Uncategorized

Life and Test Results

/ Dr. Lee Bryant / 15 Comments

I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma under my thumbnail on July 21, 2021. For those of you who have been tracking my cancer journey, you know that I am a surgeon. I then became a patient and began documenting my journey in this blog. After undergoing surgery, I completed a yearlong treatment plan of chemoimmunotherapy infusions. I had my last infusion on June 29, 2022. This blog recounts my story with a focus on a surgeon who became a patient. It also highlights melanoma awareness. Additionally, it explores the intersection of medicine and faith.

The great news is that my scans this past November (right hand and arm, chest, abdomen, pelvis) revealed no evidence of any recurrent cancer! My next round of scans and bloodwork is in May, 2025. I am blessed to have survived 3 years, having been told my 3 year survival rate was as low as 40 percent! I still remain high risk until year 5, when my prognosis will improve.

I was remiss in waiting so long to update my blog. This past Fall, the busyness of life seemed to take over. I had several trips to medical meetings, some vacation, a wedding of which I was the officiant in Dallas, and then the holidays. Reflecting back on this past year, I realized that it is very easy to fall back into the busyness of life and slip away from work, life, and health balance.

Let me go back to the summer of 2021 before my cancer diagnosis. The absolute craziness of the life of a busy surgeon was taking its toll. I was in the peak of my career, performing as many operations as ever. My hands were so overworked from operating and typing that I started getting trigger fingers and had multiple hand surgeries to repair them. In addition to being President of our large medical practice, I was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of my medical center; a consultant for a large medical device company lecturing and traveling all over the country; Chairman of the Deacon Body at Brook Hollow Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee; singing in the church choir; leading a young adult small group at our house on Sunday nights; helping my father manage our horse farm; and lastly training for a triathlon! Whoa! And why? Was I getting greedy? Was I happy? Was I spending enough time listening to God and His plan for my life? I stopped…reflected….and actually prayed about it. Let me tell you something…be careful for what you pray! I prayed God would somehow slow me down and help me find some balance in my life. If you go back and read or have read the very first couple of my blogs in 2021, you know what happened. God did answer my prayers to slow down! He did it …His way…not mine! I was diagnosed with a deadly melanoma under my thumbnail that resulted in a partial thumb amputation, a year of chemo, and the process of learning how to operate again! Be careful for what you pray!

That very day that I got the depressing call from my pathologist about my diagnosis, something else happened, likely providential. Pastor Jack Foster is my dear friend, neighbor, and one of my spiritual mentors. Unbeknownst to me, he also had been worried that I had been going too hard in life. That very day, as he was driving by my house, he felt something tug at his heart strings; he slowed his vehicle down; and he almost pulled into my driveway to confront me. He felt called by the Lord to intervene. Interestingly enough, I called him shortly thereafter with my devastating medical diagnosis. He now has walked with me on this cancer journey. Together, we have felt the process of genuine sanctification taking place in my life. God has also given me a testimony and maybe this platform to encourage others.

As I reflect on 2024, I realize that the busyness of life is creeping back in. I am now a national officer in the American Academy of Otolaryngology. I am again one of the Deacons at Brook Hollow Baptist Church. My work load is closer to the busy old days. All of these are good activities in and of themselves. As I get further removed from that year of treatment, I feel myself gaining confidence in my prognosis. In turn, I feel myself losing that sense of humility and selflessness that weighed upon me heavily going through treatment. In 2025, I am challenging myself to strive for a healthy diet, exercise, and sleep. I plan to read more and try to spend more time in prayer. I have always made time and will continue to do so for my wife, kids, and 4 beautiful grandchildren. If you are in the same situation, I ask you to re-assess your life and schedule. Prioritize your Heavenly Father, your family, your friends, and your health! Life can change quickly. Be content with today. And don’t waste another day!

