A Mother’s Miracle: How Proton Beam Therapy Preserved Miranda’s Fertility
Miranda faced a painful fate — until a precise treatment option offered a chance to one day become a mom.
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On Miranda Mead’s 16th birthday, she failed her driving test.
Although she had been looking forward to getting her license for a long time, she couldn’t sit without being in pain. The sporadic numbness in her leg only made things worse.
In the spring of her freshman year, Miranda took a hard fall on her tailbone. The following fall, despite the lingering pain, she pushed through to run on her high school’s cross-country team in Wayzata, Minnesota. As the season wore on, however, the pain in her back became unbearable — and she was forced to stop running.
Two days after her birthday, when the periodic numbness in her left leg and foot evolved into a complete loss of feeling, she knew something was seriously wrong.
A Life-Changing Diagnosis
An MRI revealed Miranda had a 6-inch, inoperable tumor at the base of her spine.
Nadia N. Laack, M.D., the pediatric oncologist who treated Miranda at Mayo Clinic, confirmed through a biopsy that the cancer was Ewing sarcoma — one of the most common pediatric bone tumors. Unfortunately, the news got worse: The cancer had already spread.
“She had metastatic disease to her lungs, and she was told that she had about a 10% chance of survival,” says Dr. Laack, the Hitachi Professor of Radiation Oncology Research.
But that number didn’t faze her. “I’m a pediatric oncologist — we're eternal optimists. That’s the only way we can do this job. Every patient is a 10%, right?”
When asked if Miranda would benefit from proton beam therapy, Dr. Laack knew they had to give it a shot.
Targeted Treatment, Greater Hope
Unlike traditional X-ray therapy, which affects all tissue in its path, proton beam therapy offers precise control, enabling specialists to focus radiation directly on the tumor while reducing harm to the surrounding healthy tissue.
For Miranda, this precision was critical. X-ray radiation therapy would have treated her entire pelvis, including the uterus, which would no longer be able to accommodate a growing baby. Proton beam therapy allowed for a more targeted approach. One of her ovaries was wrapped up in the tumor, but through proton beam therapy, the other could be shielded. This meant a chance at preserving her fertility.
“Dr. Laack and her team tacked one of my ovaries out of the line of radiation. This forethought gave me the best chance possible at conceiving naturally,” Miranda says. “The fact they moved the other ovary was absolutely life-changing.”
In addition to protecting the uterus and the remaining ovary during proton beam therapy, Dr. Laack designed a comprehensive treatment plan that gave Miranda the greatest likelihood of recovery. She underwent concurrent chemotherapy at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and proton beam therapy at Mayo Clinic to target the Ewing sarcoma, along with radiation to treat the cancer in her lungs.
“I was very grateful to be able to commute to Mayo Clinic and still go home at night,” Miranda says. “It’s amazing that this treatment was available in my backyard.”
A Future Once Unimaginable
In February 2016, Miranda completed her last proton beam treatment. Since then, she has graduated magna cum laude from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, landed her dream job, met the love of her life, got married, bought a house and had her first child.
“I wanted to find love, own a house and start a family,” she says. “Those were my main priorities after I beat cancer — to live life and live it to the fullest with no time wasted.”
While Miranda has accomplished a lot since her last treatment, one of the most meaningful chapters of Miranda’s journey has been welcoming her son, Everett, into the world. She and her husband, Alec, now center their days around his happiness, giggles and cuddles.
“Mayo Clinic listened to my fears, my hopes and my dreams. It wasn’t enough to simply cure me — they went above and beyond to ensure my quality of life would be the best it possibly could be,” she says. “They understood how important being a mother was to me and acted accordingly. I am forever grateful to Dr. Laack and her team for their contribution to helping me have my miracle baby.”
Miranda had no complications during pregnancy, and she credits the care she received years earlier at Mayo Clinic for making the experience smooth once it came time to start a family. “These are the reasons why it’s important for us to be able to bring in these new technologies to help our patients,” Dr. Laack says.
Looking Ahead
Miranda and Alec have started talking about having another child in the next few years. There’s no rush though — for now, they’re savoring this time with Everett. Because Mayo Clinic made it possible for her to have one child, Miranda is hopeful she can have another.
In her free time, she continues to give back, such as serving on the board of Rein in Sarcoma, a resource for patients and families affected by these uncommon and often misdiagnosed bone and soft tissue cancers.
Looking back, Miranda says she wishes she could tell her 16-year-old self — a young girl who had just received a life-altering diagnosis — how much life was still ahead. What once seemed uncertain has become a life filled with purpose and promise.
“If I could tell her that I would not only survive cancer, but find the love of my life, marry, own a beautiful house on a river, work my dream job and have a child — all by the age of 25 — I don’t think any part of me would have dared dream that big in the moment,” she says. “Simply put, I have a future to look forward to because of Mayo Clinic."
Carey Stanton contributed to this story.
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