A 16-year-old was misdiagnosed with the flu, only to later find out he had late-stage cancer and the fight of his life ahead of him.
After nearly two months of weakness, shortness of breath and chest pain that doctors said were symptoms of the virus, Hunter Brady was diagnosed with late-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The teen from Tampa Bay, Florida, had likely been living with the slow-progressing but deadly disease for months, and now is facing not only cancer, but cyber-bullying over his diagnosis.
Had he gone any longer without treatment, his lungs would have continued to collapse and fill up with fluid, killing him in a matter of weeks.
Hunter Brady, 16, was diagnosed with late-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January after nearly two months of symptoms that doctors said were probably caused by a virus
Hunter has lost all of his hair and is now in and out of the hospital as he undergoes rounds of chemotherapy that will be followed by radiation treatments
Hunter, an active teenager, suddenly started to seem week and listless in November.
By the end of December, he was experiencing chest pains, fever and a cough, so his mother Cheryl Brady took him to a clinic where, without running any tests, doctors said he probably had a virus.
When the medications prescribed by the clinic failed to bring any signs of improvement and Hunter’s symptoms worsened, Cheryl brought him back to the clinic.
Again, doctors blamed a virus and said the symptom progression was probably an allergic reaction to the medication and that they should just let the virus run its course.
On January 3, Hunter saw a pediatrician for a second opinion.
A CAT-SCAN revealed that his right lung had completely collapsed, left lung was 30 percent collapsed and both had begun building up fluid.
While Hunter has received a lot of support from the community following the shocking diagnosis, he has also experienced bullying on social media.
A fellow teen commented: ‘you deserve cancer’ on one of Hunter’s Instagram posts about his cancer diagnosis.
‘I told him I really didn’t care what he said… I really don’t,’ the teen told local ABC station WFTS.
‘He doesn’t know how it feels. So, when he does, he’ll realize and then he’ll feel bad. I hope he does feel bad.’
Seventeen of Hunter’s classmates were also bullied after they shaved their heads to show support for him.
After a variety of tests he was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that kills more than 1,000 people each year.
Hunter is one of seven children living with parents Ronnie (top left) and Cheryl (bottom left) in Tampa Bay, Florida
Hunter’s Facebook profile picture is shown left, and a still from an interview with a local station in Tampa Bay is shown right
Only about 10 to 15 percent of cases of the cancer are diagnosed in children and teenagers.
Overall, the cancer has an 86 percent five-year survival rate, but with stage IV cases such as Hunter’s, the rate is 65 percent.
Lymphomas are cancers that start in white blood cells called lymphocytes.
There are two main types of lymphoma: Hodgkin, the rarer type that Hunter has, and non-Hodgkin.
Hodgkin lymphoma can begin almost anywhere, but it most often it starts in lymph nodes in the upper part of the body.
The most common sites are in the chest, neck, or under the arms.
The disease spreads through vessels between lymph nodes and in later stages it can enter the bloodstream spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, lungs or bone marrow.
Lymphoma can be difficult for doctors to diagnose because may of the symptoms are also seen in other, less serious conditions, as was seen in Hunter’s case.
Hunter has already had a blood transfusion, bone marrow biopsy, and surgeries to drain the fluid from his lungs and heart, and is now in and out of St Joseph’s Children’s Hospital as he undergoes rounds of chemotherapy.
After the chemotherapy he will receive radiation treatments.
A YouCaring fundraising page has been set up to help cover the cost of treatment and support Hunter’s parents Ronnie and Cheryl, who have seven children in total.
As of Wednesday evening the page had raised over $4,000.
‘Everybody else’s support helped me get this far. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be. I just know I gotta keep staying strong,’ Hunter told WFTS.
‘I’m being mentored by two pastors that told me God is always there and when he told me that I just went along with what he said and I got this far… I’m doing good I’m going to beat it, I ain’t giving up.’
After he beats the cancer, he plans to study to become a pastor.
Hunter said: ‘Everybody else’s support helped me get this far. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be. I just know I gotta keep staying strong.’