Alexa's Battle Against Brain Cancer

In just over two weeks our beloved niece, Alexa Huber Allen, will be turning 26 years old. Over the past 15 weeks, we learned that we need to make the most of every year we get with our incredibly smart, vibrant, and witty young niece.

In early March of this year, a brain MRI revealed that Alexa has a large, diffuse, infiltrative brainstem glioma. These tumors carry poor prognoses as they cannot be removed as it is enmeshed with the healthy tissue that supports vital life function. Also these tumors sit behind the blood-brain barrier where chemotherapy is often ineffective.

These days, due to COVID-19, Alexa and Damien have been hearing devastating news about her prognosis and asking incredibly difficult questions over the phone instead of face to face with her care team. The worst impact was that Damien had to drop off his beloved wife on a curb in New York City the morning of her brain biopsy and drive home to anxiously await phone calls from medical staff about her progress. They said their last goodbye before she risked her vision, facial muscle movement, hemorrhage and death - over FaceTime. 

The biopsy was successful in retrieving a sample that revealed a long road ahead, and only cost her mild worsening of her already doubled-vision, impaired mobility, and lack of use of her left hand. 

Alexa and Damien are embarking on a six-week regimen of daily radiation and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy will likely last one year, if not longer. During the next six months, Alexa can expect the tumor to swell as it's treated, causing even greater impaired mobility, loss of vision, impairment of facial muscle movement, difficulty swallowing, and even seizure. 

As you can imagine, every single doctor Alexa spoke to on every telehealth call has submitted a bill to her insurance company.  Every MRI, every chemotherapy drug, every drug dispensed to help her tolerate chemotherapy, every time she walks in to be radiated- generates a bill. 

You can help Alexa and Damien settle these ever-mounting bills and enjoy more stress-free time with their 2-year-old son, Greyson.

Thank you for all of your love and support on this incredibly difficult journey.