Health News

Teen Thought He Had The Flu, Turns Out To Be Stage IV Cancer

A 16-year-old boy in Florida was told he had the flu, but doctors realized later that the diagnosis was very much off – the patient had late-stage cancer.

Hunter Brady, from Tampa, was experiencing exhaustion and shortness of breath when he got checked, and the symptoms turned out to be due to stage IVB Hodgkin lymphoma that Brady had unknowingly had for months, The Washington Post reports. Brady said,

I just kept sweating a lot, like night sweats. As it carried on, I felt worse.

Brady started chemotherapy in a battle to win his life back. Stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma has a five-year survival rate of around 65%, but B symptoms mean that the cancer is more advanced, requiring Brady to undergo more intensive treatment.

The symptoms started in November 2017, Cheryl Brady, the teen’s mother, told local news outlet WFTS. She said, “We weren’t aware at the time his right lung was collapsed and his left lung was 30% collapsed.”

Doctors prescribed medication for Brady, but when these didn’t work, the family got a second opinion. After completing a CAT scan, doctors found a collapsed lung and fluid build-up.

Hunter will undergo radiation treatment after he completes chemotherapy. He has also undergone a bone marrow biopsy and blood transfusion, as well as surgeries to drain the fluid that had built up in his chest. He said, “I had chest tubes, and they took out all the liquid. I feel a lot better now.”

The teen has mentioned that he has been bullied online because of his condition, but wishes to live and become a pastor. He said, “Everybody else’s support helped me get this far. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be. I just know I’ve got to keep staying strong.”

A YouCaring page has been set up to help fund Brady’s cancer treatments.

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