Bryson McAnear, 17, second from left, is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer that targets young people between 14 and 30 years of age. Family members Jordan McAnear, left, Keila McAnear and Dalton McAnear, are a big part of his support base. Bryson travels to Houston every two weeks for chemotherapy. (Photo by Gay Storms)
McAnear fighting cancer with a smile on his face
by Gay Storms
(Posted 3/12/2010 05:01 pm)
lifestyles@grahamleader.com
Bryson McAnear, 17, is fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with all the strength he has.
And to look at this big, brawny guy, it’s obvious the Graham High School junior is a warrior in the best sense of the word. He has a wild sense of humor and zest for life. His good-natured banter with his brother Dalton, sister Jordan and good friend Andrew Wooter is constant — he’s a people-person.
He is undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which affects his immune system. Lymphoma refers to cancer that develops in the lymphatic system and can include the lymph nodes, thymus, spleen, adenoids, tonsils or bone marrow. The lymph system functions in the body by fighting off germs that cause infection and illness. The lymph enters the blood through a large vein near the heart.
Bryson has Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and at first noticed no symptoms except for increasing pressure and pain in his chest. After a year of going to doctors and specialists, he found out that enlarging lymph nodes under his aorta were causing the pain. But the diagnosis was a long time in coming.
“Once the pain was so bad, I panicked and then passed out. My sister called the EMS,” said Bryson.
The McAnears began making the rounds of doctors over a year ago, but no one could tell Rex and Keila McAnear what was wrong with their son.
“They listened to my chest and said I was fine,” said Bryson.
Test after test, specialist after specialist — cardiologists, oncologists, rheumatologist and other doctors — could find nothing wrong with him.
“They didn’t know what was wrong, but they didn’t think it was cancer,” said Bryson.
Various tests, X-rays and heart scans were done, but his disease remained a mystery. Finally, an oncologist, using a PET scan at United Regional Hospital in Wichita Falls, discovered a white shadow the size of a walnut under his aorta and white on his neck lymph nodes — the white indicated possible cancer. A biopsy confirmed that the lymph nodes were malignant. The mystery was finally solved — he had Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“Since the lymph nodes are located in his chest and neck, that makes his a Stage II,” said his mother.
It was all surreal for Bryson who didn’t believe he had cancer based on everything he’d heard so far. Unfortunately, the disease can be hard to diagnose, and patients lose valuable treatment time. Once the diagnosis came, the McAnears took their son to MD Anderson in Houston.
“Everything happened so fast,” said Bryson. “It was nerve-wracking and overwhelming. I had the diagnosis on Feb. 7 and the surgery at MD Anderson on Feb. 24.”
The first round of chemotherapy can be the worst, and Bryson didn’t anticipate the agonizing after effects.
“He can hold his head high,” said Jordan McAnear. “He was joking and cracking everybody up most of the time.”
“They didn’t tell me the chemo would make my mouth so sore,” said Bryson. “I couldn’t drink or swallow. But I was never nauseated enough to get really sick. The staff at MD Anderson were the nicest hospital staff I have ever been around. They really sympathize with you.”
He was discharged, but he started to have complications at home and had to go back to Houston.
“I wasn’t taking deep breaths because my chest hurt, and one lung collapsed when I got home,” he said.
He went back to MD Anderson and stayed three days in ICU. He returned to Houston two weeks later for more chemotherapy. His schedule from now on will be to go every two weeks for chemo treatment for six weeks. He will not be able to return to school until the doctors decide his immune system can handle it.
“The chemo just tears up his immune system,” said his mother. “The chemotherapy causes his platelet count to fall, and this will get lower as he takes more chemo treatments.”
When he feels able, Bryson will continue his home schooling and doing things around the house. He wants to keep his life as close to normal as possible. Bryson continued to go to school except for athletics until December when his doctor said to stop. He plans to continue the homebound study that GHS offers. But he misses going to school and serving on the ag judging teams, acting as vice-president of FFA and working as shop foreman of theater tech.
Not one to stay alone, it’s doubtful the outgoing young man will be alone that much after school or on weekends.
Bryson admits he has a high pain tolerance or he couldn’t have ignored his symptoms for a year. He wants to maintain and clean his port-a-cath to his aorta, but his mother isn’t ready to give him that job yet. Yet she knows he prefers to be self-sufficient.
“If I can work with my hands, I’m happy,” he said. “I like to take things apart and put them back together which gets my mom mad at me sometimes.”
He also is quite mechanical and last week changed the brakes on his mother’s car. On weekends, he heads to the family workshop where he makes stark crosses trimmed in barbed wire which he hopes to sell.
Keila McAnear said that Hodgkin’s Lymphoma strikes boys more than girls, and young people between the ages or 14 through 30 who have had mononucleosis are the most susceptible, said his mother.
“Bryson had mono last year. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma also runs in families. I have a second cousin who had Hodgkin’s and an aunt who had lymphoma,” she said.
After a year of uncertainty, rising medical costs and trips to Houston, the disease has already exacted a toll on the family and Bryson. But the good news is that teens with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma who have completed their treatment have a good chance for a cure.
Bryson said after thinking about his stay in the hospital, his biggest gripe had to be the hospital food. Evidently, the nutrition restrictions were pretty unbearable for a growing teenager.
“Why would they think anyone would eat a unseasoned pork chop? And I don’t eat just a slice of cheese — I eat blocks of cheese,” he said. “You have to wait a week after home, then you can eat anything you want.”
Bryson knows how to stay strong — even against an enemy like cancer.
Anyone who would like to contribute to the medical expenses of Bryson may send donations to the Bryson McAnear, Account 1102532, First National Bank, 623 Elm St., Graham, TX 76450.
