Bellefonte woman’s new book tells story of ‘Finding the Rainbow’ through cancer journey
LeeAnn Tripp of Bellefonte beat the odds. And now she’s using her story of strength and survival to inspire others. Her new book “Finding the Rainbow: The Other Side of a Cancer Journey” details her miraculous win over one of the deadliest cancers in existence.
It was 2014. Tripp was a happy and healthy mother of a 4-year-old girl. She was thrilled when she became pregnant with her second child, a son. But during her pregnancy, she experienced some strange symptoms. Her eyesight became blurry and even doubled at times, and she had a tingling sensation in her head. The symptoms weren’t debilitating, so she thought perhaps they were pregnancy-related.
Tripp gave birth to her son that October, but her double vision and headaches didn’t go away. In fact, they got much worse. She met with different types of doctors and underwent various medical screenings, including scans of her brain. Then came a phone call that changed her life forever. The results of her brain scan were in. She had diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, an incurable brain tumor.
Most people diagnosed with DIPG only live another nine months. Only 10% of people with DIPG are alive after two years.
Tripp was in shock. A new mother of two, she was terrified of what was to come. She had never heard of DIPG. That’s because DIPG is very rare. Fewer than 300 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with this kind of brain tumor each year, and the majority of those are children. DIPG in adults is extremely rare.
DIPG affects Tripp’s brain stem. It’s so deadly because the cancer cells are mixed in with healthy cells, making removing the tumor impossible. The only treatment is targeted radiation, but because it impacts the brain stem, very little radiation can be used. As Tripp put it, they “only had one shot to get it right.”
And they did.
Against all odds, LeeAnn is now in remission. She gets brain scans every 18 months, and says it’s “a miracle” that her tumor has remained unchanged since her treatment. She says she suffers from occasional brain fog and blurry vision, but other than that, she is living a normal life. In fact, she’s living a life more vibrant, rich, and authentic than ever before.
“In order to grow, we have to go through pain,” Tripp said. “In order to survive, we have to suffer a little bit. And facing my mortality really showed me how to live more fully.”
She said the hardest part of being in remission is the uncertainty. At first, she didn’t know how to go from being a “sick patient” to a survivor. She felt the fear of the unknown. Would her cancer come back? How could she resume her normal life? But Tripp says she learned to not only live with the uncertainty, but to appreciate it.
“It’s not the life-altering event that will define you, rather it’s your response to that event that will define you,” Tripp said. “It’s not my life story, but a story from my life.”
She recently put that story on paper. Tripp’s book details her journey and gives a first-hand account of her battle with DIPG. She hopes the book will help people dealing with any kind of unforeseen challenge, whether it be cancer or something else, look on the bright side.
“Appreciate and savor the present moment because it’s the only one we have for sure,” she said.
Tripp said her fight with cancer changed her perspective on life. She hopes her book will help people who are struggling do the same and see the silver lining, no matter how dark the cloud.
“The storm is what is necessary to give you that rainbow,” Tripp said.
Tripp’s book, “Finding the Rainbow: The Other Side of a Cancer Journey,” can be purchased by visiting: bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com.
