A single word. Six letters. Then everything shifts, like a crashing wave. Denial, anger, sadness – the stages arrive in waves. but frequently enough,hope emerges even in the face of cancer. This disease doesn’t just impact the person diagnosed; it fractures an entire family. Lola,20,and Maya,18,of Saint-Mars-du-Désert,near Nantes,know this all too well.
Two Sisters’ Fight too Save Their Mother
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Lola and Maya are steadfast to help their mother, Karine, 49, who received a diagnosis of grade 4 glioblastoma in 2023 – an aggressive and currently incurable brain tumor in France. Alongside their father, Yan, they are striving to enroll Karine in an experimental clinical trial in the United States.
To fund this ambitious endeavor, they launched a fundraiser on Friday, July 11, 2025, on a crowdfunding platform, hoping to raise the substantial funds needed for treatment and travel. “Its our last hope,” Maya shared,her voice laced with emotion. “the United States offers a glimmer of possibility. We have no choice but to hold on,” Lola added.
A Journey to Los Angeles
The experimental clinical trial involves a specialized process. “It’s immunotherapy,” Lola explained. “It involves taking T lymphocyte cells, modifying them in a laboratory, and then re-injecting them into the brain.” This process offers the potential for patients to gain months, even years, of additional life, and in certain specific cases, achieve remission. “We don’t yet have enough data to know the precise outcomes,” Lola cautioned. The proposed treatment location is Los Angeles.
After extensive research with their father, a hospital in Los Angeles responded positively to their inquiry.
We contacted hospitals in Boston and Pennsylvania, but because my mother had already begun another round of chemotherapy, they were no longer able to consider her for the clinical trial.
The cost of this journey – encompassing travel, accomodation, and medical file translation – is important, prompting the creation of the fundraising campaign.
The family aims to raise €150,000. Within one week, they surpassed €54,000, with contributions from 1,616 supporters. maya and Lola expressed their gratitude, acknowledging the vulnerability of sharing their personal story. “It wasn’t easy to expose our lives, but we knew we’d regret not trying everything,” Maya said. They are currently awaiting the translation of Karine’s medical records and a consultation with doctors in Los Angeles to determine the next steps, with the departure date still uncertain.
Diagnosis in 2023
Karine, a liberal nurse by profession, saw her life irrevocably altered in the summer of 2023. “My mother began experiencing epileptic seizures in her left hand. The attacks sometimes lasted for hours,” Lola recounted. The family sought emergency medical attention on three separate occasions.
Initially, doctors suggested carpal tunnel syndrome. But my mother, with her medical background, knew that didn’t align with her symptoms.
Karine requested an MRI in September 2023. Doctors discovered a tumor in her brain.The initial neurologist believed it to be benign. Karine underwent surgery in October, which appeared successful. However, the family soon learned the tumor was malignant.”We knew it was serious, but I remained optimistic,” Lola remembered.
Maya had previously faced cancer herself, diagnosed with pituitary cancer at age 9. “I underwent chemotherapy and radiation.” While a arduous memory, it ultimately had a positive outcome. “We knew what to expect, to some extent. Maya got through it. We were apprehensive, of course, but we told ourselves everything would be okay for our mother,” Lola said.
The Disease Progresses
The news of the tumor’s grade – stage 4 – was devastating. In January 2024, Yan and Karine informed their daughters that their mother’s prognosis was grim, with limited chances of survival. “We didn’t know the name of the cancer at that point. Our parents wanted to shield us, despite our own online research,” Maya recalled. The sisters were stunned.
Karine began chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments alongside medication for her epileptic seizures from October 2023 to August 2024.Her condition stabilized, allowing for a period of rest. The chemotherapy treatments were physically exhausting. Karine underwent MRIs every three months to monitor her progress. Everything appeared stable until May 2025, when the tumor returned.
It was then that Lola and Maya learned their mother had a glioblastoma. Doctors delivered the news of the disease’s progression and a life expectancy of just a few months. Karine resumed chemotherapy in June 2025, but the epileptic seizures returned. “We know the tumor will remain,” Maya stated calmly, maintaining hope despite the grim outlook. Lola acknowledged the reality of the situation after a period of denial: “we know the disease is present.”
A New Hope in the United states
The family explored the possibility of participating in a clinical trial in france, at the Gauducheau west Cancer Institute in Saint-Herblain, where Karine is receiving care. After a series of tests, Karine was deemed eligible. This sparked renewed hope for her husband and daughters.
Patients are selected for the trial through a lottery system. Unfortunately, Karine was not selected. “It was horrible,” Lola expressed. “It felt like life was a lottery. We had hoped she would be included, even knowing it wasn’t a guaranteed cure. She would have received 10 rounds of radiotherapy.”
Undeterred, Lola tirelessly researched solutions for her mother’s care, focusing on the United States, believing they are more advanced in cancer treatment. karine was informed, and the family now holds onto the hope of making the journey.
We want to keep our mother with us for as long as possible.
The situation presents challenges for the young women as they plan for the future. Maya, having recently completed her baccalaureate, has been accepted to an architecture school in Nantes. Lola, who finished her bachelor’s degree in commerce in La Rochelle, intends to take a gap year to care for her mother.
Despite the difficulties, both remain steadfast: “We are very close to our mother. We talk to her every evening in her room.” The family finds solace in simple moments, playing board games and cherishing the everyday joys of life amidst the illness.
