Brashier's battle with cancer brings new meaning to life
Friday, James Brashier believes his near-fatal bout with cancer may have
actually had some positive effects. The 60-year-old said he looks at life
differently now, attends church more regularly and has discovered the true
value of family and friends. He and his wife, Glenda, said they were
overwhelmed by the phone calls from those who wished them well, by food and
cards people sent, and by the donations made by congregations at local
churches. "You don't really realize the friends you have until
something happens to you," James Brashier said. Brashier, a Dyer
County deputy sheriff, didn't realize anything was wrong until Oct. 28.
Although he hadn't felt well for a couple of days, he decided he had to
harvest the soybeans. "I thought I had the flu," he said. He
passed out in the front yard of his Dyer County home. He was taken to the
emergency room of Methodist Healthcare-Dyersburg Hospital, where he
received breathing treatments and was placed on oxygen for seven hours.
Brashier said doctors ordered X-rays of his respiratory system and
discovered his lymph nodes were swollen. Two days later, Brashier underwent
a CAT scan, which showed tumors in his right lung, his trachea and his vena
cava, the large vein that returns blood to the heart.
On Nov. 16, a Memphis cancer specialist did a biopsy and diagnosed
Brashier with neuroendocrine carcinoma, or small cell lung cancer. With the
cancer spreading to other organs, the specialist offered Brashier little
hope and no treatment options. James and Glenda Brashier returned home,
basically with a death sentence. They accepted that as best they could
until Richard Hill, a friend, suggested that he get a second opinion at the
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Brashier said he didn't plan
to go until his boss, Sheriff Jeff Holt, told him that a second opinion
couldn't hurt. Hester Hill arranged for Angel Flight to pick up James and
Glenda Brashier at the Dyersburg Municipal Airport and take them to Houston
on Dec. 3. The Community Cancer Fund (formerly known as the Moody-Wadley
BBQ for Cancer Fund) provided $1,000 to help pay for the Glenda Brashier's
hotel room and food. A crowd of co-workers, friends and family wished him
well at the airport.
"They were really wonderful to me," he said. "And, I
guess if it wasn't for the sheriff, I wouldn't have gone to Houston. I owe
my life to Richard (Hill) as well." In Houston, doctors told
Brashier's family that the cancer was in its fourth and final stage. The
disease had spread to his liver and was in his blood; doctors estimated
that he had three to six months to live. But, the doctors suggested that he
try six rounds of chemotherapy. Before he could get started, though, he
nearly died. A tumor squeezed his vena cava so tightly that it nearly cut
off the blood flow into his heart. His neck and head began to swell. Glenda
Brashier said doctors told her that, when that happened, the end would be
near.
With breathing treatments and medical attention, Brashier's swelling
subsided. He started his first three-day chemotherapy treatment on Dec. 11
and headed home on Dec. 15. More chemotherapy treatments followed in
Dyersburg and in Memphis Jan. 7-9, Jan. 28-30 and Feb. 18-20. Dr. William
Walsh, a Memphis doctor who practices one day a week in the Cancer Care
Center at Dyersburg, ordered Brashier to undergo a chest X-ray and a body
scan before receiving his next round of chemotherapy. The results were
astounding. Brashier said the doctor couldn't find any cancer cells in his
body. So, on March 27, Brashier was officially in remission. The
chemotherapy worked - and it worked faster than doctors ever imagined.
"The good Lord wiped it out," Brashier said. "I had a
positive attitude from day one. I had a lot of folks in Dyer County praying
for me."
Glenda Brashier nodded her head. "A lot of people who didn't even
know him were praying for him," she said. "There's a lot of good
things that came out of this cancer," she said. James Brashier agreed.
"For one thing, I'm back in church (at Hurricane Hill Cumberland
Presbyterian Church) and I don't miss any," he said. "Me and my
wife are closer than we've ever been (in 28 years of marriage)."
"He just looks at life differently now," Glenda Brashier added.
"Quite a bit differently," he said, smiling. "Every day
means something now."
Brashier was well enough Feb. 8 to return to work, where he supervises
Dyer County Jail inmates in roadside clean-ups. In his job, he winds up at
just about every public festival - after they're finished. That's true of
the Dyer County Relay for Life, a fund-raiser for the American Cancer
Society. "Last year, I cleaned up, and I will be there Saturday to
clean. But, I will also be there Friday night walking with the
survivors," he said. "Last year, when I was out there cleaning
up, it was just a job," he said. "It will be a lot more than a
job this year."
A special reception for cancer survivors and corporate sponsors will
begin at 5:30 tonight in the Dyersburg State Community College Learning
Resources Center. The Relay's opening ceremonies begin at 6:50 p.m. on the
main stage between the LRC and the Glover Building on the DSCC campus.
Cancer survivors make the first lap around the 1-mile Relay walking path;
Relay team members follow in a walking relay for the next 12 hours. Among
those team members who plan to walk all night will be Jamie Orchard,
Brashier's daughter and a member of the St. John Clinic Relay for Life
team. Brashier said Orchard got involved in the Relay this year because of
him.
June 21, 2002
KATHY KRONE