DeliahBrave

✨️🎗 S E V E N 🎗✨️

Deliah was diagnosed seven years ago today. I hope by sharing Deliah’s story all these years has brought awareness from all angles.

The past seven years, this week has always been a roller coaster...

•Carter's birthday
•My birthday
•Diagnosis day

We really try to be out of town, keeping our minds busy & most importantly - spending quality time together. 💕

It’s a heavy, bittersweet day, made more anxious by Deliah’s upcoming MRI and two days of appointments at Duke this week. 🤢 Followed up by another MRI this weekend. 😣


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Every year these pictures set off emotions. A heafty gut punch... the month before diagnosis, our life was "normal" and Carter had a regular old silly sister.

No cancer.
No doctors.
No hospitals.
No surgeries.
No medicine.
No double vision.
No weekly labs.
No pain. 😭

Deliah didn't have a...
-neurologist
-oncologist
-neurosurgeon
-cardiologist
-nephrologist
-endocrinologist
-neuro ophthalmologist

Grief and mourning what once was and what could have been is... hard. One minute you're completely fine and the next you're crying your eyes out due to a couple pictures.

Wipe your tears.
Make more coffee.
Life goes on.


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We've had a very rocky start to summer. Deliah injured her ankle pretty badly. Carter scared her and her friends in the dark. 🫣😅 She'll be in a boot for quite some time. She's annoyed by the pain and the boot. Outside of that, life keeps throwing us lemons but we keep going.

Deliah's endocrinologist has ordered some more testing. Eager to get answers... Maybe? Finally? 🤞🙏 If not, I guess we'll keep ruling things out. Next week she goes in for botox.

Deal also mentions her vision is getting worse in her bad eye. 😰 I think she'll need glasses soon. (Unfortunately not to correct double vision) It's always something.

We finally have a new tee shirt coming soon. Keep an eye out. Deliah is pretty excited about this one!


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Deliah was diagnosed 6 years 10 months ago. This statistic has always been an incredibly hard pill to swallow. 😰 We obviously do not focus on this statistic and try to live our lives... but it's always there in the back of your head. The past year and a half has been a roller coaster. We desperately need more research and funding. 🧬🔬❤️‍🩹

💡 ALK Fact

Median survival for people diagnosed with stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer has now reached nearly seven years thanks to targeted therapies and decades of research.

That is extraordinary progress.

But nearly 30% of patients still experience disease progression within two years of starting first-line treatment.

Progress is real—but we're not done.

We need more treatments. More options. More breakthroughs.

Help us fuel what comes next. Every gift is matched through June 30.

👉 Donate today: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/fuelthecure/

It's been a crazy road! I can't believe Deliah is headed to high school. She's been through so much & has come so far. Diagnosed right before 2nd grade, headed into 9th. Still fighting! 💪🥊🎗🩷

Send a message to learn more

Deliah had her 8th grade ceremony yesterday. She got so many awards. 🖤 We then raced to Duke for an MRI and oncology appointment. It was an emotional day for so many reasons!

No pictures with friends
No celebratory ice cream
No goodbye hugs to teachers
No walking the halls one last time

Cancer steals joy.
Cancer sours memories.
Cancer disrupts life in the worst ways.


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Where has the time gone? ⏳️
Next week is a big one for these two. Deliah has her 8th grade moving up ceremony & Carter will officially be a Senior. 🥹💖

Lots of Duke appointments, as well. Praying for good news and answers.


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Go Gray in May! 🎗

Brain Tumor Awareness Month 🧠🩶

● Pediatric brain tumors are the most common solid tumor in children, with over 4,000 cases diagnosed annually in the US. They are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children aged 0–14

● Brain tumors account for roughly 1 in 4 (25%) of all childhood cancers.

● They are the deadliest childhood cancer, causing more deaths than any other type of cancer in children.

● Childhood brain and other nervous system cancers are slightly more common in boys than girls.

● While new cases of brain tumors in adults are shrinking each year, incidence rates of pediatric brain tumors continue to grow.

● Most children with brain tumors are treated with procedures and treatments developed more than 50 years ago specifically for adults. Very few drugs exist that are approved by the FDA for treatment of children with brain tumors.

● The average pediatric brain tumor survivor experiences 24 chronic health conditions by age 50, the highest of all childhood cancers. This is compared to the general public average of 9.2 chronic health conditions.



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Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been an incredibly stressful couple months.

Deliah has her ups and downs. Two weekends ago she was in the hospital getting morphine for pain. This weekend she attended her 8th grade formal and had a lot of fun with her friends.

MRI in 3 weeks to see if the treatment is working on her brain tumor. Deliah has five appointments total with her specialists - will be a long draining trip, as usual.


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