Father beats Stage 4 brain cancer for second time

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WXII) - May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month.

According to BrainTumor.org, the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with glioblastoma is 6.9%.

The average length of survival is less than a year, but one patient in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, beat those odds… Twice.

At the age of 27, life changed for Brian Anderson. He said it all started with headaches, but then turned into something more serious.

“I did the MRI and when I got out, the text, it was obvious that something was wrong, found out it was Stage 4 glioblastoma,” Anderson said.

The aggressive brain tumor has affected Anderson in many ways.

“I have vision loss. I lost three-quarters of vision in my left eye. I have confusion. I have short-term memory, even today,” Anderson said. “It affects daily life.”

Dr. Glenn Lesser, who works with Anderson on treatments and routine checkups, said his patient 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,” the brain tumor specialist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center said.

Dr. Lesser said there are up 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,” Dr. Lesser said.

Anderson said after being diagnosed in 2009, he wasn’t expecting the cancer to return in 2020. He said 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, 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 said.

Anderson shared a message for everyone.

“Know your body. If anything is different, go see a doctor,” the two-time cancer survivor said.

Anderson is currently cancer free.

His new goal is to go back to school so he can get his master’s in social work to help other cancer patients.

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