Lacey’s Oligodendroglioma Journey

Hello, my name is Bree Howell and I am Lacey’s older sister. Many people have reached out asking how they can support Lacey during this incredibly difficult time so, with her permission, I have created this GoFundMe as a way for those to offer support if they feel the generosity to do so.

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for thinking of Lacey during her fight against brain cancer. She truly is a warrior and I’m so proud of how strong and resilient she’s been throughout this entire process. She is the strongest person we all know. You always hear about people getting diagnosed with cancer but you never really think it will happen to you or a loved one.

After doing some research on Oligodendroglioma, I learned:

* Occurs frequently in the frontal or temporal lobes

* Can be classified as low grade (grade 2) or high grade (grade 3)

* Common among men and women in their 20s-40s, but can occur in children

* More common in men than women

* Accounts for two percent of all brain tumors

* Over 87,000 people will be diagnosed with primary malignant and nonmalignant tumors this year

* Approximately 700,000 Americans are living with a primary brain tumor

* Common symptoms include: seizures, headaches, behavior/cognitive changes, and weakness/paralysis

(Source: braintumor.org)

In March of 2022, Lacey suffered a seizure in her workplace. While performing tests and scans they found some concerning images and sent her home with the intent of further testing. After several different scans, she underwent an arteriogram where they pushed a wire through her wrist up into her neck to inject contrast to see if her blood flow was ok and that determined it was not an arteriovenous malformation but in fact a tumor.In April, she had her first brain surgery to determine what was specifically going on in her brain. We waited for weeks in angst for biopsy results that concluded Grade 2 Oligodendroglioma. Cancer was a very scary diagnosis. It was something we were hoping wasn’t even an option but it was now a reality for our daughter/sister/wife/aunt/friend. We were all shocked.

Next step was surgery to remove the tumor. It measured approximately 7.2 cm AP by 4.3 cm transverse by 5.9 cm craniocaudal in the right parietal and occipital lobe. For context, the parietal lobe of the brain processes information about temperature, taste, touch, and movement. The occipital lobe of the brain is primarily responsible for vision.

(Source: Mayo Clinic)

June 2nd, she underwent a 7 hour brain surgery to remove as much as the tumor as they could. Due to swelling and blood from the tumor removal, she did experience another seizure but, for the most part, the only side effects from the surgery were extreme pain and vision loss in her left eye. The doctor wasn’t able to completely remove the tumor in fear that it would cause total permanent vision loss in her left eye and/or paralysis. 

Within a couple weeks of her surgery, it was determined that she actually had Grade 3 Oligodendroglioma, which is more aggressive. She flew back to Duke to get another MRI and set up her cancer treatment program with some of the best doctors in the country. Her program will be coming from Duke but she will be receiving treatment in Texas. Soon, she will be undergoing 6 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy pills. Afterwards she will go back to Duke to see how it has affected the remaining tumor in her brain to determine further treatment plans.

Any support received from you will go directly to helping pay for medical bills, transportation to and from radiation ( 5 days a week/ 6 weeks), airfare to and from Duke in North Carolina, lodging, food and any other bills acquired from this extremely unexpected time in her’s and Michael’s life.

In addition, one of Lacey and Michael’s main concerns going forth with treatment is Lacey’s ability to conceive children afterwards. They are both still young and would love to produce children of their own after this is all over. They are currently in contact with an OBGYN oncologist to start the process of egg extraction before treatment to ensure she has healthy eggs in the future. Any support received will also go towards the extraction/freezing of eggs, hormones and possible IVF in the future. 

Thank you again for reaching out and thinking about Lacey. I know she is loved and cared about by so many people and your support means so much to her and her family.

Very Respectfully,

Bree Howell