WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A man in Winston-Salem, North Carolina has beat brain cancer not once, but twice.
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. According to braintumor.org, the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with glioblastoma is 6.9% percent. The average length of survival is less than a year.
Brian Anderson in Winston-Salem beat those odds — twice.
Anderson’s life changed at 27. He said it all started with headaches but then turned into something more serious.
“I did the MRI, and when I got out, it was obvious that something was wrong,” Anderson said. “I found out it was stage 4 glioblastoma.”
Anderson’s aggressive brain tumor has affected his life in many ways.
“I have vision loss,” he said. “I lost three-quarters of vision in my left eye. I have confusion. I have short term memory, even today. It affects daily life.”
Dr. Glenn Lesser, who is on the brain tumor specialty team at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, works with Anderson on treatments and routine checkups. He said Anderson is a unique case.
“This is a terrible disease for most of the patients, and unfortunately they don’t have or enjoy the long-term survival that Brian has been able to have,” Lesser said.
Lesser said there are 20,000 to 24,000 new cases a year with diagnoses of this tumor across the United States.
“Glioblastoma is the most aggressive but also the most common one we see in adults,” Lesser said.
After being diagnosed in 2009, Anderson said he wasn’t expecting the cancer to return in 2020. He believes having a great support system has been his healing throughout his journey.
“I have a drive to share my situation with others and help them any way I can and support them,” Anderson said. “Because without the support I have in my support circle, this would be a different fight, and I don’t know if I would be here.”
Anderson, who is currently cancer-free, has a message for everyone.
“Know your body,” he said. “If anything is different, go see a doctor.”
Anderson’s new goal is to go back to school so he can get his masters degree in social work to help other cancer patients.
