My Brain Cancer Journey After Giving Birth

My brain cancer story started shortly after I gave birth to my daughter Brooklyn — although, I didn’t know it at the time. Two months after giving birth, I woke up one day and started limping. I wasn't quite sure what it was from, maybe giving birth or the epidural I had. I finally made an appointment in September 2023 to see my doctor. From there, the doctor was quite concerned and had a rush magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; detailed imaging of the internal structures of the body) scan. The MRI showed approximately a half-dollar-sized tumor on my brain that was sitting on my motor cortex. Thankfully, I’ve never had any of the typical brain tumor symptoms like headaches, seizures, cognitive impairments, blurred vision or speech problems until the limping started.

This is when my life and my family's life changed forever and we knew nothing would ever be the same. No one, especially a 29-year-old, brand new mother, expected to be admitted to the hospital for a brain tumor they found due to limping. A biopsy was done a few weeks later and I learned I had a type of cancerous brain tumor called anaplastic oligodendroglioma. It was recommended that I meet with a neurosurgeon to discuss surgical options.

On Oct. 19, 2023, at age 29, I had my first brain surgery to remove as much tumor as they safely could from my left frontal lobe.

When I awoke from surgery, the next scary life-altering thing happened, I couldn't move the right side of my body. The surgeon had told me this could happen but for it to actually happen was something I never could have prepared myself for. Following a short stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, I was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to work on getting some of my function back in my right arm and right leg. I spent about three weeks working really hard to get back home to my baby girl.

The next part of my journey would be radiation and then chemotherapy. I started proton radiation therapy at Georgetown University in January and completed 33 treatments. I then had a one-month break before starting oral chemotherapy of two drugs, Gleostine (lomustine) and Matulane (procarbazine), for five months. During this time, I visited my oncologist after every cycle for check-ups, MRIs and blood work.

In July 2024, my oncologist recommended that I stop the chemotherapy due to the toll it was taking on my body and a couple of trips to the ER. All in all, I was able to complete three chemotherapy cycles, each cycle lasting 42 days.

So where am I now in my cancer story?

Due to the type of cancer I have, I will not be cancer-free and will need to be monitored for the rest of my life. Currently, I am grateful to be receiving intense physical and occupational therapy, along with a few other therapies at Walter Reed Hospital. I go four days a week for several hours and work hard to improve and regain both physical and cognitive functions and abilities that I have lost.

Now this is my cancer story or maybe battle is a better way to describe it. Because I chose to wake up EVERY DAY and FIGHT. Cancer is something I have but it does not define who I am.

This story was written and submitted by Caitie Doyle. The article reflects the views of Doyle and not of CURE®. This is also not supposed to be intended as medical advice.

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