Hello!

My name is Megan Dorego and I’d like to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read about my Mom’s story & potentially being apart of the move to find a cure for Brain Cancer!

6 years ago my mother was referred to a Neurologist who ordered an MRI due to my moms concerns of confusion and having a lot of blank episodes during conversations. We unfortunately were told my mom had a brain tumour but that the tumour was not showing any characteristics of cancer, so for now they would closely monitor the tumour and treat her with medication for her absent minded seizures that she was experiencing. Year after year we were blessed with the news that the tumour was remaining stable.

Until 2020 when COVID hit the world and her yearly MRI found out that the tumour had changed and that a biopsy would need to be done to determine if it had in fact turned cancerous. July 2020 we unfortunately got a diagnosis of stage 3 oligodendrioma brain cancer. As if the cancer diagnosis alone wasn’t enough we also found out there is no cure for this particular brain cancer. Surgery was not an option and the only treatment method was a combination of chemotherapy & radiation along with serial MRIs to watch the tumour closely. My family was utterly devastated to hear this news. I am an only child and my parents are my entire world. My wedding was 3 months away which was also being affected by COVID and I was so overwhelmed with emotional and physical pain. This diagnosis left me feeling helpless because there was nothing I could do to fix this for my Mother and we were a team ..

there was nothing we couldn’t overcome together.

But, anyone that knows my mother knows she is “tough as a bull”. We are so proud to say that she finished her chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The tumour has shrunk and is currently stable. This is a blessing to my family and we are hoping her journey continues to be a success. One of the things my family and I learned during this process is how so many treatments are not fully covered under OHIP or private insurances and that grants were one of the main supports out there for people to not have to completely pay out of pocket. We were so grateful to have this assistance and it helped us to focus on what mattered most which was providing my mom with support and love.

A blessing also occurred during the hardest time in my life, just a week before my wedding I found out I was pregnant. I now have a 6 month old daughter named after my Mom, Georgia, who’s birthday month so happens to be the month dedicated to brain cancer (goose bumps yet or what?). So I have decided to raise money for the Brain Cancer Foundation of Canada every year for my daughters birthday so that we can hopefully one day find a cure for this awful disease & also provide overall support for patients and families going through their cancer journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story!

Megan & Georgia