‘Home and Away’ Star Alea O’Shea Is Being Praised For Her Continuous ‘Courage’ Amid Brain Cancer Treatment & Mounting Medical Expenses

“Over the past months, Alea has been bravely facing brain cancer and the many treatments that come with it. Last week she underwent another surgery as part of her ongoing fight,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“While her courage has never wavered, the journey has been incredibly challenging for both Alea and her family.”

The crowdfunding page further explains, “Like many families navigating serious illness, they have discovered that a number of essential cancer treatments, therapy and procedures are not covered by private health insurance, creating a significant and ongoing financial burden. Despite this, her family have continued to focus all their energy on supporting Alea and helping her access the care she needs.

“In true Alea fashion, even while going through her own battle, she has been focused on raising awareness and supporting other women facing cancer. Alea recently started her own fundraiser to allow other young women without the funds to purchase high quality wigs and feel good about themselves. Her generosity of spirit in the midst of such a difficult time has moved so many of us.”

RELATED: Great News for Those Struggling With Unpaid Medical Bills: Repaid Health Debt No Longer Affects Credit Scores 

The GoFundMe is aimed at reducing the financial strain of O’Shea’s medical treatment and related expenses.

“Every contribution, no matter the size will directly help support Alea through her treatment and recovery,” the page says. “Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and for standing with Alea and her family during this difficult time.”

According to an earlier Instagram post, featuring O’Shea’s hair loss from treatment, the social media influencer admitted that her hair loss was from radiation.

It’s important to note that radiation therapy remains a cornerstone treatment for gliomas, using precise, high‑energy beams to slow tumor growth and ease symptoms like headaches, seizures, and neurological changes.

“Radiation is a very effective treatment for glioma,” Dr. Nicolas Gonzalez Castro, a neuro‑oncologist at Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute, previously told SurvivorNet. “But it’s also associated with neurotoxicity, affecting healthy brain cells that receive high doses of radiation.”

On February 2, she announced that she completed six weeks of treatment. However, she didn’t offer any specifics on the exact type of treatment.

A few weeks later, she captioned another post, “In all honesty appreciate you all checking in … taking everyday as it comes, bit ground hog day-esque but some days I can’t walk/remember stuff and other days I’m doing fit checks.”

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A post shared by Alea O’Shea ⚡️ (@alea_osheaa)

O’Shea, who strives to maintain laughter throughout her treatment journey, opened up about her diagnosis in a video clip shared on Instagram in the fall.

“It’s been a crazy few weeks. I had a biopsy on my birthday and I’ve just been waiting for results in a bit of limbo. And now that I finally have some clarity, I just want to share what’s going on,” O’Shea said.

“So I’m choosing to be open and honest about this online because I want to live my life as normally as possibly while I’m fighting this. I know there’s gonna be a lot of questions and I’m gonna hit the basics.”

Her symptoms first appeared around six weeks prior to her diagnosis, when she noticed her smile was slightly off and that speaking clearly had become more challenging.

O’Shea, who also experienced occasional migraines, then recalled thinking numbness in two of her fingers, which slowly progressed to her wrist and toe, was due to a “pinched nerve.”

Soon after she underwent a brain scan and learned she had cancer.

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A post shared by Alea O’Shea ⚡️ (@alea_osheaa)

Since her diagnosis, O’Shea has undergone brain surgery, chemotherapy, and now radiotherapy.

Radiation therapy, and sometimes chemotherapy, is usually recommended to reduces the risk recurrence or tumor growth after surgery.

Gliomas can extend into areas of the brain where complete removal is not possible without risking serious neurological side effects. Although surgery aims to remove as much tumor as possible, microscopic cells often persist. These remaining cells can later grow and cause the tumor to return.

Dr. Jacob Young, a Neurosurgeon focused on glioma surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, explains to SurvivorNet what goes into brain surgery.

“Believe it or not, it’s very safe to do awake surgery. That doesn’t mean that the patient is wide awake the entire time. We are talking about many hours for these operations. We have to go slow to be safe, but what we do is we get patients very comfortable,” says Dr. Young.

WATCH: What to Expect From Glioma Surgery?

“We use a combination of intravenous medications and local medicine, just like you would get at the dentist. To numb the skin and the area around the incision. [This] allows us to awaken a patient when we need them, to participate in either language or cognitive testing.”

Dr. Young continues, “We can have patients awake and participating in tasks to help guide us. To let us know if they’re starting to develop any indications that we’re getting close to critical areas.”

Inside Brain Tumor Surgery and Recovery

Surgery to remove a brain tumor is delicate by nature, and every movement inside the skull must balance precision with safety.

“We take off the bone overlaying the area we need to get to. We open the little envelope around the brain called the dura, and then we move through the brain tissue to get to where the tumor is to try to cut out as much as we can safely, without hurting the patient’s function or other important things like big blood vessels that can cause things like a stroke,” explains says board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine Dr. Kimberly Hoang.

