Meet Lexie Browning, 26-year-old stage IV Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS) Fighter AND Survivor. As part of our themed “Survivor” month, we have pieced together parts of Lexie’s story to share.
Life’s moments don’t have to be grandiose to be precious.
However sometimes they’re both.
My 3:59 Nation, meet Lexie Browning, 26-year-old stage IV Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS) Fighter AND Survivor. As part of our themed “Survivor” month, we have pieced together parts of Lexie’s story to share with you today. It is a true honor to not only know Lexie, but to witness the strength she has carried with her along the way.
Lexie has been fighting ASPS in her right thigh since being diagnosed in March 2019. ASPS is an extremely rare form of cancer with no known treatment that is guaranteed to be effective. Each case is very unique, and certain approaches have worked in one instance, but not others.
“It is the most cliche thing in the world, but you really don’t think anything bad will ever happen to you until it does. I wish I was more articulate and could find the correct words to write a moving caption for everyone. But I’m not, and I can’t. So, I’ll just tell a general version of my story so far. It’s probably gonna be lengthy and boring so saddle up.”
Lexie has been documenting her journey every step of the way on her blog and the above is taken from one of her very first posts after getting her diagnoses. She even took to YouTube to bring family and friends a long with her (virtually) to one of her treatments.
However it was one of those life moments that was just as precious as it was grandiose. Earlier this month, Lexie and her family got the best piece of news they could have ever hoped for after she undergoing surgery to remove her primary tumor: they got it all.
“Today is also the day I got the call regarding the pathology results. The suspicious blood vessels came back negative. He was able to get clear margins all the way around by at least 2mm!! He says it doesn’t sound like much, but it is the standard, and means we are in the clear. NEGATIVE MARGINS. I’m taking the deepest breath right now.
I can’t believe there is no longer any cancer in my leg.”
The only remaining cancer Lexie now has is in her lungs which her doctor has said she has significantly less lung nodules than the average ASPS patient.
While Lexie is still fighting, she achieved a HUGE victory and is in fact a survivor who is still surviving. When we asked Lexie what surviving means to her today, she quickly replied,
“Surviving, to me, means having more time. Time to help others, time to grow, and time to love. Survival is a gift. It is resiliency. It’s the power to know that you can overcome hard things. I think it’s a good thing to be hyper-aware of that gift. To actively celebrate it, dance with it, giggle with it. Hold it dear to your heart and truly cherish it. I’ve learned life’s moments don’t have to be grandiose to be precious. All in all, survival, to me, means just being happy to be here.”
We could not agree more.
We would like to thank Lexie sincerely for taking the time to share with us! If you would like to know more about Lexie and her story or follow along, please visit https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexismbrowning/journal.
