Flowery Branch senior Alex Brown beat cancer. Now, he plans to go to medical school
May 27—Alex Brown's favorite class at Flowery Branch High School has always been history. The 19-year-old senior has a personal history of his own that can be used as a case study in how to persevere through challenges.
Brown was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), an uncommon blood-cell cancer that more often affects adults, according to the American Cancer Society. Brown was 13 years old when he, his parents, older sister and younger brother got the news.
Always involved in sports- he ran track all four years in high school along with three years of cross country and two years on the school's swim team- Brown had felt fatigued a lot more than usual.
"I was really tired all the time and I would have bad bone pain," Brown said.
Class of 2023
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During an annual check-up before the beginning of the school year he received news that would change his life forever. He was diagnosed with CML and doctors recommended he give up contact sports while he went through the process of fighting cancer. His family made the decision to forgo chemo port surgery, an outpatient surgery that would have an implantable device that is attached to a vein in the upper chest in order to only proceed with chemotherapy treatments. Looking back at that time and those tough decisions, Brown says he thinks his parents did a great job of handling things considering the circumstances and weight of the situation.
That decision allowed Brown to continue playing sports, something he loved, particularly because of the time he spent with his many teammates.
"I fell in love with running and the entire team aspect," said Brown. Brown's doctors at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta agreed that running and swimming, for example, would be good for strength conditioning and mental wellness.
Asked what he would miss most about his time in high school Brown immediately answered, "sports."
"You get to know a lot of people and you get to know them closely because we have something to bond over," he said.
A bright future
Brown has a different look on life now that he is cancer free.
"Being diagnosed with cancer showed me the whole medical world," Brown said. "These things take money and I wanted to get into fundraising for cancer research."
Brown works at the Northeast Georgia Health System as an intern and only needs 25 more blood draws to complete his phlebotomy certification. He now volunteers with Light the Night through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a national organization involved in the fight against blood cancers. He helps raise awareness and money for cancer research and is proud to be doing so, particularly after being cancer free the past few years.
"I'm very lucky to have the support system that I have," he said.
He also plans to major in biology and minor in Spanish at the University of Georgia in the fall. The goal is to attend medical school when he is done with his undergraduate studies.
"I'm really excited about graduating from high school and I feel really ready for college," Brown said about his future. "I'm ready for the next step and to see what I can do on my own."
May 19 was Brown's birthday, it was also the day Flowery Branch High School held its graduation ceremony. He was looking forward to a busy day with family as his grandparents were planning to attend the ceremony as well.
Brown got a head start on his college education by taking English, Spanish, psychology and communications classes at the University of North Georgia. He can't wait to see what's next in his life.
"I'm ready to see what's out there," he said with a grin.
