When Addison Browell was being treated at CHoR for an extremely rare form of cancer, she didn’t know she would dream of returning once she was cancer-free.

Addison was 16 years old in 2021 when she made a routine trip to urgent care to get bloodwork and a TB shot required for an upcoming summer internship. That’s when she learned her hemoglobin levels were dangerously low and was referred to CHoR for more testing.

Since middle school, Addison’s hemoglobin levels had typically been lower than normal, but her family doctor recommended dietary changes and vitamins. Despite those changes, she struggled with symptoms like shortness of breath and lightheadedness, even fainting on a few occasions.

“I tended to have to sit out during sports,” explained Addison. “I couldn’t be on the court for long without having to stop and take a break.”

But leading up to that internship, her health deteriorated.

“My symptoms became much more prominent, my blood pressure was very high and one of my fight or flight hormones was seven times the average, while at the same time I was still struggling with low hemoglobin,” she shared. “This meant that my body was constantly overworking itself and I struggled to do everyday activities like climbing stairs and going on walks.”

Her stepmom said the blood pressure spikes were terrifying.

“At times we would get readings like 220/160 (normal blood pressure for teens is 120/80) and seeing numbers like that, as a parent, made our blood run cold,” remembered Caroline Browell.

Detecting a very rare cancer, especially for pediatric patients

CHoR helped Addison and her family get answers. After months of testing including MRIs, ultrasounds, EKGs, PET scans and more, while taking medications to ease her symptoms, a cancerous tumor was found in her abdomen, connected to her adrenal gland and small intestine.

The tumor, called paraganglioma, is a slow-growing neuroendocrine tumor which causes the release of excess hormones that can lead to high blood pressure like Addison was experiencing. It is rare to diagnose that type of tumor in a pediatric patient. They most commonly develop in adults aged 30 to 50. In fact, because they are slow-growing and develop later, they frequently go undiagnosed and are only incidentally discovered during autopsies.

Addison immediately underwent a long surgery to remove all parts of the fist-sized tumor, along with part of her small intestine – and her road to a healthier life began.

“I was released after recovering in the hospital for a week,” said Addison. “I had to go on a liquid diet for a couple weeks afterwards because of complications but ended up fully recovering within a couple of months.”

While her tumor has been removed, she remains vigilant about her health. 

“It has been almost 5 years since my surgery and ever since I have been cancer free,” Addison shared. “I take no medication. My condition is genetic, so my geneticist told us that the tumor is likely to return, so I do have yearly full body MRIs to check. If it does return though, it would be caught very quickly instead of having been growing for years.” 

Diagnosis magnified her love for science, medicine and research, leading to her current career path

Now she’s finishing college, graduating from Randolph-Macon with degrees in both behavioral neuroscience and biology, and minors in Asian studies and psychology. She aspires to a career in medical research and education and in a few years, we will be calling her Dr. Browell.

“I have been accepted and will attend the Translational Biology, Medicine and Health Ph.D. Program at Virginia Tech this fall,” Addison excitedly shared. “I would love to become a professor and work both in a research and teaching field. I enjoy working and mentoring others and want to help younger students learn about medicine and how important it is! I could also see myself working in a clinical research setting and being back in a hospital, like CHoR, to help patients firsthand.” 

Showing their gratitude in a big way