Help Support Mia’s Battle Against Rare Cancer

To know Mia is to love her. Originally from Scituate, MA, Mia graduated from the University of Richmond in May 2022. She is smart, driven, accomplished, athletic, adventurous, sarcastic, witty, and, above all, deeply caring for others and their well-being. That compassion led her to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology at UVA’s College of Behavioral Studies. Charlottesville, VA, has become Mia’s new home, far from her family, who love and miss her dearly.

In the fall of 2023, Mia unknowingly started her battle with Adrenocortical Carcinoma (ACC). That fall, Mia began to notice a variety of unpleasant symptoms that intensified into the winter, and she visited the doctor shortly after Christmas. Her doctor sent her for routine bloodwork, the results of which showed that Mia had abnormally high cortisol levels. Mia was reassured that this isn’t terribly uncommon and it’s typically caused by a small benign tumor on the adrenal gland. As the seasons changed, the side effects of Mia’s symptoms started to increase rapidly, leaving her exhausted yet unable to sleep, in pain from the tumor, and several other unpleasantries. A CT scan was ordered which led to many other tests to follow. On Friday, June 7, Mia received the news that no one saw coming. Mia’s tumor was not benign - it measured nearly 12 inches (roughly the size of a football), had spread to her other organs, and was Stage IV ACC.

Due to its extremely rare occurrence, her ACC had been inadvertently missed for months. ACC affects approximately 1 in 1 million people a year, and because it is so rare, there is minimal research and funding for treatment for ACC. Mia began high-dose chemotherapy on Monday, July 1. Later that week on July 6, Mia celebrated her 24th birthday. Chemo was not kind to Mia’s body and on Tuesday, July 9, Mia was admitted to the oncology unit at UVA for nearly 3 weeks due to complications from the chemo. Following another round of chemo, many tests, and multiple rounds of immunotherapy later, Mia is now settling into her new normal, and is learning to balance treatment with all the things that she loves - her boyfriend/her rock/the love of her life, Carter, her family and friends, and school.

We hope that the funds raised here will support Mia in creating cherished memories while helping to ease some of her financial burden. As a PhD candidate, her salary is modest, but the reward she finds in helping others is immeasurable. Now, it’s our turn to support Mia— helping her as she has always helped others.