Los Angeles-based filmmaker Grace Wethor was 13 when she learned of the massive tumor pressing on her brain. She was given six months to live.

But a decade later she is living a full and vibrant life – defying the odds in what doctors call a ‘miracle’ case. 

In 2015, she began experiencing headaches and seizures, prompting her to go to the hospital. Doctors found a tumor in her brainstem, called a glioma, a typically fatal cancer with minimal treatment options that are often unsuccessful. 

Doctors said she had about six months to live until the cancer, which has a survival rate of about eight percent, killed her.  

Wethor said: ‘Because my tumor is so difficult to treat, I was able to leave the hospital and spend my “last six months” doing what I love.

‘During those first six months, when I thought they might be my last, I made it a mission to do something creative every single day.’

She painted, taught herself how to play guitar, and made fashion a form of self-expression. She visited museums with her mother, which she said ‘was crucial to keeping my mind off my diagnosis and current health circumstances.’

While she never received treatment, her symptoms – headaches, fatigue, and seizures – became manageable with a healthy balance of mindfulness and physical health.

Ten years ago, doctors discovered a tumor in her brainstem—a usually fatal cancer. Yet Wethor has beaten the odds, living a vibrant life full of adventure and creativity

‘It’s not always perfect, but I’ve found ways to work with my body rather than against it,’ she said. ‘Most days, I’m able to live a full and relatively normal life…I don’t assume I have time.’

Now, an advocate for cancer research, Wethor undergoes MRI scans, fearing all the time that the cancer has grown. But she hasn’t let that fear take over her life. 

A glioma of the brain stem is a tumor that develops in the area connecting the brain to the spinal cord and can come in different varieties based on the specific type of glial cell.

The brainstem is crucial in controlling vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, swallowing, and movement.

Damage to it can lead to a wide range of devastating effects that Wethor fears are lurking just around the corner, including difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, and cognitive decline.

Brainstem gliomas are rare and more common in children than adults. Every year, there are roughly 300 cases in adults and 500 cases in children. 

It is the same cancer President Joe Biden’s son Beau had. He was diagnosed in 2013 and died two years later.

‘My doctors can’t explain why I have survived,’ she said. ‘I still have my tumor, but miraculously, it has not grown.’

There is no treatment for this form of cancer, leaving her wondering when her regular MRI scan will show that the tumor has grown and pressure on her brain has worsened.

Doctors do not know what prompted the tumor to develop, how it might respond to treatment, what the best available treatments are, or whether it will come back if a patient reaches remission.

Grace Wethor in 2020. While not in treatment, her symptoms – headaches, fatigue, and seizures – are manageable with a healthy balance of mindfulness and physical health

‘The hope is that one day a trial or new treatment will emerge that can help tumors in this area of the brain,’ she said

Wethor’s expectation-exceeding survival is nothing short of miraculous, given the tiny chance of survival given to her as a teen.

She said: ‘Because of the complexity of the brain stem, doctors aren’t able to biopsy or do surgery on these tumors.

‘This means that as soon as these tumors start growing, there isn’t much that can be done to help the patient – especially because chemotherapy and radiation also have a slim chance of working.’

Radiation’s effect is often short-lived, chemotherapy often fails and there are no targeted therapies.

When symptoms appear, such as double vision, slurred speech, and imbalance, the cancer has spread beyond help.

‘The hope is that one day a trial or new treatment will emerge that can help tumors in this area of the brain,’ she said. 

‘There have been some advancements but we still have a long way to go.’

Grace Wethor in 2024

Grace Wethor with her mother in 2023. Now she approaches each day as an adventure, knowing no one is guaranteed tomorrow, brain tumor or not. This experience had made that truth impossible to ignore

From the outside, she said, nobody would know she has a brain tumor. And while she still gets headaches and other symptoms, she has been able to find creative outlets. 

The cancer could worsen at any moment, but Wethor doesn’t fear death.

Social workers would ask her if she was afraid of dying, but she realized it was the wrong question.

‘Really what I should have been asked was if I was afraid of living – living with this reality and wondering how long I and others could live under that stress and unknown,’ she said.

‘I try to live every day as an adventure, because no one is guaranteed any amount of time, brain tumor or no brain tumor, and this experience has made that impossible to ignore.’