Earning a Doctorate Despite a Brain Tumor Priya, a brain tumor survivor

Priya was a doctoral student at Emory University when she started experiencing frequent headaches and severe fatigue. She knew she wasn't performing at her full capacity but couldn’t understand why. A therapist and others attributed her symptoms to stress. After all, she was only 32 years old. The possibility of a serious illness seemed remote.

That is until she experienced a seizure while having brunch with her husband, Dev, in March 2023.

“I was just sitting with Dev chatting, and all of a sudden, my left leg and foot started jumping up and down—and I couldn’t stop it,” says Priya. “People at the surrounding tables saw me seizing and called 9-1-1. I remember falling into Dev’s arms and losing consciousness.”

Priya spent a week at an Atlanta-area hospital, where medical imaging revealed a tumor in her brain. Later tests indicated that the tumor was cancerous. It was near brain structures that controlled movement, making surgery impossible.

Priya and Dev were shocked by the news that she had cancer. They went to see an oncologist about treatment but felt unprepared for the non-medical side of Priya’s diagnosis. “We didn’t know how to process what I was going through or how to talk to our family and friends about it,” Priya says. “There was just so much to manage, and we felt like we were on our own.”

The situation dramatically improved when Priya switched her care to Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University a few weeks after her diagnosis. “Everything was streamlined and well-coordinated once I got to Winship—I received holistic care from a team that really cared about me and Dev too,” she says. “I started meeting other young people with cancer, and feeling a sense of community and solidarity helped.”

Priya’s treatment course involved taking a high-dose oral chemotherapy drug and six weeks of proton therapy at Emory Proton Therapy Center. Proton therapy destroys cancer with pinpoint accuracy, minimizing damage to surrounding tissues. It can mean fewer side effects and reduced long-term effects compared to traditional radiation therapy.

“The team at the Emory Proton Therapy Center was incredible,” Priya says. “They provided the perfect combination of science and technology and positivity.”

At the end of six weeks, the tumor started to shrink. Priya continued taking the chemo drug for the first week of every month. It caused her to feel “like a zombie” for about 10 days after each dose.

But her real life couldn’t wait—she needed to resume her doctoral studies with the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Specifically, this meant finishing her dissertation by early 2024.

“My advisor and colleagues were so supportive, but it was very challenging to focus and stay on schedule,” Priya says. “Somehow, I finished in time, defended my dissertation in March and graduated in May.”

Priya’s last chemo dose was in August 2024. She began a new job at the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control in Atlanta soon after. Her imaging scan “reveals no evidence of an active tumor.”

“I want to be cautiously optimistic, but sometimes I feel like I’m back at step one with cancer, asking questions like, ‘How did this happen to me?’” Priya says.

While Priya may never know what caused her brain cancer, she does have words of encouragement for others who are facing a similar challenge. “A cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, but the resources are there to support you in the fight. Be proactive and never stop believing you can rebuild,” she says. “Once I got my diagnosis, I knew I had to face it head-on. I was confident that my loved ones and care team at Emory Healthcare would get me across the finish line, and they did.”