Patient Voices: Sophia Lopez
An avid writer and reader, Sophia Lopez loved learning and spending time with her siblings. But in 2025, Sophia’s mom, Jessica, began noticing that Sophia was experiencing bad headaches and frequent vomiting.
As Sophia’s skin became paler and she started sleeping more often, Jessica took her to the emergency room. There, the provider shared that it could possibly be a migraine, but additional imaging was needed to confirm. A CT scan revealed a golf ball-sized tumor, and an MRI later confirmed it as craniopharyngioma, a rare brain tumor.
Hearing the words “brain tumor” left Jessica completely shattered. Not only did cancer not run in their family, but Sophia had always been an active, healthy child.
“I thought that maybe since it was towards the end of school, I thought maybe she just got a virus from school, and she was getting sick,” Jessica said. “Never did I imagine it was going to be a brain tumor.”Unable to load video. Please check the video ID and try again.
According to Victor S. Mangona, M.D., a board-certified radiation oncologist at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy, “Craniopharyngioma is a rare, benign, noncancerous tumor that we often see in young children. It occurs at the front lower part of the brain near the pituitary gland.”
Craniopharyngiomas are notoriously difficult to treat due to their location and close proximity to delicate structures, including the optic nerves. “The tumor can push on the vision nerves from the brainstem on its way to the eyes,” Dr. Mangona explained. “If the tumor pushes on those nerves, it can interrupt what the person can see. So while it’s a benign tumor, it’s in a challenging location.”
Given its proximity to critical brain structures, treatment often requires a highly meticulous approach, such as proton therapy, a type of radiation therapy that precisely targets tumors. Sophia’s neurologist referred Jessica and Sophia to the Texas Center for Proton Therapy.
For complex cases like craniopharyngioma, proton therapy can be an effective option. It can be precisely calibrated to travel a specific depth and deposit its energy directly into the tumor, helping to spare surrounding healthy tissue. This precision is especially important in children, as it helps safeguard the critical structures that support memory, learning, vision, and neuroendocrine functions.
When Sophia walked through the center, it was scary at first. “But everyone here was very nice, and they made it so much easier,” Sophia said. “I love everybody here, but if I had to choose one, it would have to be nurse Tiffany. She always had a smile, and she would always tell me that I would be okay.”
In the weeks that followed, Sophia completed 30 radiation sessions over six weeks. “Each treatment takes about 15 minutes a day, and then patients go back home,” explained Dr. Mangona. “They can go on and live their regular day-to-day lives with this treatment that minimizes the possible side effects that the treatment can cause.”
Another advantage of proton therapy is its potential to preserve cognitive function. “So as patients get older, they continue developing cognitively, and radiation won’t have a significant impact on their overall cognitive development as they age, which supports a better quality of life over time” Dr. Mangona added.
“I would say proton therapy saved my daughter’s life because it gave us hope,” Jessica said. “Even though the tumor couldn’t be removed, we were told it could be controlled. We didn’t know what we were walking into, but everyone here just made us feel at home.”
Because craniopharyngiomas are often difficult to remove due to their location, the goal of treatment is typically to control the tumor and prevent it from growing. After completing radiation, Sophia now receives routine MRIs every three months to monitor her progress.
Receiving care at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy helped turn fear into hope. Sophia hopes her story will encourage other children going through treatment:
“Don’t be afraid. It might seem scary at first. It may be a long process, but throughout it all, there are a lot of people with smiles. There would be a lot of people to help you get back up again.”
The information included in this testimonial is based on one patient’s unique experience and is not intended to represent all patient outcomes or expectations.
