Finding strength after my ependymoma diagnosis
My cancer story started in December 2013, when I was 36 years old. I was raising my 11-year-old son, busy with nursing school and just weeks away from my wedding. I never thought the pain I first felt after a fall was a symptom of ependymoma, a type of spinal tumor.
My ependymoma symptoms and diagnosis
My journey started when I was getting out of the shower one day. I lost balance and fell hard right on my tailbone...

Ependymoma survivor overcomes vision loss, making music career 'a real possibility'
After my ependymoma treatment, I thought I might not ever be able to play music again. But fast-forward four years, and I am about to transfer...
Ependymoma patient no longer takes anything for granted
As far back as high school, Kendal Mills had numbness and tingling in his shoulder and arm. He was a baseball pitcher, and doctors ordered...
Shedding Light on the Ependymoma Fight
In 2006, frustrated by the lack of research and treatment options for patients with ependymoma, Mark Gilbert, M.D., deputy chair of the Department of Neuro-Oncology at MD Anderson, proposed creating an international group to develop new treatments for this rare type of brain tumor.
Under Gilbert's guidance, the Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network (CERN) Foundation was established with the mission of developing...