Despite leukemia, 8-year-old Mac optimistic about life

Despite leukemia, 8-year-old Mac optimistic about life

(Kyle Brennan)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Cancer is never a pleasant experience for those involved. The diagnosis, the treatments and medication taken to rid the disease are more unpleasant than most people will likely ever have to experience. But for 8-year-old Mac Brennan, cancer is just a temporary obstacle he has to overcome on his way to living a fulfilled life.

Meeting Mac, you’d never realize he would be struggling with one of the most invasive cancers a person could get. His upbeat personality and optimism about life is infectious and inspiring, and it only grows when he’s put in a sports setting.

Mac is not afraid to speak his mind and is focused on one thing in life: winning, whether it's on the playing field or in life in general.

“He wasn’t big on mincing words, he was always about winning,” Utah basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “He would tell it like it is. When I’d talk to him he’d say, ‘Man, we’ve just got to win.’ I think there was some symbolism between us trying to win and the same approach that he had in whipping cancer. He was a fighter and wanted to get after it and chalk up the W.”

And that winning attitude is what has made the difference for him and that of his family as he attempts to beat cancer for good. Although the road will still be long, hard and painful, Mac's attitude about life will make it a little easier.

Mac’s diagnosis

While playing in a basketball game one night in December 2013, Mac requested to come out of the game because he was feeling sick and didn’t have much energy, which is unlike the upbeat 8-year-old who wants to be a part of all the action the game provides, his father, Kyle Brennan, the senior associate athletics director at the University of Utah, said.


He wasn't big on mincing words, he was always about winning. He would tell it like it is. When I'd talk to him he'd say, 'Man, we've just got to win.' I think there was some symbolism between us trying to win and the same approach that he had in whipping cancer. He was a fighter and wanted to get after it and chalk up the W.

–Larry Krystkowiak


Mac started showing bumps on his neck and down his side, which prompted his parents to take him to the doctors the following morning. Mac’s regular pediatrician was not available that day and a younger pediatrician was filling in. After an examination, the pediatrician quickly diagnosed Mac with leukemia.

“Right away she thought he had leukemia and I was taken back by it,” Kyle said. “My mind was thinking, ‘Why are you jumping to this conclusion right away? You must not be experienced.’ But there was the classic signs.”

Within five hours of checking in at the doctor’s office for what the Brennans thought was a routine office visit, Mac was admitted to the hospital and was already started on treatments to knock down the leukemia.

“We really had no idea that we were looking at anything like that when we brought him in,” Mac’s mother, Beth Brennan, said. “I think it just becomes a blur.”

The doctors worked quickly to get Mac prepared to start the incredibly long road to recovery. The night he was admitted to the hospital, doctors put in a port, which is a medical device that allows doctors to administer medication into the body without having to put in an IV every day. Within 24 hours of being admitted, Mac was already starting chemotherapy treatments.

“It goes and you’re simply along for the ride,” Beth said.

For the next 28 days, Mac received daily treatments of chemo and steroids in an effort to quickly knock down the progression of the cancer. Doctors aimed for a goal of remission after the first month, which most children make, Kyle said; however, despite the intense, daily treatments, Mac’s cancer was not in remission and was then classified in a “high-risk category.”

Mac was required to change directions and was put on an “intensified treatment” schedule in an effort to seek remission at a later second test. Mac spent, on average, five days a week at the clinic receiving chemo treatments into his spinal fluid in a procedure called a “back poke,” in addition to taking chemo medication at home. He also had to spend a few days in the hospital as part of the treatment.

The entire treatment process from when he was first diagnosed will take approximately six to nine months, and Mac is only about halfway through the process.

“It’s invasive, it’s intense and it’s weekly,” Beth said. “That six to nine months is hard. We think we’re in the middle of it, but they don’t really tell you what we’re looking at.”

Mac Brennan on the sidelines during a spring football practice.
Mac Brennan on the sidelines during a spring football practice. (Photo: Kyle Brennan)

Mac’s second bone marrow test was scheduled for the early part of April, and doctors needed to see his cancer in remission or Mac would be forced to potentially go through a bone marrow transplant. The tests came back in Mac’s favor and his cancer is now in remission, keeping him from advancing to an even more intense treatment schedule.

“That came back clear, which was amazing and gave us huge relief and to know that we can continue to go on this course of treatment knowing that it’s working,” Beth said.

“The intensified treatment has done its job and it’s triggered a remission for him,” Kyle said. “So we feel very optimistic now.”

Although Mac’s cancer is in remission, he still has a few months to go of chemo treatments before he can move onto the second stage of treatment. Once Mac completes the first stage, he will then have to get chemo treatments once a month for the next three years.

“We’ve been told after that process he will be back at school full time,” Kyle said. “He’ll be able to play sports and he’ll feel pretty good. It will be tolerable because we know it’s working.”