Following surgery, patients are closely monitored and often receive radiation to prevent tumor regrowth—particularly in cases where multiple tumors or metastatic disease are involved.

WATCH: What To Expect From Your Glioma Surgery

“Because many patients can have more than one brain tumor or metastasis from their cancer, it was not reasonable to think about surgery for them,” Dr. Hoang tells SurvivorNet. “They also get radiation for those spots as well, to try to keep those tumors from growing or shrink them down.”

Treatment Advancements & the Challenge of the Blood-Brain Barrier

Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies have long been effective in treating cancer throughout the body. But the brain’s natural defense — the blood-brain barrier — makes these treatments less effective when it comes to brain tumors.

This barrier is “a network of blood vessels and tissue…made up of closely spaced cells and helps keep harmful substances from reaching the brain,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

Still, Dr. Hoang notes that recent advancements in drug design are beginning to improve treatment efficacy in the brain.

Understanding Side Effects of Brain Tumor Treatment

Side effects vary depending on the tumor’s size, location, and number of lesions present.

“Radiation treatment can cause swelling in the tumor as the tumor ‘dies,’ and the surrounding tissue can also become swollen as the treatment takes effect,” Dr. Krishanthan Vigneswaran, a neurosurgeon with UT Health Houston and Memorial Hermann, tells SurvivorNet.

“This swelling can cause symptoms of headache, nausea, vomiting, and neurological loss of function…Surgical resection can also induce swelling, but this is more transient.”

Tumor location often determines what symptoms emerge:

“If it’s near your movement area, movement on one side of the body can be affected. If it’s near your speech area, your speech and the way you form words and express them can be affected,” Dr. Hoang explains.

She also notes brain surgery tends to be less painful than other types — like spinal or abdominal — due to fewer nerves in the surgical area.

WATCH: Biopsy or Surgery First? How Surgeons Decide With Glioma Patients

Recovery & Long-Term Monitoring

“Because of this unique quality of metastatic brain disease, an oncology team will have to monitor a patient indefinitely during remission,” Dr. Vigneswaran says.

Many experts recommend joining a support group — especially one with people who’ve undergone similar procedures. Their lived experience can offer comfort and practical advice.

“Support groups can be incredibly helpful to patients and are commonly offered at major cancer centers and hospitals,” says Dr. Jennifer Moliterno, Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center.

Mental health professionals are also often part of the care team, helping patients manage the emotional effects of surgery, treatment, and recovery.

Diagnosing gliomas involves a multi-step approach that includes clinical assessment, imaging studies, histopathological examination, and molecular testing.

As patients are diagnosed, they’re observed for typical glioma symptoms. These may include:

• Headaches
• Seizures
• Cognitive or Behavioral Changes
• Visual or Speech Changes and Impairments
• Loss of Body Weight and Deconditioning
• Changes in mental function, mood, or personality
• Changes in speech
• Sensory changes in hearing, smell, and sight
• Loss of balance
• Changes in your pulse and breathing rate

During the clinical assessment, the physician will take a detailed history, focusing on the onset and progression of symptoms. Since gliomas can present with non-specific symptoms that overlap with other neurological conditions, ruling out conditions like stroke, infections, or inflammatory disorders is essential during the initial clinical evaluation.

Patients then undergo a neurological exam that tests cranial nerve function, motor strength and coordination, sensory function, and cognitive abilities.

Next, patients undergo an MRI, which provides doctors with a visualization of the tumor.

“If you’re suspected of having a tumor on imaging and our neurosurgeons think that tumor can come out, they will take a piece of that tumor out first and confirm in the operating room and with our pathologists that, in fact, what they are looking at is a tumor,” Dr. Alexandra Miller, Director of the Neuro-Oncologist Division at NYU Langone Health, tells SurvivorNet. “And if it is, they resect it at that time. It’s not usually a two-step procedure.”

If surgery cannot be performed due to tumor location or patient-specific factors, a less invasive stereotactic biopsy can be obtained. Once the tissue sample is obtained, it’s examined under a microscope for molecular testing. At this stage, the tumor is given a grade, which determines how aggressive it is.

WATCH: Molecular testing for glioma patients

• Grade I-II gliomas – These are considered low-grade and tend to grow slowly. “The grade one is a very indolent, benign tumor that can be cured with surgery alone,” Dr. Henry Friedman, Deputy Director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, tells SurvivorNet.
• Grade III gliomas—These are considered high-grade and tend to grow more rapidly. They are typically classified as malignant and require more aggressive treatment, which can include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
• Grade IV gliomas – These are the most aggressive gliomas, which are locally aggressive and require treatment intensification. Glioblastomas are the most common grade IV glioma, “which is by far the most well-known and feared tumor in the lay population and, quite frankly, the medical population,” Dr. Friedman explains.

How Are Gliomas Treated?

O’Shea has already undergone surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Specific details of her ongoing treatment remain unclear at this time. However, the route she took early on is typical for glioblastoma treatment.

