Mom with Fatal Cancer Beats Odds with Cell Trial

When Heather Curley sat down to write birthday cards for her three-year-old daughter Palmer, she only hoped to make it to one more milestone. She wanted Palmer to reach five years old so her daughter would have at least some memories of her mom.

Heather was 32 when doctors diagnosed her with stage four metastatic breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. Worse still, the cancer led to leptomeningeal disease, or LMD, a complication that attacks the brain and spinal cord and is almost always fatal within two years.

But Heather's luck changed when she discovered that Dr. Peter Forsyth, one of the few experts studying LMD, worked right at her treatment center in Tampa. "It's just like, perfect place at the perfect time," she said.

Dr. Forsyth and his team at Moffitt Cancer Center refused to accept the usual outlook for LMD patients. "Everybody got beaten down by this disease," he explained. "Doctors say, 'Look, there's nothing we can do,' but we had a different attitude."

Their solution involved dendritic cells, special cells that train the immune system to recognize and attack LMD. For 16 weeks, doctors injected a personalized vaccine directly into Heather's skull through a brain port once a week.

The results have been remarkable. Heather has now survived more than two years past her diagnosis, well beyond the typical timeline for LMD patients.

Why This Inspires

Dr. Forsyth made Heather a simple promise: to always take good care of her and always have options. For someone facing an incurable disease, that promise means everything.

Today, Heather lives her life in three-month intervals, from one scan to the next. Every clear scan means she gets to throw away another pre-written birthday card because she was there in person to celebrate with Palmer.

"The gift of time and the gift of memories together outweigh anything else," Heather said. "And that's all I pray for is just more time."

In October 2025, Dr. Forsyth received a $22.4 million federal grant to open two new LMD trials. The first trial will welcome patients within weeks, drawing people from across the country and around the world who are searching for the same gift Heather found: hope when there seemed to be none.

Palmer's mom is winning her fight, one birthday at a time.