Overcoming Melanoma: A Survivor’s Story

/ Dr. Lee Bryant / 15 Comments

I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma under my thumbnail on July 21, 2021. For those of you who have been tracking my cancer journey, you know that I am a surgeon. I then became a patient and began documenting my journey in this blog. After undergoing surgery, I completed a yearlong treatment plan of chemoimmunotherapy infusions. I had my last infusion on June 29, 2022. This blog recounts my story with a focus on a surgeon who became a patient. It also highlights melanoma awareness. Additionally, it explores the intersection of medicine and faith.

Recently, a large group from our office, a total of 23 participants, completed a 5K walk/run called Sherry’s Run. It is near the Lebanon office of our company, Allergy & ENT Associates of Middle Tennessee. Sherry’s Hope is an organization that raises awareness and money for families of cancer patients in Lebanon, Tennessee, and surrounding communities. It helps these families with all types of expenses, particularly non-medical expenses.  Several hundred thousand dollars of assistance were provided this past year. Here is an excerpt from the Sherry’s Hope website:

“What started as a love for one woman has turned into an explosion of grace for this community. No one that gathered together on that Saturday in September 2004 could have ever imagined that one 5K event called Sherry’s Run would grow into a Christ-centered, grassroots, non-profit organization called Sherry’s Hope that works year-round to serve our neighbors in Wilson County (TN) and the surrounding communities who are battling cancer.”

Along with so many of my employees, my wife Kellee also participated with me. Participants may choose to not only have a race number, but they can also place names of people who hold a special place in their lives and have battled cancer. I got the “honor” of wearing a “Cancer Survivor” number in lieu of a number. Although I had not been training much secondary to some tendinitis, I was able to run the entire race on adrenaline. I have recently passed three-year mark from my diagnosis, and I felt very blessed to be alive. I was also grateful to be able to run 3.2 miles. I got tears in my eyes several times as runners noticed my “Cancer Survivor” status and gave me words of encouragement. Over the past 3 years, my staff walked and prayed right along side me through my cancer journey. They took time out of their Saturday to participate. It was great to feel their love and encouragement. There were over 2800 participants, and it was great to feel a sense of community.

Kellee and my brother-in-law Dee
Me and Kellee

As I write this blog, I am reminded that as I get further away from my cancer diagnosis, I have slowly returned to a more normal life. This life is no longer centered around treatments and round after round of imaging and surveillance. I have also discovered that is easy to get wrapped up in the usual activities of daily living and lose focus on some of the balance and priorities that gave me such peace even though I was going through treatment. I apologize for getting out of the habit of updating my blog. So many of my patients follow along and have inquired about my health status lately.

As I mentioned in my last blog, cancer patients have a lot of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual stress. They endure this stress going through “cancer surveillance,” which involves regular checkups with physical exam, lab work, and imaging studies. One term I learned was “scanxiety,” which is a real emotion. My last battery of tests was on May 2, 2024. I was blessed to be cancer free at that time! My next round of tests is on November 7, 2024, and the “scanxiety” has returned! It is hard to turn my mind from the fear and anxiety of what those scans may find. I keep wondering if I will get a clean bill of health or not. I know my hope rests in God Almighty. He is in control, regardless of what happens here on earth. My human side has a hard time giving it all up to Him like I should.

I don’t believe I ever shared the gravity of what I was facing 3 years ago. The type of melanoma that I had is called acral or subungual melanoma and is very deadly. With the depth of my tumor and the histologic features, my overall prognosis at the time was very poor. Typically, with the stage of my tumor, only about 60% of patients survive one year. About 40% of patients survive 3 years. The advent of some of the newer immunotherapy drugs are improving survival rates. If my next round of tests reveals no evidence of recurrent disease, then I will be past the 3-year mark! So, this next round is a HUGE milestone for me. I will still be high risk, but with an improved prognosis! Typically, if a patient with my diagnosis makes it 5 years, then the long-term survival rate is much better.