“The first step is always the neurosurgery. How much can you take out? Is it safe to do surgery? Do you have to rely on a biopsy? Can you even do a biopsy?” Dr. Friedman tells SurvivorNet.

The main treatment options are:

• Observation—Some benign, small, and asymptomatic gliomas or tumors located in inoperable locations can be recommended for observation.
• Surgery is often the first-line treatment for gliomas, with the goal of achieving maximal safe resection, where the largest amount of tumor is removed without causing significant neurologic deficits. For low-grade gliomas, surgery alone can sometimes be curative.
• After surgery, pathologists examine the tumor tissue to understand its features and molecular makeup. This added step helps doctors outline an appropriate treatment.

“We go through a very elaborate process of diagnostics, which includes looking at it under the microscope through our pathology team,” Dr. Friedman explained to SurvivorNet.

WATCH: The Role of Surgery in Treating Gliomas

Radiation and chemotherapy are often needed after surgery because removing the tumor completely is usually not possible due to the tumor’s ability to spread into surrounding brain tissue.

Radiation therapy uses high–energy X–rays to target and kill tumor cells. It is often used after surgery to target residual tumor cells.
Chemotherapy – These medications kill or slow the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be used alongside radiation or following radiation and is often used in higher-grade tumors.

Targeted therapy and immunotherapy are newer treatments designed to target specific genetic mutations in the tumor or to stimulate the immune system to fight the cancer. Their role in the treatment of gliomas is continuing to evolve.

The Cost of Cancer: The Basics

One of the first questions many people ask themselves after a diagnosis is, how am I going to pay for cancer treatment? Navigating the payment process can, at times, feel more stressful than the treatment itself.

To help you navigate what can be a particularly stressful and confusing aspect of the cancer experience, SurvivorNet has spoken to doctors, financial experts, and survivors who have been through treatment themselves. They’ve shared their guidance and advice for paying for cancer treatment no matter your financial situation.

RELATED: How Can Doctors Help by Advocating for Patient Care?

Oftentimes, doctors recommend taking time to sort through your finances first and then enlisting the help of a social worker or patient navigator, if possible. These specialists may be employed by the center where you are planning to receive cancer treatment.

“Financial planning in the setting of cancer is the most stressful thing,” Dr. Nina Shah, a hematologist at University of California – San Francisco, tells SurvivorNet.

“It’s right up there with, how long am I going to live? The first thing you have to do is recognize your limitations.”

Dr. Nina Shah explains where to seek help paying for cancer treatment.

Dr. Shah suggests taking stock of your finances and looking for any money that is liquid. Perhaps it was set aside for travel or something similar.

Cancer often affects the whole family. You may end up having to take off work to undergo treatment, and your caregiver whether that’s a spouse, sibling, or friend may need to miss work as well to help you.

Dr. Shah suggests seeking the guidance of a social worker to understand what resources are available to help you cope.

“The best way to … find the resources that are available is to speak with the social worker associated with that [cancer center], because that person usually knows what resources are available and what you can do to access them or apply for them and where you may or may not qualify to receive them,” she says.

Financial Help: Where To Look

When it comes to paying for cancer, there are people specifically designated to help you navigate the process. Social workers and patient navigators often work at cancer centers or hospitals, or other organizations associated with these facilities. These employees can assist people with many aspects of the cancer journey, including navigating medical bills and other finances.

“Patient navigators can function differently at different hospitals,” Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, a surgical oncologist at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.

“We have a really wonderful program at [NYU] where we used lay navigators … that pretty much help newly diagnosed cancer patients through the continuum of care.”

These navigators can meet with patients right after the diagnosis and can also:

• Attend appointments
• Provide an assessment for next steps of care
• Assist with housing, transportation or immigration issues
• Help with financial issues
• Provide direction on legal issues

“They really will help them get through these barriers that we think could impact their care,” Dr. Joseph added. “Because the goal is we want them to complete their care.”

Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph explains how patient navigators can help patients.

Financial Resources to Consider

If you’re having difficulty finding resources or answers about how to get help paying for a disease or cancer you are battling, there are a few options you can consider. You can negotiate payment plans, seek out government assistance programs, or look to advocacy groups.

These are a few of the options cancer patients and their loved ones have to get help covering costs associated with treatment (from drug co-pays to travel assistance):

For Help With Treatment Bills

• The Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition can direct patients and their families to available local services.
• Many treatment centers offer extended payment plans and some may offer temporary payment delays, according to the American Cancer Society.
• CancerCare, which connects patients with oncology social workers, may be able to assist with co-pays, transportation, and other costs associated with care.
• The HealthWell Foundation may be able to help uninsured patients pay for treatment.
• The American Cancer Society may be able to link patients and their families up with local resources (they offer a 24/7 helpline).
• The Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) works with patients and their insurance companies to resolve issues and may provide direct financial support to some patients.
• The Patient Access Network Foundation may be able to help with out-of-pocket costs associated with cancer treatment.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

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