Hedberg Survivorship Program provides pioneering care for brain and spinal cord tumor survivors

[Allina Health Newsroom, June 27, 2025] Kathy Kuhl says she got a ‘one-in-a-million diagnosis’ in 2011 when doctors told her she had an ependymoma, a tumor commonly found in children, in her spinal cord. Kathy’s medical team quickly scheduled her for surgery, where the tumor was successfully removed, but because of the tumor’s location, Kathy woke up with some deficits.

“I struggled to reconnect with a body that didn’t feel like mine anymore.”

As Kathy recovered, she realized she needed the help of not just a neuro-oncologist, but a nutritionist, physical therapist, mental health professional and so much more. Coordinating the appointments for that level of care was cumbersome until she joined the Hedberg Survivorship Program at Givens Brain Tumor Center, part of Allina Health’s Neuroscience, Spine and Pain Institute. There, she could meet with all the clinicians she needed at one appointment:

  • physical medicine and rehabilitation
  • rehab psychology (mental health)
  • social work
  • ·nutrition
  • ·neuro-oncology

“They put me back together somehow. That is what the survivorship program does is help you feel like a whole person again,” said Kathy.

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