Local 'miracle' man beats odds with brain cancer

Anthony Kuechmann was told he was going to die from stage four brain cancer just five years after graduating from Flathead High School. Four years later he is still alive despite an inoperable tumor in his brain, and he and his wife LaSaundra have two young children to raise and nearly lost their home due to financial struggles. (See related story)

“The doctor said, ‘I don’t usually use the word ‘miracle,’ but in his case I would,” LaSaundra said.

Anthony said there was a one percent survival rate for over two years, and it gets smaller after that. With treatment, he was expected to live about nine months.

That was exactly four years ago this Sunday.

“Love your kids and love your family and stay alive for them, and that is what I’ve been doing,” Anthony said.

Anthony credits his miraculous survival with willpower, positive thinking and the desire to watch his 13-month-old son, Charlie, and three-year-old daughter, Akazia, grow up.

Anthony and LaSaundra had been dating for a few years when Anthony proposed on New Year’s Eve 2009.

“I fell in love with him on the first day,” LaSaundra said.

Just six months into LaSaundra’s pregnancy with their daughter Akazia, Anthony had a stroke and a biopsy was done.

Anthony was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer on March 24, 2009, so they got married less than a week later on March 30 and his radiation treatments started the following day.

Every day could be Anthony’s last, every day is a struggle for him with seizures and inability to control his body. If LaSaundra were to go to work, they would need to hire a nanny for their children and a medical assistant for Anthony, but that would mean missing out on each day.

“Our caseworker said we have a catch-22, and I don’t want to miss that time,” LaSaundra said.

His tumor is close to his brain stem and branches out into the left side of his brain, which makes controlling his right side difficult to nearly impossible.

“It is literally just take it day-by-day,” Anthony said. “Every day is a battle to walk and keep balance from lack of control.”

LaSaundra compared a skier’s body being sore after a day on the slopes to Anthony’s brain being tired from a busy day when explaining how they schedule things out for every other day.

“I’m so in love with him, it’s not even funny,” LaSaundra said.