Soldier battling brain cancer in fight of her life

Soldier battling brain cancer in fight of her life
BY BOB KALINOWSKI (STAFF WRITER)
Published: March 9, 2014

COURTDALE - After Joanne Dennis spent a year overseas serving in the U.S. military, she came home to find out she may only have a year to live.

A 31-year-old soldier with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Joanne was diagnosed earlier this year with terminal brain cancer after experiencing weeks of headaches, vomiting and memory lapses.

At first, she was angry over the grim diagnosis. Now she accepts it and plans to cherish every moment she has left. And she doesn't plan to give up.

"It is what it is. I just have to do what I have to do. I have to keep fighting," Joanne said recently at her Courtdale home. "I'm just trying to enjoy the time that I do have left."

The type of cancer Joanne has, glioblastoma multiforme grade 4, is aggressive and difficult to treat. After she and her husband repeatedly pressed doctors for a survival prognosis, they finally gave their best guess: 12 to 36 months.

Joanne is hoping they're wrong.

She wants to see her 10-year-old son, Evan, graduate high school. She wants to be there to help raise him to become a man.
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