Phenomenal.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Kendra Warren describes her UT MD Anderson care team.<\/p>\n
\u201cUT MD Anderson is the best. I would never go to another hospital,\u201d says the 56-year-old brain cancer<\/a> survivor. Her care team has managed her ongoing treatment and coordinated her long-term care since her first appointment in 2000.<\/p>\n This year, as Kendra celebrates 30 years of survival, she\u2019s reminded of how far she\u2019s come and is thankful for those who helped get her here.<\/p>\n Discovering a brain tumor<\/p>\n In 1996, on a flight to New Jersey, Kendra suffered a grand mal seizure<\/a>. She woke up on the aisle floor with two doctors sitting next to her.<\/p>\n \u201cThey told me I\u2019d had a seizure, and that really shocked me,\u201d says Kendra, who was 26 at the time.<\/p>\n She went to a hospital in New Jersey, but doctors didn\u2019t find anything concerning. She followed up with her doctor back home in New Orleans and had a workup. Her doctor said she\u2019d suffered a stroke on the plane and prescribed blood thinners and anti-seizure medication.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when she was told she had low-grade glioma<\/a>, a slow-growing type of brain tumor<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I could do was cry,\u201d she says. \u201cMy mother and grandmother were there with me. We cried together.\u201d<\/p>\n Second opinion at UT MD Anderson leads to correct diagnosis and treatment plan<\/p>\n When Kendra\u2019s symptoms<\/a> worsened despite medication, her aunt in Houston suggested she come to UT MD Anderson for a second opinion<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Aug. 11, 2000, Kendra met neuro-oncologist Vinay Puduvalli, M.D.<\/a> She had an MRI and was diagnosed with anaplastic oligodendroglioma<\/a>, a rare and aggressive type of brain cancer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A few weeks later, neurosurgeon Franco DeMonte, M.D.<\/a>, performed an awake craniotomy<\/a> to remove the brain tumor. This advanced surgical technique allowed DeMonte to remove the tumor while preserving Kendra\u2019s speech and movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was scared because I was so young and didn\u2019t really understand what was going on,\u201d recalls Kendra. \u201cBut I\u2019m very thankful for UT MD Anderson. They saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n After brain surgery<\/a>, she had radiation therapy<\/a> at UT MD Anderson and completed six rounds of chemotherapy<\/a> 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. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Trusting UT MD Anderson with long-term care<\/p>\n In the years that followed Kendra\u2019s surgery, she had nine more surgeries. She also dealt with infections<\/a>, early menopause, cognitive changes<\/a> and limited mobility in her right hand and foot.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> for their continued support and expert care.<\/p>\n \u201cThey treat me like family, and I consider them family,\u201d she says. \u201cI know I can contact Dr. DeMonte\u2019s nurses at any time \u2013 if I\u2019m feeling a way or just need to talk through something. The staff at the Brain and Spine Center encourage me when I\u2019m scared and celebrate with me when I get good news.\u201d<\/p>\n In May 2024, doctors discovered two benign tumors<\/a> \u2013 a meningioma<\/a> and a pituitary neoplasm<\/a>. Kendra had Gamma Knife\u00ae radiosurgery<\/a> in June 2024 to treat the meningioma. Her doctors are closely monitoring the pituitary tumor<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I heard about the tumors, I didn\u2019t get upset,\u201d she says. \u201cI just focused on what we were going to do to treat them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Strength and determination to face any challenge<\/p>\n Kendra remains on surveillance and has follow-ups with Puduvalli every six months.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI love my mother so much. She\u2019s my favorite girl. She is the strongest person I know,\u201d says Kendra, adding that her mom is living with Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n She calls her aunt her hero. \u201cShe\u2019s taken care of me in ways that my mother wasn\u2019t able to due to her condition, including taking me to my doctor\u2019s appointments<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Kendra also appreciates the support she\u2019s received from family, friends, her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters, colleagues and former students at Xavier University, where she worked for almost two decades.<\/p>\n She still deals with partial paralysis on her right side, a drop foot that makes her prone to falls, cognitive challenges and sleep loss<\/a>. But she doesn\u2019t let that stop her.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s hard to accept the blows life can give you,\u201d she says. \u201cBut over time, I trusted that this is just my testimony. I want to use my story to help other brain cancer survivors \u2013 to show them that they can survive this, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrating 30 years of survival<\/p>\n