3/6/08
Benefit helps to make cancer patient Texas-bound
By Jerriod Grizzle

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Brian Lyles (right) and family friend Clyde White (left) share a moment together last Tuesday at a benefit in Brian’s honor. Dozens of friends, supporters and well-wishers came out to show Lyles their support.

When Brian Lyles rolled into the Clarendon Baptist Church last Tuesday night he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I’m reliving everything and I never thought I would see myself on television,” he said.

Lyles, 26, was diagnosed in October 2005 with Medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer. The effects of chemotherapy have left him using a wheelchair.

A lifelong hunting enthusiast, Lyles got the chance go to on a “Dream Hunt,” in October 2007. The hunt was sponsored by the United Special Sportsman Alliance and took him and his uncle, Gene Morris to Fairview, Ohio to have the chance to shoot the biggest buck of Lyles’ lifetime. (He actually took two bucks on the hunt.) The hunt and Lyles’ compelling story was filmed for the Outdoor Channel.

When the men of the Clarendon Baptist Church wanted to watch the video of the hunt, they thought it only fair to invite Lyles.

In the words of Pastor Kirk Carlisle, the men’s meeting snowballed from there.

“We have 35 men that meet regularly and when we talked about watching the show on television, someone mentioned inviting friends. Our wives wanted to come and invite their friends and so on,” he said.

The 35-member meeting turned into an over 275-person oyster roast put on by the church and the members of the Manning Jaycees. Proceeds from the event will go to help Lyles to travel to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas for innovative cancer treatment.

One month ago, Lyles’ visit to the doctor revealed that instead of being in remission, the three brain tumors in his head had started to grow again. His body had become unresponsive to the oral chemotherapy he was taking.

Lyles was scheduled to go to M.D. Anderson for treatment before the benefit but due to insurance regulations, his kind of insurance was not accepted.

“I want to go to Texas to see if they can tell me what to do and how to do it,” Lyles said.

Lyles’ knows that there isn’t a definitive cure for his tumors but in spite of it all he has been in high spirits keeping his eyes on his family and God.

“I am very thankful for all these people coming out and supporting me. Most of these people I don’t know but they are coming out for me which makes me really humble.”

People in the Alcolu community hold out hope for Lyles and a cure. Almost every person at the benefit wished him good luck wishes and shared words of inspiration.

“Ideally we would love to see him completely healed and we know that M.D. Anderson is the best place there is,” Carlisle said. “He has brought together a lot of people by the lives he has touched.”

Lyles’ mother and father, Beth and Terry, are holding out hope as well.

“His spirits are very high and therefore ours are too,” Terry Lyles said. “Many people can help our son but only God can heal him.”

Overall, Lyles’ event raised about $3,250 in dinners and more than $6,000 in donations. The Manning Junior Chamber donated $500 of that money. Hopefully, funds raised at what was to be a humble men’s supper will be enough to offset the cost of the treatment evaluations for Lyles at the world famous cancer treatment center in Houston.