Help Support Our Nephew, Riley White, and His Family Through Stage 4 Brain Tumor Cancer

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted supporters,

I am writing this as a sister and an aunt to share heartbreaking news and to humbly ask for your support. With the full blessing of our nephew, Riley and his immediate family, Laura, Scott, Todd, Reese, and Emily, we want to share his story and the journey they are now navigating.

Just last week, our beloved Riley was diagnosed with stage 4 Pediatric High-Grade Gliomas—an aggressive brain tumor cancer. October 2024, he began experiencing unexplained symptoms called auras and as the months went on the frequency increased, which tragically led to a car accident June 2nd caused by a seizure while he was driving home from work. June 25th, he underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a tumor the size of a small pear. The surgical team was only able to remove about 90% of the tumor, leaving the balance in place as it is weaved into healthy brain tissue. This tumor is vascular and rapidly growing so timing is of the essence. Neuro-oncology estimates the origin started in August 2024.

In under two weeks, he will be heading to Seattle for six weeks of intensive proton radiation and chemotherapy, followed by a four-week break with a scan, and then another six-week round, 4 weeks break, then scan, and so on for the duration. This grueling cycle will repeat, and additional brain surgery will be necessary. While this treatment will not cure the cancer, it will help slow its progression and preserve his cognitive abilities as long as possible. We want Riley to be Riley for the balance of his life on earth.

His loving mother, Laura and fiancée, Emily will be by his side throughout this journey, and our goal with this fundraiser is to help relieve the enormous financial strain they are facing. Your donations—of any size—will directly support:

Riley is one of the kindest, most empathetic, and loving young people we know. His ability to be present with others and appreciate life’s simple moments is extraordinary. He has many dreams he still hopes to achieve—this is just a detour in his journey.

We are deeply grateful for your support—whether through a donation, a share of this campaign, or keeping this family in your thoughts and prayers. Please help us spread the word and reach (or exceed) our fundraising goal to give this family one less burden to carry right now.

We will continue to share updates here as we receive them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing with our family during this incredibly difficult time.

With gratitude,

Aunt Martha Stephens