When Maralee Lellio was 29 she was stunned to learn she had Stage II breast cancer. Her oncologist recommended chemotherapy and surgery; she underwent a double mastectomy and, intent on growing her family, froze embryos before treatment. After finishing therapy and being declared cancer-free in September 2019, she and her husband began IVF, looking forward to giving their 2-year-old daughter a sibling.
But new symptoms — headaches and dizziness — appeared. A CT scan at first showed nothing, and Maralee hoped it was a side effect of medication. When the pain became incapacitating, a telehealth visit sent her to the emergency room. An MRI revealed a large brain tumor: her breast cancer had returned as Stage IV and spread to her brain. The physicians told her there was no cure.
Maralee underwent a craniotomy, but the tumor regrew quickly. Radiation followed, a course that caused seizures and left her unable to walk for a time. Faced with limited options, she transferred her care to the Cleveland Clinic, where the prognosis felt bleak and she fell into depression. She told a friend she’d accepted that she was dying. Her husband overheard the conversation and challenged that resignation — reminding her that other people had beaten the odds and urging her to keep fighting. ‘‘It was like somebody flipped a light switch in my brain,’’ Maralee says. That encouragement changed her mindset: she decided she had to try.
In spring 2021 Maralee’s care was reassigned to Dr. Halle Moore. Scans showed the radiation had reduced the brain tumor nearly to nothing, and Dr. Moore recommended a targeted approach for Maralee’s particular cancer. Tests showed a BRCA1 mutation, and Maralee began a PARP inhibitor, a drug that prevents cancer cells with certain genetic defects from repairing themselves. Over the next two years she remained free of evidence of active disease.
After that period Maralee asked whether she could stop the medication to try for another child. With counseling and a required waiting period, Dr. Moore approved it. After waiting one year off the drug, Maralee and her husband tried to conceive and became pregnant naturally. In July 2024 they welcomed their second daughter. Maralee describes life with two small children as ‘‘messy, and stressful, and perfect,’’ and says she feels a deep gratitude for every ordinary moment she once feared she would miss.
Maralee continues regular scans and follow-up care. She is scheduled for a hysterectomy to reduce the risk of another cancer occurrence related to her genetic mutation. Her doctors emphasize that while Stage IV breast cancer is often considered incurable — with long-term survival uncommon for many patients — every case is different, and advances like PARP inhibitors are changing outcomes for some people.
Back at work as a teacher and celebrating the small daily joys of family life, Maralee says she is more grateful for ordinary stresses and routines than she ever expected to be. Her story, she and her doctors say, is one example of how a seemingly hopeless diagnosis can be followed by unexpected progress when cutting-edge treatment is paired with determination and support.