Written by Cassie Huber
My world was turned upside down on May 3, 2024, when I had a routine MRI to help determine the cause of my recurring migraines. Migraines were nothing new to me as I had gotten them since I was a kid. However since the birth of my youngest baby, my migraines had become far worse. The MRI
showed a non-enhancing tumor in my right frontal lobe, what the radiologist described as a low grade glioma, and later officially diagnosed as Astrocytoma grade-2. They actually ruled this an incidental
finding and I now think of my migraines as a blessing. If not for them, I would have not found out about my brain tumor for who knows how long.
I had just turned 34 years old the week before the discovery of my brain tumor, my youngest baby was only 9 months old at the time, my other children were 2 and 7, and I felt such a deep sorrow in my soul.
I don’t want my story to end early. I absolutely love my life, my husband, our children, and the life we’ve built. I knew in my heart that I had to take this sadness and hopelessness, and turn it into something positive. I call it my “How Can I?” era. How can I learn from this? How can I take what is happening to me and turn it into something impactful and good? This is when I made the conscious choice to compartmentalize all of the negative feelings and become involved in an organization which helps to drive change in the brain tumor/brain cancer community.
I searched online prior to my craniotomy and found a brain tumor organization called “Head for the Cure” having a 5k a few weeks after my surgery. I knew the portion of my brain that needed to be removed handled movement planning, so there was a risk with surgery that I would need to learn to walk again. I felt in my heart that this was my sign that I’d be walking just fine, so we all signed up for the 5k. Surgery went great, I had a total resection of my tumor with no neurological or motor deficits. My extended family, my friends, my husband and our three children, and I proudly all crossed the finish line together as I was fighting back tears. What a beautifully somber reason for us to gather. My oldest daughter has an emotion she calls “sweet sad” and I think that perfectly described it.
It is extremely important to me to be an active participant in my own survival and not just on the sidelines hoping they find a cure someday. It is a tremendous honor to be an ambassador for Head for the Cure. I know that when I join the monthly Zoom meeting with my fellow ambassadors to talk
through our advocacy goals, outreach, and governmental funding updates, that we all share an appreciation and deep sense of responsibility toward raising awareness to find cures.
I am a firm believer that God’s plan is bigger and better than my own. I know I’ve been given this journey to hopefully inspire hope and courage to those who need it, and to use my voice to advocate for more funding towards research for cures. Life somehow goes on regardless of all the horrible and sad things around us. I think it’s important to remember to find joy and never give up, because, “How Can I?”.