Michael Brandon Young was born on 3/13/85 in Atlanta Ga. Raised in a middle
class family, Brandon enjoyed all things that a young gentlemen would enjoy as a
healthy child. Baseball, tennis, swimming, and basketball were all a huge part of
Brandon's life.
On May 24th 1994,
Brandon was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called PNET of the left chest wall.
Brandon immediately began chemo therapy at Egleston Children's Hospital at
Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Under the care of Dr. Carlos Alvarado,
Brandon's protocol would include surgery resulting in the removal of several ribs, a small
portion of his left lung, followed by a years treatment plan that included a combination
of anti-cancer drugs. At 9 years of age, this can be very scary.
Brandon miraculously continued his education and participated on his baseball team.
Attending games and practices no matter how weak he felt from his treatments.
We all truly believed we were finally " CANCER - FREE " after the completion of
this treatment plan.
Life began to seem
somewhat normal again. On a routine check up, Brandon's cancer reappeared on a
CT Scan. At first it seemed to be a small recurrent tumor, but upon
exploratory surgery, we found that Brandon's cancer was sporadic around the lung pleura
and also a new growth behind his heart. We were not dealing anymore with a small
tumor that could be removed surgically. SURGERY was not an OPTION ! I t was
very clear that we had hard decisions to make. The professional oncologist at
Emory at Egleston executed a plan of limited additional chemo-therapy and recommended a
Bone Marrow Transplant and possibly radiation. We began researching
various pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant facilities in America. Our insurance
company agreed to pay for the transplant and related treatments if we chose a Cancer /BMT
Center of Excellence facility. We began our move from Atlanta, Ga. to Durham,
NC.
We were accepted by
DUKE to begin the Bone Marrow Transplant process under the care of Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg
and Dr. Paul Martin. After undergoing 6 weeks of radiation therapy, Brandon's
lungs began to have functional problems from the radiation treatments. Under
the direction of Dr. Patricia Hardenbergh and her tremendous efforts of finding a solution
for Brandon's road to wellness, we were then introduced to the P-32, radiation treatment.
P32 is a form of radiation that is a liquid type substance that is to be
injected into the diseased site. In order to do this process ANOTHER surgery would have to
occur.
Brandon made the
decision to go forward with the surgery. As he said and maintains today,
" I can handle the side effects and the pain, if you can cure me from
cancer." What an adult statement for a 12 year old boy that had already
been through so many treatments.
Brandon was declared Cancer Free -
or No Evidence of Disease in March 1998. He was finally able to go home and begin to
live a normal Teen age life. In July 1998, the Cancer reappeared, on a routine
CT Scan. The cancer was back in the left chest wall. Brandon
underwent a 7 hour surgery to remove tumor, his left lung and all left remaining ribs.
Once again, Brandon thought he'd won the battle. 7 weeks later
upon a follow up visit , the big "C" (cancer ) word was being mentioned.
This time the cancer was growing behind his heart. Brandon began to have more
and more complications from all of the treatments he had undergone. Fluid
began to build around his heart. Once again, Brandon marched on and had a tube placed in
his chest to remove the building of fluids. Brandon continued to go to school and
manage the 8th grade football team.
Doctor's at his home hospital
Egleston, released Brandon in early October. They gave him a 2 -3 week life span.
This did not stop Brandon. He asked his parents to continue to look for a treatment.
Brandon's doctor at Duke Medical , believed that if Brandon had the will and wanted
to try she would continue to treat Brandon on a low dose chemo. For over a month he
showed positive progress.
We lost Brandon on December
2,1998. He was still fighting for his life and for a cure. He would not have
had it any other way. He always said if he died from the disease he would die
trying, and that he did. His legacy will continue. His hard work at raising
Childhood Cancer awareness is beginning to pay off. |
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