue to fight and win the battle against this aggressive, life altering brain cancer! 

I am thankful to have been a part of Head for the Cure for the past 6 years and being able to help raise money and awareness to support research for GBM’s and other brain cancer/tumors! There is not a cure for this horrible cancer, I just happen to be one of the very lucky ones (or rare) to have survived this long. Please join my team or donate to Head for the Cure if you have it in you to support such an important cause in my life! I am walking this 5K for myself, my nephew Joshua, (who is 22 and has been battling an aggressive Ependymoma brain tumor since age 4...and kicking butt while doing it!), and all of those affected by the diagnosis of brain cancer. Together we have to remain positive and keep fighting! Let's do this, let's find a cure! Help me grow my team and my goal of raising money for my 7th year involved with HFTC.