Next MRI: March 2012

For more detailed updates, please visit Casey's carepage at Children's Memorial Hospital. Go to www.carepages.com and sign in as a visitor. Casey's patient contact is Caser3o3.

December 2011: MRI showed Casey's tumor remains stable. At her next MRI in March (one year since ending radiation), her doctors will determine if the radiation treatment was a success. Headaches and fatigue remain a challenge and we are exploring more options to reduce them (preventive meds did not work).

September 2011: MRI showed Casey's tumor to be stable (hasn't changed in size or shape). This is considered a good result. She is still suffering from headaches and will shortly start a preventive med to see if we can get them under control before nursing school starts in January.

August 2011: Casey’s headaches have finally started to break up! We think they were the aftermath of radiation as every test to find a cause came up empty. This is welcome news as she is returning to school this week. The fatigue is improving as well.  She estimates that she is about 70% recovered from the radiation treatment. She has a light schedule this semester and hopes to start ISU’s nursing program in January at 100%.

June 2011: Boston wasn't kidding about the extreme fatigue Casey would endure when we returned home. May was a tough month but there are signs that the fatigue is lessoning. The monster headaches are tough to manage and she is being treated for them. Her doctors are trying to determine the cause of the headaches—could be from the radiation, from the tumor swelling, optic nerve swelling, or something else! However summer is here and we look forward to a steady improvement.

April 2011: Casey is home! A big thank you to our family, friends, and our Boston friends who provided much needed support during this journey.  The food and cards and gifts were so thoughtful and we are grateful that you kept us in your hearts. Although we will not know the final results of the treatment for a year, Casey plans to return to college in the fall part-time. She was admitted into the nursing program at Illinois State and will start full-time in January 2012.

February 2011: Casey is halfway through her treatment and looks forward to being home by the end of the month. On good days she is getting out and discovering the great city of Boston. Those new winter boots have come in handy as Boston is breaking records with massive amounts of snow!

November 2010: Casey's MRI in October confirmed that her tumor is growing again and is affecting her vision. Her doctors have recommended that she begin treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. This is the best place in the country to have proton radiation. Casey will be able to finish this semester in December and will move to Boston for treatment in January and February.

HISTORY: Casey was diagnosed with a brain tumor in August 2006. She was just starting her junior year of high school. She had brain surgery in October but the tumor was inoperable and so Casey began a grueling schedule of chemotherapy. In December 2007, Casey completed 13 months of treatment. The tumor shrank but still remained.  Since completing treatment, she has had MRI's every three months to check on the tumor and its effect on her vision. She made it over two years before relapsing and having to undergo additional treatment starting in January 2011.