My 53-year-old Firefighter husband, Todd Willever, is fighting for his life.
Todd, a father of three, was once a Trenton, NJ Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief. On May 4, 2022 Todd’s life changed. He was diagnosed with a malignant brain cancer, glioblastoma. Now, instead of rescuing others, Todd is just trying to save himself.
Here’s his story. Here's my blog... a "travelog" in search of a cure. Please join us.
Diagnosis
Todd was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme, or GBM, a Grade 4 malignant brain tumor. He only had two incidents prior to his diagnosis: one consisted of confusion and the other involved nausea and a phantom odor. An emergency CT scan confirmed a suspicious mass on his right temporal lobe. The mass was operable and on May 6, 2022, it was surgically removed. Despite a nearly complete resection, Todd was warned that due to the tentacle-like nature of GBMs, it’s impossible to remove it all. He immediately started chemoradiation - 30 radiation sessions and 42 days of oral chemo. This was followed by a 4-week break and six months of maintenance chemo.Shortly after he started the maintenance chemo, he returned to the Trenton Fire Department. By March 2023, however, the fatigue and headaches forced Todd to retire from the job he loved.
Reccurance
From his last dose of chemo in January 2023 until August 2024, his scans remained stable. Last month, his condition changed and an area doctors hoped was scar tissue was diagnosed as recurrent tumor. At this time, there is no Standard of Care for a recurrent GBM. When they return, they are notoriously more aggressive, and prognosis is quite grim. Thankfully, a safe, nontoxic personalized vaccine called DCVAX-L was created by Northwest Biotherapeutics. While it awaits approval in the UK, Todd awaits enrollment in a clinical trial at UCLA.
Friends
While the treatment will be covered, Todd and I will need to relocate to Los Angeles for 3 months. Several friends have started this GoFundMe to help defray costs including transportation, travel, accommodations, and living expenses. We are optimistic that this treatment will give Todd many more years with me and his three children, Jessica, Patrick, and Timothy.
Joy Ride
Today we packed up, said goodbye to our family, and headed to UCLA. I'll be journaling about our experiences as we make this pilgrimage to get Todd his best shot at defeating this monster. I'd love you to join us.. Subscribe or just keep checking back here. The adventure of a lifetime. Literally.