Ivy Blog
Navigating Brain Cancer: Marializa’s Pursuit of New Treatments at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center
In late 2022, Marializa Holden received devastating news that her migraines, which she initially thought were triggered by a change in hormones after giving birth, were caused by a diffuse midline glioma, H3 K27M-Mutated. She was referred to the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, where she and her husband, Christian, met with Nader Sanai, MD, director of the Ivy Center.
After undergoing multiple operations, chemotherapy, and multiple weeks of radiation, Mari enrolled in an Ivy Center clinical trial, ONC 201. This Phase 3 trial investigated ONC201, a new investigational drug that specifically targets H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma and aims to treat tumor cells.
Mari states she found her support and true community in Dr. Sanai and her entire Ivy Center team, including Yoshie Umemura, MD, Chief Medical Officer, and William Kennedy, MD, neuro-radiation oncologist. She states that since the start of her journey, “everyone’s arms and ears have been open. They’ve heard us, they’ve understood where we’re coming from, and they’ve cared for us and nurtured us through every step of the way.”