Heartbreak as husband battles terminal brain tumor while wife has second cancer fight

A California husband and wife with three children are still battling cancer together more than two years later — with the wife facing another bout of cancer for the second time.

Zak Salazar, 40, of Mission Viejo has a terminal diagnosis for an aggressive brain cancer. Cori Salazar, 40, said Saturday that she was diagnosed with a slow-growing form of pancreatic cancer after a routine scan of kidney stones.

The scan comes after Cori had already fought through thyroid cancer around three years ago.

The two are now facing the daily dread again of both parents not being able to be there for their children: Juniper, 6, Delaney, 4, and Luna, 3.

“The thought of me not being around for them, or both of us not being around for them, was really scary,” Cori told ABC7.

“What happens to the girls if we both go?” Zak added.

Zak found out about his illness when an ophthalmologist reportedly told him that his optic nerves were swollen in both eyes. He underwent an emergency MRI, which revealed a large mass in the right frontal lobe of his brain.

His type of tumor — glioblastoma multiforme — gave him a a life expectancy of 12 to 18 months, doctors predicted, and is not curable.

For Cori, a large neck growth caused alarm and was a symptom of thyroid cancer. She quickly got surgery to remove the mass and underwent routine blood testing to ensure the cancer didn’t return.

Then came the news of the pancreatic cancer. Doctors removed her spleen and part of her pancreas, according to ABC7, but she’s still under continued monitoring.

The years-long ordeal have given them a strong appreciation of life, they said.

“That’s what we have is just like, right here, right now,” Cori said.

Despite their suffering from battling their cancers, their most important priority is their daughters.

“I want my girls to feel completely loved and cared for and safe, even when, you know, things are going wrong,” Cori said.

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