30-year brain tumor survivor grateful for UT MD Anderson

Phenomenal.

That’s how Kendra Warren describes her UT MD Anderson care team.

“UT MD Anderson is the best. I would never go to another hospital,” says the 56-year-old brain cancer survivor. Her care team has managed her ongoing treatment and coordinated her long-term care since her first appointment in 2000.

This year, as Kendra celebrates 30 years of survival, she’s reminded of how far she’s come and is thankful for those who helped get her here.

Discovering a brain tumor

In 1996, on a flight to New Jersey, Kendra suffered a grand mal seizure. She woke up on the aisle floor with two doctors sitting next to her.

“They told me I’d had a seizure, and that really shocked me,” says Kendra, who was 26 at the time.

She went to a hospital in New Jersey, but doctors didn’t find anything concerning. She followed up with her doctor back home in New Orleans and had a workup. Her doctor said she’d suffered a stroke on the plane and prescribed blood thinners and anti-seizure medication.

For months, Kendra dealt with a throbbing feeling in her hands, only to find out that it was actually due to focal seizures. Her neurologist referred her to a neurosurgeon for a biopsy.

That’s when she was told she had low-grade glioma, a slow-growing type of brain tumor.

“All I could do was cry,” she says. “My mother and grandmother were there with me. We cried together.”

Second opinion at UT MD Anderson leads to correct diagnosis and treatment plan

When Kendra’s symptoms worsened despite medication, her aunt in Houston suggested she come to UT MD Anderson for a second opinion.

On Aug. 11, 2000, Kendra met neuro-oncologist Vinay Puduvalli, M.D. She had an MRI and was diagnosed with anaplastic oligodendroglioma, a rare and aggressive type of brain cancer.    

A few weeks later, neurosurgeon Franco DeMonte, M.D., performed an awake craniotomy to remove the brain tumor. This advanced surgical technique allowed DeMonte to remove the tumor while preserving Kendra’s speech and movement. 

“I was scared because I was so young and didn’t really understand what was going on,” recalls Kendra. “But I’m very thankful for UT MD Anderson. They saved my life.”

After brain surgery, she had radiation therapy at UT MD Anderson and completed six rounds of chemotherapy back home in New Orleans in close coordination with her care team here. She had regular MRIs and visits with Puduvalli. Adjustments were made to her chemo, as needed, based on MRI reviews.       

Trusting UT MD Anderson with long-term care

In the years that followed Kendra’s surgery, she had nine more surgeries. She also dealt with infections, early menopause, cognitive changes and limited mobility in her right hand and foot.

Her UT MD Anderson care team has been there for her through it all. She credits Puduvalli, DeMonte and the staff in the Brain and Spine Center for their continued support and expert care.

“They treat me like family, and I consider them family,” she says. “I know I can contact Dr. DeMonte’s nurses at any time – if I’m feeling a way or just need to talk through something. The staff at the Brain and Spine Center encourage me when I’m scared and celebrate with me when I get good news.”

In May 2024, doctors discovered two benign tumors – a meningioma and a pituitary neoplasm. Kendra had Gamma Knife® radiosurgery in June 2024 to treat the meningioma. Her doctors are closely monitoring the pituitary tumor.

“When I heard about the tumors, I didn’t get upset,” she says. “I just focused on what we were going to do to treat them.”  

Strength and determination to face any challenge

Kendra remains on surveillance and has follow-ups with Puduvalli every six months.

Whenever she comes to Houston, she stays with her aunt, and the pair always plans fun activities. She says her aunt and mother have provided unwavering support.

“I love my mother so much. She’s my favorite girl. She is the strongest person I know,” says Kendra, adding that her mom is living with Parkinson’s disease.

She calls her aunt her hero. “She’s taken care of me in ways that my mother wasn’t able to due to her condition, including taking me to my doctor’s appointments.”

Kendra also appreciates the support she’s received from family, friends, her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters, colleagues and former students at Xavier University, where she worked for almost two decades.

She still deals with partial paralysis on her right side, a drop foot that makes her prone to falls, cognitive challenges and sleep loss. But she doesn’t let that stop her.

“I know it’s hard to accept the blows life can give you,” she says. “But over time, I trusted that this is just my testimony. I want to use my story to help other brain cancer survivors – to show them that they can survive this, too.”

Celebrating 30 years of survival

This past August, Kendra took herself to a nice dinner to celebrate 30 years of being a brain tumor survivor – a milestone she does not take for granted.

“God has kept me for 30 years, and I know a lot of people can’t say that,” she says.

Every visit to UT MD Anderson reminds her how far she’s come, and she looks forward to every appointment.

“My family and friends never let me give up, and my team at UT MD Anderson has been with me every step of the way,” she says. “UT MD Anderson means a lot to me. I’m still here, and I plan to keep living fully, joyfully and without fear.”

Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.