Former Patient Awaits His Call to the Big Leagues
You can watch Dylan Simmons strike out player after player from the pitcher’s mound in Dayton, Ohio. He recently transferred to the Dayton Dragons after pitching for a partial season in Daytona Beach, Fla. He has already struck out his toughest opponent – cancer – so this daily feat is no sweat.
He was treated for stage 1 lymphoma at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in 2019. His parents work in the medical community and believe proton therapy to be the best treatment course because of its more precise delivery of radiation. Proton therapy lessens side effects in most cases as well. This was Dylan’s experience as he said he was able to workout after his morning treatments. Dylan never let his cancer, or his treatments, slow him down or take him away from a game he loved for a long time. He continued to be positive and push through while receiving part of his treatment at the Institute.
“To any young adults that find themselves with cancer what I would tell them is to have faith that everything is going to work out and always try to keep bettering yourself through it,” said Dylan. “There will be a lot of down time and if you can read a book or listen to podcasts, or whatever they like to do, this is a good time to reflect and plan on what life you want to have and live post cancer,” he continued.
Today, he is a pitcher for the Dayton Dragons, a triple A team, after playing for the Daytona Tortugas, a minor league team with an association to a major league team.
He is looking forward to returning to Jacksonville in the off-season to visit with family and friends in his hometown.
You can read more about Dylan’s inspiring story in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
September is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. These cancers affect the blood or bone marrow.