Cancerwise

Two months into her marriage and just two days before her 32nd birthday, Hannah Kahn learned that she had a brain tumor. 

“I’ve run four marathons and 17 half-marathons,” says Hannah. “I’m extremely active, and I never get sick. So, finding out I had cancer was a shock.”

A brain tumor diagnosis

Hannah ran 10 miles to train for a half marathon on Feb. 8, 2025, ate afterward, had dinner with friends and then went to bed around midnight. It was a normal day.

“I remember waking up to emergency responders in our home,” she recalls. “My husband told me that I’d had a seizure.”

What followed was a trip to the emergency room near the couple’s home in Atlanta. Hannah had scans, then a neurosurgeon explained that they’d found a mass in her brain. Hannah and her husband, Aaron, digested the news while her parents – who live in Houston – listened in on speakerphone. 

Over the next few days, Hannah’s parents researched neurosurgeons in Houston while Hannah saw another neurosurgeon locally for a second opinion. As it turns out, the neurosurgeon Hannah visited had trained under Jeffrey Weinberg, M.D., the same neurosurgeon who’d been recommended to Hannah’s parents.

“That made it an easy decision for us,” says Hannah. “Plus, UT MD Anderson is known to be the best in cancer care.”   

Brain tumor treatment at UT MD Anderson

Aaron and Hannah’s parents came with her to her first appointment at UT MD Anderson on Feb. 27. Weinberg recommended surgery to remove the 3.5-cm tumor from her right frontal lobe.

Hannah immediately felt comfortable with him.

“He explained what would happen during surgery and went over possible side effects with me,” she says. “I felt a sense of relief knowing I was going to be in the best hands.”

On March 3, Weinberg performed a craniotomy to remove the tumor.

“My biggest concern was losing my long, thick hair,” says Hannah. “I appreciate that Dr. Weinberg was very mindful of avoiding areas during surgery that could cause damage to me down the road. And he even braided my hair during surgery to help preserve as much as he could. My surgical incision looks just like a part.”

Two weeks after surgery, Hannah met with neuro-oncologist Anuj Patel, M.D., to go over pathology results from the tumor biopsy. The tumor was an astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor that often mixes with healthy tissue in the brain. The tumor was Grade 2 with molecular features that suggested Grade 3. Astrocytoma brain tumors are often treated with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

“That’s when it really set in that I had cancer,” Hannah says.

Her doctors recommended proton therapy followed by chemotherapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells.

Since she and Aaron plan on having kids in the future, Hannah met with oncofertility specialist Laurie McKenzie, M.D., to discuss her options. She underwent fertility preservation at another facility before completing six weeks of proton therapy under radiation oncologist Chenyang Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

“The staff at UT MD Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center are amazing humans,” says Hannah. “I loved dressing up and looking cute when going in for treatments because you’ve got to look good to feel good. I just looked at it as hanging out with friends and getting a laser spa treatment – but for my head.”

Hannah sees an Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) counselor once a month. Those visits allow her space to sort out her feelings about cancer treatment and its effects on her life.

“I love the AYA services,” she says. “It’s nice that UT MD Anderson has something specifically for young adults because sometimes you feel like you’re the youngest patient walking around campus.” 

Now, Hannah is back home in Atlanta and is taking an oral chemotherapy drug called temozolomide. She returns to UT MD Anderson once a month for scans and bloodwork.