Brady Levola has fought many battles in his life, but he did not think cancer would be one of them.
Described by his friends as “passionate, driver, and strong,” the 20-year-old Sudbury resident was shocked when doctors delivered the news last month that he had a rare form of germ cell testicular cancer that formed in his chest cavity.
As the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, explains, “When cells that are meant to form sperm in the testicles or eggs in the ovaries travel to other parts of the body, they may grow into extragonadal germ cell tumors. These tumors may begin to grow anywhere in the body but usually begin in organs such as the pineal gland in the brain, in the mediastinum (area between the lungs), or in the retroperitoneum (the back wall of the abdomen).”
Upon hearing the news, Brady’s friends, family, and the Sudbury community rallied around him. It took only four days to raise more than $13,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help support Brady on his road to recovery.
“Brady was diagnosed with autism when he was about seven or eight years old. He is also gay, and that was a challenge for him growing up. He was picked on a lot in the schoolyard,” said Brady’s father, Trevor.
“When he started going to Sudbury Secondary School as a dance major, that’s when he really started to flourish. The community there really helped him. Now, he is working at Winner’s while he studies to become a hairstylist. He’s also a makeup artist. He is just a very social, outgoing person who has overcome a lot in his life.”
Brady started to experience chest pains along with difficulty breathing towards the end of June, and Trevor brought him to a local clinic.
The clinic immediately sent him to Health Sciences North (HSN) for a chest X-ray, and later that day, it was discovered that he had a tumour pressing down on both his lungs and heart.
Nine biopsies later, doctors are “99-per-cent sure” they’ve identified the cancer, according to Trevor.
They’ve started Brady on a chemotherapy treatment plan that should last 12 to 14 weeks before he goes into surgery to have the tumour removed.
“It’s grueling, that’s for sure. Brady does chemo for five days straight, and then he gets two weeks off. Every treatment takes about four to five hours,” said Trevor.
“It’s been hard on him to be stuck inside while the sun is shining, and everything is starting to open up. He’s also started losing his hair. He shaved his head the other day, and I shaved mine. Our neighbour and a couple of friends did, too.”
Brady’s family has taken time off work to care for him in the hospital. His mother Anita is actually doing double time – her 73-year-old mother, who is also battling cancer, recently had surgery after breaking her hip.
Still, both of Brady’s parents and his sister, Jorja, make sure he never sleeps in the hospital alone. There are tight visitor restrictions at HSN due to COVID-19, but they take shifts to make sure he has the support he needs.
Anita said that she’s still in shock, and she’s just trying to be there for her son.
“Brady is such a social butterfly. He loves people and he befriends everyone he meets,” she said.
“Being in the hospital with limited visitation and social life has really affected him. Social media is his lifeline right now.”
A good friend of Brady’s, Lidia Campagnaro, set up the GoFundMe campaign to help support the Levola family during this difficult time.
She describes Brady as “a huge influencer to many in the LGBTQ+ community” and as a unique, kind-hearted soul who is loving to everyone around him.
“Now, I’m sure you miss the sun, but it must miss you more,” she wrote on the campaign page.
“Have you noticed it hasn’t been around lately? It’s waiting for you to come back, we all are.”
The campaign surpassed its goal of $10,000 in just 24 hours. As of Tuesday, more than 180 donors in the community raised some $13,900.
Brady knows his journey to recovery won’t be easy, but he is incredibly grateful for all the support he’s received, including from his followers on social media and the staff and doctors at HSN.
“Thank you,” he said with tears in his eyes.
“I’ve gotten so many messaged of support. I never thought I had so much love out there. Without them, I really couldn’t do it. Thank you. I love all of you.”
Click here to donate to Brady’s GoFundMe campaign.
Colleen Romaniuk is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter at The Sudbury Star. The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government.
