Three times in 10 years. That statistic, for someone from the time they are 18 to 28, usually applies to how many new cars they’ve bought, how many jobs they’ve had, how many relationships they’ve been in and how many different hairstyles they will try. For Tiffany, it was how many times she would hear, “You have a brain tumor.” I don’t know about you, but the average person, myself included, would’ve said, “Three strikes and I’m outta here ependymoma, hit the showers brain!”. Yet, Tiffany, she doesn’t believe in striking out, or even just riding the bench, in the fight against cancer. She swings the hardest every time her tumor throws a curveball into her life, and to all of us she’s cranking everything out of the park that life throws at her. Imagine being this bright and beautiful young woman on the midst of finishing high school and being nervously excited for college. Now have that interrupted by brain surgery to remove a tumor the size of a hand-sport ball or small fruit. Unfortunately this wasn’t fun or enjoyable but “fortunately”, this happened to a bright and beautiful young woman who would have so much heart that she continued right onto Western Michigan University. Needless to say this would be first test she passed, even before heading off to college. Passing that test, she would have to endure a recurrence of the brain tumor. This time it was during college, and yet again she took the news like a champ. After another surgery, Tiffany would ultimately end up graduating, on time too. Not one, but two, brain tumors during one of the most important parts of a young adult’s life could stop her. She had proved she could handle anything, and handle anything she would. This is because, in May, she would get the news for a third time that the brain tumor was back. After impressively bouncing back from a craniotomy followed by tackling chemo and radiation at the same time, Tiffany continues a positive outlook while striving to educate and help so many others.