In 2018, Lindsay Vieira was a mother of a toddler and a school principal. A Columbia post-grad with a degree in Education, she had built a successful career since becoming one of the youngest school principals in New Jersey at the age of 27. By 39, she was balancing both family and professional responsibilities – her husband’s job took him away from home Monday through Friday. Then, one morning, something unexpected happened.
“I was getting ready for work, and my daughter was upstairs with me,” Lindsay recalls. “I had a big seizure in the bathroom, and suddenly found myself in and out of consciousness.” Lindsay had her daughter get her cell phone so she could call her husband, who then called 911. After a series of tests, scans, and a craniotomy, Lindsay’s doctor delivered the news: she had a malignant brain tumor. The tumor was removed, but the procedure left her with balance and physical issues that required a two-week stay in rehab. During this time, Lindsay depended on her husband and mother to take care of her daughter. She made it home just in time to celebrate her daughter’s third birthday.
Two years later, in 2020, the tumor returned – this time more aggressively. Lindsay’s doctor removed it again and placed her on a chemo treatment targeted to a genetic mutation. She remained on the treatment for the next two years. The recurrence, surgery, and intensive treatment took a further toll, leading to physical and cognitive challenges. She increasingly relied on her mother during her husband’s work trips. She also made the difficult decision to step down as a school principal. For someone who loved her career, this was a setback, but Lindsay knew setbacks weren’t permanent. Through resilience and perseverance, she continued forward.
Persevering toward a new normal
Now, two years later, Lindsay has not had another recurrence. She is still involved in education through substitute teaching and consulting, while also spending more time with her daughter, who is now nine. Lindsay speaks openly and honestly with her daughter about her cancer.
“We never shied away from the word cancer. We were careful not to use the word sick because we never wanted her to associate what I had with her being sick,” she says. “I made her school aware that I had cancer, but I always say, ‘please don't let that ever be an excuse.’ We don't use it as a crutch for ourselves, and we don't use it as a crutch for her, either. We would never want her to say she couldn’t do her homework or something else because of what her mom is going through.”
This is the important lesson Lindsay hopes to impart to her daughter: the need to be resilient and to rebuild.
Helping others navigate their challenges
Lindsay’s experience led her down a new path: becoming a mentor with Cancer Hope Network. “I felt like I should do it because I knew they were always looking to match patients with mentors who have similar experiences. I had brain cancer (Oligoastrocytoma), which is rare, so I wanted to be there for others going through this dangerous, debilitating form of cancer with its high recurrence rate.”
She says that those impacted by cancer share a unique “language,” one born of shared experience. “I wanted to be able to talk to others with cancer in the common language we have as people who have been through it all – and help them.”
Since becoming a mentor, Lindsay has been matched with multiple cancer patients and caregivers. She aims to help others who are worried about maintaining their family life and career in the long run while enduring treatment and illness. She has connected with people in similar situations, like mothers balancing career and family. “I had one match who was a 21-year-old woman with a young child. She was so scared. She was alone and her child’s father wasn’t in the picture. She just kept saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to survive.’ Three years later, she’s recovered, is in grad school, and trying to have another baby. She was able to not only recover but keep pursuing her career and begin thinking about expanding her family. I still can’t believe we went through that together sometimes. It’s like a dream.”
Lindsay’s story reminds us that, even in difficult of times, when prior goals seem out of reach, hope remains. This is what she wants others to remember on their cancer journeys. Lindsay’s life was disrupted by cancer, and even changed by it. But she’s looked toward the future – and that’s her story and encouragement as a Cancer Hope Network mentor.
Interested in becoming a volunteer peer mentor and helping others recover their sense of hope and resilience? Learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference.
