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Ten years ago, Anya Zach-Salon was a 23 year-old recent college graduate with dreams of working in publishing. She had just moved to New York City and was interning at publishing houses, navigating the city's notoriously crowded subways and the excitement of starting her career. Today, at 33, she's living those dreams, working for a children's book publisher, married to her college boyfriend Will, having read approximately 500 books since her brain surgery.
The journey between those two moments tells a remarkable story of resilience, expert medical care, and the power of trusting the process during life's most challenging chapters.
In the spring of 2015, as Anya was finishing her Spanish major at Carleton College in Minnesota, she began experiencing headaches. Initially, she attributed them to the typical stresses of senior year, little sleep, thesis work and graduation preparations. The headaches persisted as she moved to New York and began her career.
"I had headaches before, so having a headache wasn't a concern," Anya recalls. "I never thought it could be a brain tumor."
The headaches were triggered by movement, pressure and heat, but without balance or vision issues, it was difficult to determine the cause. Living alone in New York, Anya found herself advocating for her own health.
Everything changed on a Friday when her neurologist, who was on vacation, took the time to call her personally and tell her to go to the emergency room immediately.
"I left work and went," Anya remembers simply.
After imaging revealed a tumor in her fourth ventricle, Anya experienced an unexpected emotion: relief.
"I remember feeling relieved that there was a diagnosis because I had been chasing it for such a long time," she explains. "It made sense with what I was experiencing."
Her neurologist directed her to Weill Cornell Medicine, where she met Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield, who became her neurosurgeon. The tumor's location in the fourth ventricle, a critical area near the brainstem where cerebrospinal fluid flows, made this a complex case requiring specialized expertise. Brain tumors in children often arise in this location, thus Dr Greenfield, a pediatric neurosurgeon specializing in brain tumors was a perfect match, despite her being 23.
While Anya approached the diagnosis with pragmatism, her family was devastated. Her parents flew from Minnesota to New York, and her boyfriend traveled from Boston. They stayed with her in the ICU before her surgery.
Anya's approach to the surgery was remarkably matter of fact. "I don't remember feeling anything. I remember just wanting to get this over with," she says. "I wasn't worried or scared. Just thinking that it was surgery and that it needed to be done." The recovery process required extensive physical and occupational therapy.
"The hardest part was how long it took," Anya reflects. She spent considerable time at home with her parents, undergoing rehabilitation near the Mayo Clinic before eventually moving to Boston to be with Will.
Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield, a professor of neurological surgery and pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, emphasizes the complexity of cases involving tumors of the fourth ventricle. "These tumors require precise surgical technique due to their location near critical brainstem structures. The goal is always to complete tumor removal while preserving neurological function. Anya's case demonstrates how patients can achieve excellent outcomes with appropriate surgical care and comprehensive rehabilitation."
The decade following surgery has been remarkable for Anya. She pursued a graduate degree at Indiana University, where she earned a master's degree in information science in 2020. They returned to Minnesota during the pandemic, where Anya found work that perfectly combined her publishing aspirations with her data science training.
"I work in publishing, managing royalties, contracts, and rates for a children's publishing company," she explains. "I use more of my data training."
In 2022, she and Will got married. They bought a house, where they live with their two poodles, Minou and Maeby, near Anya's sister and nieces.
Reading has remained a constant joy throughout her journey. During her recovery at Mayo Clinic, her parents took her to the library, where books became crucial companions.
"It made me feel less alone," she says of reading during recovery. "I've always loved the escape. I'm exclusively a fiction reader."
Anya is candid about the lasting effects of her surgery. She describes herself as "98 percent recovered" but manages permanent double vision and some balance challenges on steep stairs, where she relies on Will for support.
"I used to wear contacts every day in college, but now I strongly prefer glasses because the differences are stark," she explains. These adaptations haven't limited her active lifestyle; she recently bought an e-bike and loves exploring Minneapolis on her bike rather than driving.
The experience also shifted her perspective on decision-making. "Once I was home recovering, I spent a huge amount of time with my parents," she recalls. Her grandmother used to get frustrated when Anya would say "it doesn't matter" when asked about preferences.
As Anya marks the 10th anniversary of her surgery, she reflects on the strangeness of the milestone. "It feels weird. It's not something that I think about very often," she admits. "But it also makes me feel grateful that I was able to live nine and a half years of a great life."
Her advice to others facing similar diagnoses is grounded in her experience: "Trust the process and trust the doctors. I am glad that I did that. Trust yourself to know what's right for you. It's going to get better. It might take a long time. It might never quite be the same. Life will go on, and it's going to be okay."
She believes sharing her story is important because "brain surgery is such a scary thing that is unknown to a lot of people. I really would have benefited from knowing that it does happen and that people get through it."
Today, Anya's excitement about the future centers on the simple joys. "I am looking forward to living. I love to be around the people I love. I want to see my nieces grow up."
Her story represents more than medical success; it's a testament to how expert neurosurgical care can restore not just health but the ability to build dreams, relationships, and a rich, meaningful life. Anya's decade-long journey demonstrates the profound impact of specialized care and the resilience of the human spirit.
Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield is a professor of neurological surgery and pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, with a specialization in brain and spine tumors. To learn more about brain tumor treatment and second opinions, visit neurosurgery.weillcornell.org.
