#RoaringForEli

Understanding Eli's Fight

Eli is four years old and full of life. He's also fighting one of the most challenging brain cancers a child can face. This page explains his diagnosis.

His Diagnosis

What is a Grade 4 Glioma?

When Eli's doctors found a brain tumor, they assigned it a grade — a number from 1 to 4 that describes how abnormal the cells look and how quickly the tumor is growing. Grade 4 is the highest grade, meaning the cells are very abnormal and the tumor is fast-moving.

A Grade 4 glioma is a cancer that starts in the brain's supporting cells, called glial cells (which is where the name "glioma" comes from). In adults, this type is often called glioblastoma, or GBM. In children, these tumors have some important biological differences, but they share the same aggressive nature.

What makes this type of tumor especially challenging is that it can infiltrate critical areas of the brain that control speech, movement, memory, and personality. The brain also has a natural protective barrier called the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which prevents many medications from reaching the tumor effectively.

In plain terms: Eli's cancer is a very aggressive brain tumor that grows quickly and spreads into nearby brain tissue. It doesn't form a clean, contained mass — it sends out microscopic "fingers" into the surrounding brain, which makes it extremely difficult to remove completely with surgery.
~12,000 Grade 4 glioma cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year
19% 5-year survival rate for children (ages 0–14) with this diagnosis*
12–18 months Average survival time

*Source: American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA). Statistics represent historical data and do not predict any individual's outcome. Pediatric cases often differ significantly from adult cases in biology and treatment response.

Coming soon: Eli's treatment plan explained.

🩶🦁🧠 #RoaringForEli