Dr. Benton Brown

It was during Benton Brown’s freshman year of college he discovered the lump in his neck. A month passed before he received a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He recalls this time in his life as the first instance he was ever truly challenged.

Those around him, doctors, nursing staff, family and friends advised him not to continue his education during treatment. He challenged their position and maintained they were looking at the circumstance all wrong. Instead of focusing on the challenges, he allowed himself to concentrate on life, all that it allowed and how his diagnosis might shape his future.

Against their recommendations, he stayed enrolled at Baylor University full time, all the while commuting biweekly the 200 miles to Dallas to undergo a rigorous chemotherapeutic regimen. The following semester he needed radiation therapy which required that he wake up at 5:30 AM every weekday morning, drive to Dallas for treatment, and return that morning to catch his Physics class.

Ben graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Medical Humanities from Baylor University. Patient Advocate Foundation heard from Ben on the next leg of his journey; right after he was accepted to medical school at the prestigious University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

“Looking back at it all, I know now that because of my past experiences and personal understanding I have been blessed with the gift of being able to understand and relate to cancer patients in a way most people cannot, and I look forward to offering both a helping hand and an empathetic heart to those who would stare down the same challenges I have met and, ultimately, surpassed.”

Ben Brown is now esteemed Dr. Benton Brown and practices at Shannon Hospital in San Angelo, Texas. Patient Advocate Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to help determined, hard-working survivors like Ben through our Scholarship for Survivors program.

Dr. Brown sent a video address to PAF’s 2008 Patient Congress.