Lauren is described by many as an old soul. She’s bright, strong and mature – she’s been through more than most kids before they're 18.

When she was 7 years old, Lauren failed a vision test at school. It turned out she would need more than glasses to fix this issue when an MRI revealed a low-grade glioma tumor in the center of Lauren’s brain and on her optic nerve.

That summer, in 2012, Lauren underwent two brain surgeries at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). But her tumor was inoperable because of its location, thus she endured a biopsy, a port placement, several rounds of chemotherapy and vision loss in her right eye. When she turned 11, she was able to enroll in a clinical trial with her ALSF-funded oncologist, Dr. Angela Waanders. Thanks to the drug, lenalidomide, Lauren’s tumor was stable for a while.

Then, in April 2019, after returning from a family trip to Miami, Lauren commented that she had trouble seeing what radio station they were tuned to in her dad’s car. Fearing that things had worsened, Lauren was taken back to CHOP immediately. Those fears were confirmed – Lauren’s vision had changed significantly in the past five weeks. Her MRI came back and showed that she had hydrocephalus, a swollen ventricle that completely blocked and put pressure on her brain, thus she required a shunt.

Two weeks later, doctors wanted to biopsy her tumor again. It had been seven years since her first one, and testing had improved. This test revealed four different types of mutations in her tumor. Doctors had never seen that before but, luckily, they had a solution. Lauren became one of 400 kids to go on an MEK inhibitor drug. Originally made for metastatic melanoma, it was made available for kids with brain tumors. The pill worked wonders. By November, another MRI revealed that she had some tumor reduction. However, it came with side effects.

Lauren endured constant nausea and 15 skin staff infections with two hospitalizations over the next two years. On top of that, Lauren had to deal with a lot of emotional stress being a young teenager in high school. Luckily, she finished taking chemo ahead of schedule on June 24, 2021. And her good news didn't stop there.

Lauren's vision had improved. At 16, she was unable to obtain her driver's permit, but in January 2022 she received her driver's license. She enrolled in community college courses and was accepted into seven colleges. She chose to attend West Chester University to pursue a degree in nursing so she can help other kids who have cancer, and has completed her first year! 

However, it didn't come without complications. Unfortunately, in August 2022, an MRI showed that Lauren's tumor was active and growing. The oncologists at CHOP decided to put her on a newly approved cell inhibitor drug called selumetinib, which was tested and designed for Lauren's type of glioma brian tumor. She started taking the pills orally during her first week of college and will continue taking it for a maximum of two years. The day before Thanksgiving Lauren went for a follow-up MRI, and a week later she recieved the good news: her tumor had reduced in size! She is living on campus, and doing well during her first semester.

Lauren and her family are holding local lemonade stands in the name of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). When Lauren was being treated at CHOP in 2013, she saw a mural of Alex Scott’s lemonade stand on the wall in the playroom. She told her parents that’s what she wanted to do for her birthday. Years later, Lauren has raised more than $80,000 for pediatric cancer research – the very research that has given her the chance to keep on fighting. During the summers between school, she hopes to reach $100,000.

Lauren and her family have since appeared on CBS 3 during the Alex Scott: A Stand for Hope Telethon and attended The Lemon Ball. Right now, they are trying to preserve vision in Lauren’s left eye while buying time for technology to advance. Moved by Lauren's experiences and fundraising, the Peleton Corporation chose her to receive a bike, shoes and subscription as part of their Comeback Program to help her reach her goals. Determined and forward-focused, Lauren is always keeping her eyes on the future.

Information provided by Patrick O’Malley, Lauren’s dad
Updated June 2023