Ep. 6: "Finding Life and Love Through Brain Cancer"- With Guest Jenny Williams

Ep. 6: “Finding Life and Love Through Brain Cancer”- With Guest Jenny Williams.

We all know the difficult trials that come with being diagnosed with brain cancer. But imagine starting the journey with one parent battling the same disease and the other passing away suddenly….

Jenny Williams was no stranger to brain cancer; her father had been diagnosed with grade II Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma, a type of malignant brain cancer that has a tendency to be fast-growing, around the age of 49.

Jenny was diagnosed with Oligodendroglioma, grade II in 2008, when she was just 25 years old. A year later she had her first of two brain surgeries. It was clear that this needed to be studied more intensely, and the whole family participated in a study funded by the NIH to find any genetic link in brain cancer. That study is still ongoing today.

Jenny is now 13 years into this journey. Through it, she has endured 24 rounds of chemotherapy, a second awake craniotomy, 6 weeks of IMRT radiation, and very recently PCV chemo (a triple chemo cocktail). This journey has also taken her through the losses of both her parents. Her mother died suddenly a year after her diagnosis; her father lost his battle with brain cancer in 2015, after 19 years, when it grew into Glioblastoma and then metastasized in his spinal fluid (Leptomeningeal disease–which only occurs in less than 10% of GBM cases).

However, through this Jenny has also found a way to embrace life and has found love. We are happy to say that while Jenny’s tumor is now a Grade III, this month marks the official end of treatment for her with a stable MRI! She is looking forward to ending 2021 on a high note and having many more years of success in front of her.

Resources from Ep. 4:

Studies/Articles:

What is Oligodendroglioma-Cleveland Clinic