Mac’s optimism

Despite Mac’s physical struggles overcoming leukemia, sports has given him a purpose and it has helped him forget about everything else in his life. Because his parents work in the athletics department at the U., Mac has developed strong relationships with many of the coaches and athletes.

Mac has full access to both the basketball and football team, where he thrives in his conversations with the coaches and athletes. And in return, everyone treats him like one of the “guys” and an important person in the makeup of the respective teams.

“He was probably more caught up in us winning and losing than he was with some of his own struggles,” Krystkowiak said. “I think it allowed him to escape maybe a little bit of the reality of what he was going through.”

While going through leukemia treatments early on, Mac was still playing basketball, taking on former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and other coaches in a game of three-on-three.

“He ended up torching Brian Johnson, including a game-winning shot over him,” former recruiting assistant Doug Kimmel said. “He was undoubtedly the MVP of the game.

“Leukemia is tough, and I couldn’t imagine dealing with that life-altering hurdle at such a young age,” Kimmel added. “Yet Mac was playing basketball at an incredibly high level, laughing, talking smack and spreading an infectious smile to everyone’s face who crosses his path.”


I've kinda adopted him. He's my assistant running backs coach. At the end of practice I let him evaluate our running backs every day. And he kind of puts them in order. I may not necessarily agree with him, but he does it and I listen to him.

–Dennis Erickson


Although leukemia treatments have altered Mac’s ability to regularly attend school and participate in his normal everyday life, the Brennans made it a priority from the beginning to keep things as regular as possible.

“This athletics department is a part of our life: the basketball team, the football team, all the student athletes. We decided not to change that up for him,” Beth said. “So if he feels well enough, which he does most of the time he’s free, we go. We’re not keeping him at home, putting him to bed and telling him to check out for a while.”

During Mac’s initial hospital stay after his diagnosis, the Utah basketball team paid him a visit, talking to him about the season and anything unrelated to what he was going through. The encouragement from the team gave Mac the resilience and optimism to overcome his struggles.

“I think our program gave him a nice little lift and consequently it’s been a win-win for both of us,” Krystkowiak said. “I think we both provided a lot of support for each other."

Many of the university’s coaches and players visited Mac in the hospital, but running backs coach Dennis Erickson gave him a special invite to join the coaching staff in spring football. That simple gesture by Erickson gave Mac something to look forward to amid the difficult leukemia treatments.

“That was that little ray of light for Mac that he had something to look forward to,” Beth said. “Dennis just treats him like a guy, and Mac responds to that. They’re good buddies."

Throughout the spring, Mac has been Erickson’s guy. The two eat lunch, discuss the running backs and review game film together. The two are practically inseparable.

Mac Brennan flashes the U. sign.
Mac Brennan flashes the U. sign. (Photo: Kyle Brennan)

“I’ve kinda adopted him,” Erickson said. “He’s my assistant running backs coach. At the end of practice I let him evaluate our running backs every day. And he kind of puts them in order. I may not necessarily agree with him, but he does it and I listen to him."

And without fail, Mac is at practice coaching his team.

“He’s brought a lot of inspiration to everybody involved, dealing with what he has to deal with,” Erickson said. “What he goes through is so much more than anyone on the football field can ever go through. He fights like heck and comes out to practice."

“Dennis said they were watching film of last Saturday’s practice and they stopped the film and they had Mac on camera,” Kyle said. “Mac had his headset on like Dennis and had his arms folded just like him. They said it was mini Dennis and they looked the same. I’ve never met a more generous man and a down-to-earth guy."

Earlier in the week, Mac was announced as one of two people who would be the team’s honorary coaches for the annual spring game. The Brennans and doctors had a game plan in place so Mac could attend the game Saturday. However, the treatments didn’t go as planned and Mac will be required to spend the weekend in the hospital for one of his routine stays and won’t be able to be in attendance Saturday.

“He’s mad. He’s mad and we’re letting him be mad, and that is perfectly fine,” Beth said. “You can be mad for a while, but you can’t be mad forever. We’re mad too, but we’ll deal with it and we’ll move on.

“That’s just the reality of leukemia, unfortunately,” Beth added. “Kyle and I hate that we have to watch him go through that. You don’t want to see your kid disappointed, especially when he’s been going through this it would have been a nice thing for him to enjoy. He’s been at practice and with this group. But that’s the way it goes. This is the reality of chemo and cancer treatment."

And although Mac will miss Saturday’s game, his attitude about winning will continue to get him through the treatments and will help him as a member of the Utah athletics department, in whatever capacity he’s called upon.

“He’s positive about everything. And I think it’s in large part to how people have rallied around us and around him. The University of Utah and the athletics department has been, personally, very kind to our family, and so has the community,” Kyle said. “Having these outlets with basketball and football gives his day a purpose. Everyone needs a purpose, everyone needs something to work at. And when you take school away it can make it very difficult. But this has been a great avenue for him to focus his attention and energy on something outside of himself. And it’s kept his spirits high.”

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