Few know what it is like to be afraid for your life unless they are a survivor of cancer, or are still fighting cancer. Kyle Taylor, math teacher, high school basketball coach and middle school track coach, understands exactly what these people have gone though.

     In March, Taylor was having dinner at a friend’s house in Augusta when he had a seizure. Taylor was taken to the hospital in El Dorado for immediate care. The doctors discovered something in his brain so he was transported to Via Christi Medical Center.

     “I didn’t know what was going on with me until the next morning,” Taylor said.

     Following multiple CT and MRI scans the doctors at Via Christi concluded that he had a brain tumor. Taylor spent the next few days in the hospital before deciding to accompany the basketball team to state before dealing with his own battle.

     “I felt that with all the hard work the team had put in during the season and the fact that there weren’t any immediate health risks that I owed it to them,” said Taylor.

     Taylor traveled to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. There the doctors gave him two options: one, have surgery to remove the tumor immediately, or two, have a biopsy to see if the tumor is dangerous. He decided to have the tumor removed immediately.

     “Everyone agreed on the first option. The second choice was pretty much out of the discussion,” Taylor said.

     Taylor was released from the hospital on March 17 and returned to his parents home in Augusta. He then endured six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.

      “The radiation made me kinda tired, and the chemotherapy made me more nauseous,” he said.

     After six weeks, and more tests, he was pronounced cancer free. He is  still taking a pill form of chemotherapy every fourth week. He has an MRI every other week along with blood work and continues to until doctors agree that the tests are no longer necessary.

     Taylor has returned to full-time teaching and coaching.

     “It was frightening. To go from nothing being wrong to having a big problem in a hurry was a shock,” Taylor said.

     Doctors worried the surgery would affect his vision, hearing, balance and coordination but he ended up with no visible effects from the surgery.

     “The only thing different is my handwriting is a little messier, but it wasn’t nice to begin with,” he said.

     Taylor wants to thank his family, the school staff, and the student body for their support. His family stayed by his side through it all and teachers covered for him when he was gone so he would not be charged for sick leave.  The middle school track team and high school baseball team raised money to help with Taylor’s added expenses.

The cancer changed his outlook on life.

     “It makes me not want to waste time, and to reevaluate what’s really important. It makes me want to cherish each day a little bit more and to make the most of opportunities,” Taylor said.

     During his treatment Taylor graduated from Emporia State with his Masters in Instructional Design and Technology. He was well enough to go back to work on his grandparents farm near Chapman last summer and has now moved back to his own home in Andover.