Brain Cancer

Survivor Spotlight:
Abbie (Dunn) Few

Abbie (Dunn) Few: Planning for a Future with Children and Travel After Surviving Brain Cancer

In April, Abbie (Dunn) Few and her husband Mike celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary. The anniversary is more than a celebration of marriage for Abbie and her family. It’s a reminder that Abbie is thriving and moving forward after a brain cancer diagnosis in 2013.

After suffering ongoing headaches, Abbie was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma, a benign brain tumor near the pituitary gland. Her immediate treatment was surgery to reduce the size of the tumor. Unfortunately, in 2016, the tumor grew larger, and her medical team began to explore treatment options that were less damaging than surgery as the tumor was near the optic nerve.

Her physician recommended proton radiation therapy as it targets the tumor more precisely and produces less damage to the brain tissue surrounding it. Her doctors were familiar with the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute and recommended she travel from her home near Wales in the United Kingdom to Florida for treatment.

Abbie’s proton therapy treatment experience

Reflecting on her time at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute, Abbie recalls how welcoming the staff were. Her mom Helen traveled and cared for Abbie during her treatment, and she also says she has special memories of the caregivers and the community at the facility.

This was Abbie’s first trip to the United States, and she and her mom took advantage of some downtime before treatments started and visited the popular tourist attractions in Orlando. There was also a caregiver who arranged for Abbie and her mom to see Justin Bieber in concert when his tour came to Jacksonville. A favorite activity for Abbie and her mom was shopping; Abbie’s favorite store was Sephora. Helen, Abbie’s mom, especially enjoyed their trips to the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens.

Planning for the future

Abbie schedules regular MRIs to monitor any new brain tumor growth. She happily reports that she has continued to receive clean scans since she completed proton beam therapy in 2016. She still has checkups with the physicians at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute to this day. She hopes to travel to the United States in the next couple of years and bring her husband Mike to the facility.
 
Today, Abbie enjoys spending time with friends, walking her two dogs on the beach and swimming. She shared that she hopes she and her husband can start a family soon.