Young adult glioblastoma survivor grateful for UT MD Anderson
March 27, 2026
In September 2021, Leah Alvarez was working as a step-down intensive care nurse with a specialty in neuroscience in Florida, caring for patients with brain, spine and nervous system disorders.
She and her husband, Cody, had welcomed their daughter, Harper, almost two years earlier.
When Leah started getting painful headaches in the back of her head, her colleagues said they were probably complicated migraines that can occur after giving birth. But when her fingers and toes went numb one day, she went to the doctor. He ordered an MRI.
That night, Leah’s doctor called with sobering news. She had a brain tumor and a midline shift.
“He said there was a lot of swelling in my brain and that I needed to see a surgeon right away,” recalls Leah, who was 27 at the time. “All I could think about were Harper and Cody. What would happen to them if something happened to me?”
In a moment, she went from caring for brain tumor patients to facing her own brain tumor diagnosis.
She had surgery to remove the tumor a week later. It turned out to be glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
Choosing UT MD Anderson for follow-up brain tumor treatment
Leah’s mother-in-law began researching the best hospitals to treat glioblastoma. She found UT MD Anderson during that search.
Leah also talked to doctors at other hospitals.
“Everybody kept telling me I needed to go to UT MD Anderson,” she says.
But since she was familiar with the hospital in Florida and trusted the doctors there, she opted to have brain surgery locally. She then made an appointment at UT MD Anderson for follow-up.
On Nov. 3, 2021, she and Cody met neuro-oncologist Ashley Aaroe, M.D., and neurosurgeon Sujit Prabhu, M.D. Leah felt comfortable with them right away.
“Dr. Prabhu had on cowboy boots,” she recalls. “I know that’s a Texas thing, but it made me feel comfortable because I’m from a small town in Florida, and we wear cowboy boots.”
A brain MRI revealed a significant amount of residual tumor, so her doctors recommended another brain surgery, followed by chemoradiation.
At first, Leah was hesitant to have another surgery, but she knew how fast glioblastomas can grow and how important it is to remove as much of the tumor as possible.
“Dr. Prabhu was so confident,” she says. “We trusted the doctors’ plan.”
Successful glioblastoma treatment
On Nov. 19, Prabhu performed a craniotomy to remove the tumor.
Then, Leah and her family moved to Houston for two months while she completed chemoradiation. She underwent six weeks of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) under radiation oncologist Todd Swanson, M.D., Ph.D. She also took an oral chemotherapy drug called temozolomide daily.
The treatment caused some fatigue, and her blood counts dropped temporarily.
After going back to Florida, Leah kept taking temozolomide for a year. She returned to her job at the hospital. Some days, she felt tired from the chemo, but work helped keep her busy and gave her something positive to focus on.
“I was also able to help patients facing glioblastoma diagnoses because I understood what they were going through,” she says. “I talked to them about my experience and how well I was doing after treatment. I could see the spark come back into them, like they knew it wasn’t doomsday.”
Next-generation sequencing of the tumor’s genes revealed a BRAFV600E mutation, so Aaroe told Leah that if the cancer ever came back, they could treat it with targeted therapy.
A cancer recurrence
Her scans were clear for two years, but an MRI in April 2024 revealed two spots on Leah’s brain. Once again, her doctors recommended surgery.
So, on May 16, Prabhu performed another craniotomy using 5-ALA and intraoperative MRI to remove the new growth.
She started taking targeted therapy drugs dabrafenib and trametinib after surgery. Targeted therapy is not a common treatment for glioblastoma. And dabrafenib and trametinib were developed to treat melanoma, but research efforts have allowed for their use in treating rare brain tumors.
“Dr. Aaroe said that as long as the targeted therapy is working, I’ll keep taking it,” says Leah. “I have no real side effects from it other than fatigue. I take naps when I need to. I’m surviving and thriving.”
Making every moment count
Leah has a huge support system that includes church members, friends and her family. Her family lives close by, and they now make it a point to celebrate everything – not just during the holidays.
“I know everyone facing cancer might not have a strong support system, but I would encourage them to seek one out,” she says. “UT MD Anderson has an Adolescent and Young Adult program. I’ll often comment in their Facebook group – usually with restaurant recommendations for patients who will be in Houston for treatment. Everyone in the group is so supportive.”
Leah, Cody and Harper also take more trips. In the last two years, they’ve visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Big Sky, Montana. They plan to take a trip every year.
The brain tumor affected Leah’s left peripheral vision, and she has some short-term memory loss.
“I just have to write things down now, so I make myself lists and take a lot of notes,” she says. “I’ve had to adapt for sure, but it’s worth it.”
Leah comes to UT MD Anderson every two months for scans and checkups. She is thankful for the care everyone has shown her and her family.
“All my stays in the hospital were a 10 out of 10. And being a nurse, I know how things in health care work. I would treat my patients the same way,” she says. “Dr. Aaroe asks me specific questions about Harper, and she remembers things that I tell her. I feel like that's what makes UT MD Anderson so different. You’re not a number here. You’re a person.”
Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.