So, in just a few weeks, I will again undergo a comprehensive battery of tests, all in one day. No matter how well I feel…no matter how confident I am that my surveillance will turn out favorably…there is a strong wave of anxiety that hits me about 1-2 weeks before the testing. My mind tends to turn toward the statistics, my own mortality, the “what ifs,” and thoughts of receiving terrible news. With this day approaching, I continue to rediscover the peace of Christ. I also find the ability to live in the present. I appreciate one day at a time. I appreciate your love and support. For those who follow my cancer story, you know that it is still being written. I continue to be completely transparent with you. So far, I continue to be cancer free. I feel like God is restoring me to share my testimony. He is giving me the ability to comfort other cancer patients.

May God bless you!

Dr. B

Melanoma Update

/ Dr. Lee Bryant / 24 Comments

I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma under my thumbnail on July 21, 2021.  For those of you who have been following my cancer journey, you know that I am a surgeon who became at patient and then documented my journey in this blog.  After undergoing surgery, I completed a yearlong treatment plan of chemoimmunotherapy infusions, having completed my last infusion on June 29, 2022. This blog recounts my story with a focus on a surgeon who became a patient, melanoma awareness, and the intersection of medicine and faith.

This blog was started to keep my patients informed of my progress. As I have continued to feel better, my surgical practice has ramped back up to normal. And I have taken on some additional work responsibilities. I was elected as the Secretary of the Private Practice Section of the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery.

But as is typical of any major health crisis or really any major life crisis that effects behavioral changes for the better in our lives, it is easy to get busy with work and fall back into old habits. I have not been updating my blog lately, but plan to keep it more updated. Also, when one feels better physically and spiritually, it is easy to drift into old habits. I teach a young adult group in our home on Sunday nights. I always tell my group that you never drift into good habits, only bad ones. Anything you do to improve yourself is intentional, not something into which you drift. So in this new year of 2024, I have tried to refocus on wellness to help my body continue to battle this melanoma. I have been intentional on getting enough sleep. I have been working out more regularly and giving up sweets. Lastly, during the Lenten season, I have tried to refocus spiritually.

Things we can control such as our sleep pattern, our diet, our exercise pattern, our stress level, and our spirituality can work together to reduce chronic inflammation in our bodies. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, science has shown that chronic inflammation in the body aids and abets tumor biology, helping tumors either develop or progress more rapidly. Some of the inflammation caused by tumors is from genetic mutations and intrinsic factors of the tumors beyond our control. But a lot of extrinsic factors can also cause chronic inflammation such as chronic infections, an inflammatory diet high in sugar, autoimmune diseases, obesity, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption.

My last two rounds of laboratory work up and extensive imaging were in May and November of 2023. They revealed that I continue to have no evidence of recurrent melanoma cancer. Because of the stage of my melanoma and the tumor biology (acral type with high mitosis and ulceration), I remain at very high risk for recurrence. My type of melanoma tends to be very aggressive and many do not survive the first three years. However, the risk for this type of melanoma is more “front loaded,” meaning that as time goes on, my risk starts to drop. I have another round of imaging on May 2, 2024. I am praying for continued good news, because that is near the three year mark, when my risk begins to drop some, and my prognosis improves.

I am planning a big celebration that weekend if all is good…more on that later. I pledge to keep all those who are following more informed! And let’s all focus on wellness. Let me know if you want me to start writing about more specifics.

Lastly, for those in the Nashville, Tennessee, area and beyond, feel free to tune in to Morningline with Nick Beres on Monday, March 18, as we do a one hour live show discussing Springtime allergies and impact on our health. (https://www.newschannel5.com/plus/morningline)

I appreciate all the love and support!

A Melanoma Story

/ Dr. Lee Bryant / 16 Comments

 I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma under my thumbnail on July 21, 2021.  For those of you who have been following my cancer journey, you know that I am a surgeon who became at patient and then documented my journey in this blog.  After undergoing surgery, I completed a yearlong treatment plan of chemoimmunotherapy infusions, having completed my last infusion on June 29, 2022.  I continue to keep those following my journey updated, and I am happy to announce that my most recent lab work and scans were completed on September 29, 2022, and all were found to be completely normal and clear. Thanks for your support! I would like to share with you today a melanoma story about one of my favorite patients (with his permission) and then will end this blog with a few personal updates.

