Patient Voices: Brian Phillips
Before becoming diagnosed with cancer, Brian Phillips spent his days making art out of salvaged wood, breathing new life into natural resource materials. One day, Brian’s lymph nodes began to swell. His doctor said it was his body’s way of fighting off allergies. The swelling went away after two weeks.
Two years later, his lymph nodes became swollen again. He got them rechecked. This time, his doctor suggested he undergo a biopsy, a procedure that removes a small sample of tissue to determine if it’s cancerous. With a family history of cancer, Brian thought the results could go either way, but he remained hopeful.
The results confirmed tonsillar cancer. “It hit me like a brick hearing those words and realizing there’s no unhearing them,” said Brian. Despite the weight of his situation, Brian felt grateful that his cancer was HPV-associated, as this type of tonsillar cancer typically responds better to treatment.
Unable to load video. Please check the video ID and try again.
After Brian was diagnosed, his general practitioner referred him to James Uyeki M.D., a board-certified medical oncologist at Texas Oncology-South Austin. “When we started coming to Texas Oncology-South Austin, we didn’t know what to expect, but everybody — from top to bottom — made us feel welcome, heard, understood, and cared for. That helped tremendously,” he added.
“Tonsillar cancer is a type of oropharyngeal cancer, which is essentially a cancer of the throat,” said board-certified radiation oncologist Ryan Tierney, M.D. “It’s relatively common, and we’re seeing more and more of it these days.”
It can mimic common infections like strep throat or tonsillitis. The most common symptoms include a persistent sore throat, difficulty swallowing, an earache, or a painless lump on the neck.
Dr. Tierney handled the radiation portion of Brian’s treatment. The proposed plan was eight rounds of radiation. Because the radiation was concentrated around Brian’s neck, he relied on a feeding tube to maintain his weight and experienced a temporary loss of taste, a common side effect of radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck.
“Patience is not my virtue, and it took a lot of patience to remind myself that this is all going to be okay,” said Brian. Brian’s sense of taste returned after 10 months.
“While the prospect of potentially having to go through radiation can certainly be very intimidating, in cases like Brian's, being able to treat with just radiation therapy and chemotherapy allowed us to avoid the intensity of surgery,” explained Dr. Tierney. “That has allowed him to do really well both in the short term during treatment and long term recovery.”
One of the things that Brian appreciated about Dr. Tierney was his ability to break things down in layman’s terms and clearly layout expectations. “I felt very comfortable being cared for by him,” Brian shared.
That comfort was strengthened by an unexpected personal connection. While scheduling a follow-up appointment, Dr. Tierney realized he had purchased one of Brian’s pieces from Austin Art Garage eight years earlier.
“What was special about treating Brian was when we first met in consultation, he told me he was an artist,” Dr. Tierney explained. “I recognized his name, and I realized my wife and I had art of his in our house already, and I pulled up a photo of our living room and showed him a couple of the pieces, and we were just both really blown away that we had already made that connection in the past.”
Dr. Tierney said that Brian has been able to return to a full diet and enjoy food again. Although the past four years have included regular checkups, CT scans, bloodwork, physical exams, and dental appointments, Brian has maintained a positive outlook.
“It does prove what your body and mind are capable of. I don’t think it defines me as a person, but I can add it to the list of things I’ve overcome,” said Brian.
Brian attributes much of where he is today to his wife, Cynthia.
“She handled the news and was with me every step of the way. I know I’m very lucky to have her by my side. She drove me here every day, and she never told me how good the food she was eating tasted,” Brian said jokingly.
He hopes others recognize the important role caregivers play throughout the cancer journey.
“Caregivers don’t get enough praise. They really take on the burden of being there for you and give a part of their life to help you get through this. I really want to drive home how important it is to thank your caregivers and help them feel appreciated,” he added.
Creating art is one of Brian’s greatest joys, and he hopes his work can uplift others during difficult times. To help brighten patients’ days, Brian created postcards for Texas Oncology-South Austin.
“Part of why I wanted treatment was, of course, that I wanted more time with my wife and our pets. But a big thought I had was that I have a lot more art to give to this world. I just want to keep making art and making people happy,” said Brian.
The information included in this testimonial is based on one patient’s unique experience and is not intended to represent all patient outcomes or expectations.