I have a patient named Tom who has had nasal obstruction and breathing difficulties for a long time. Just a couple of weeks ago, I performed a successful operation on him to restore his nasal breathing. However, we share a somewhat personal bond now, and his story is one that brings me a lot of hope, and to be honest, a little bit of anxiety. You see Tom has been my patient for 20 years…I have been treating his melanoma for 20 years. We have been through similar journeys, and our physician-patient relationship is now so special, with me now walking in his shoes to some degree.

Tom came to me 20 years ago in February of 2002 with a pigmented lesion of his left ear. As his surgeon, I performed a wide local excision of part of his left ear followed by lymphoscintigraphy to identify his sentinel node, and then I performed a sentinel node biopsy, which involved an operation called superficial parotidectomy to access his sentinel node. At that time, his sentinel node pathology was found to be negative for any melanoma cells. This was a very similar operation to the one I had on August 4, 2021, having my melanoma resected on my hand and then a sampling of sentinel nodes in my axilla(or armpit). Tom did well for the next 10 years, but then developed recurrent melanoma at his original primary site on the left ear. He then had to undergo partial amputation of his left ear with much wider margins in 2012. At the time, I was out recovering from back surgery, and that procedure was performed by another surgeon. Two years later, in 2014, he was had recurrent melanoma in a paratracheal node (upper chest) which was removed. He then underwent treatment with a drug named Yervoy, or ipilimumab, with a series of infusions like mine. Yervoy was a promising melanoma drug at the time, that was FDA approved in 2011, and was being used to treat patients with more advanced melanoma. It was the first breakthrough immunotherapy drug used for melanoma, and now several others have been approved. Later in 2014, after completing his Yervoy infusions, he was very frustrated because his surgical ear had so much deformity that he could not even wear his glasses, so I performed a functional reconstruction of his upper ear, which allowed him to wear glasses easier. To this day, 20 years later from his first melanoma diagnosis, Tom remains free of melanoma.

As you can read, Tom and I have been through so much together. He is a reminder to me that melanoma is a finicky disease, which often time does not behave in a very predictable way; however, he is also a reminder of hope and inspiration through his perseverance over so many years and victory over cancer.  We have had long and very transparent discussions about our journeys, and we both agree that our battles with cancer have been victorious to this day through good medical doctors and medical breakthroughs, along the way feeling blessed by God to have been given second chances. Tom, when you read this, know that I thank you for allowing me to be part of your care team and I love you for all that you mean to me!  Now enjoy breathing better and go smell the roses after that successful nasal operation.

Drs. Gray and Molly Bryant

Personally, I want to share just a few updates in my life, as I know many of my patients follow this blog. Kellee and I celebrated my completion of my yearlong chemoimmunotherapy treatments followed by clear scans with a trip to Maine, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. I thank God every day that He blessed me with Kellee as my wife. My son, Dr. Gray Bryant, and his wife, Dr. Molly Hanna Bryant, started their medical residencies at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in July. Both are compassionate human beings with brilliant minds, and I know they will be fine physicians when they complete their training. Our family continues to grow, as my daughter Alex (husband Brad Bars) gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Caroline Lee Bars, our third grandchild on September 20, 2022. Finally, as many of you know, Dr. Scott Fortune and I have trained and practiced together since the 1980’s, and he nominated me for an award given through our American Academy of Otolaryngology. It was an honor to receive the 2022 BOG Practitioner of Excellence Award, and I was honored to attend our 2022 American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Surgery Annual Meeting, where I received my award with Dr. Fortune being present. I have attached the link below for anyone interested.

https://bulletin.entnet.org/home/article/22353190/2022-bog-awards

Brad, Alex, Bradley, Jack, and Caroline
Dr. Scott Fortune with me and Kellee
Kellee and me in Nantucket

Thanks for reading. Melanoma awareness is near and dear to my heart.  I plan to mention some ways you can help in future blogs to support current and future melanoma patients and research.  May God bless you!