Colton Lyons, a Bridgewater-Raynham sophomore who had mostly played junior varsity, scored his first varsity touchdown in the team’s playoff game against Waltham Thursday night. The moment came hours after his mother, Jenna, told him that scans suggested the cancer she has lived with since 2021 had likely spread further.
According to Fall River Reporter, Lyons received the scan results shortly before driving Colton to school that morning, then told him the news right before the game itself. Colton had dressed for varsity since his freshman year and had scored touchdowns before, but never at the varsity level. When his mother broke the news, he told her, “Nah, it's all for you. Something good has to come out of all of this.”
Scans Point to New Trouble Beyond the Bones
Fall River Reporter reports that scans suggested Lyons's cancer had reached her adrenal glands and lymph nodes throughout her abdomen, among other areas. Doctors plan to biopsy the new sites because the cancer can mutate, according to the outlet. Lyons described her reaction to the results to the outlet, saying, “I couldn't even scream like I usually do.”
Lyons was diagnosed with stage 1B breast cancer in April 2019, according to a 2022 report from the Taunton Gazette. The newspaper reported that the cancer was found to have metastasized in late 2021, after she sought care for ongoing back and hip pain, and that by summer 2022 she was living with and treating stage 4 breast cancer. The Gazette also reported that Lyons organized care packages for cancer patients, with deliveries to five treatment centers between Boston and Providence.
Years of Pain, Surgery, and Mounting Bills
Fall River Reporter describes Lyons as having experienced severe pain for more than five years, with tumors in bones including her spine, clavicle, hip bones and pelvis. The outlet reports that she has had multiple broken bones and has two 6-inch screws through her pelvis. A GoFundMe page, which dates to 2019, describes a mastectomy on June 6 to remove four tumors after an April breast cancer diagnosis, followed by surgery for a hematoma and torn pectoral muscle. The GoFundMe campaign says she was still awaiting reconstructive surgery at the time the page was written.
Lyons, a former NICU nurse in Boston, is no longer able to work, Fall River Reporter says. The outlet reported that her out-of-pocket medical expenses exceeded $30,000 last year and that she now earns less than 25 percent of what she would make if she were healthy. The GoFundMe page, organized by Heather Regan, says Lyons and her husband, Coley, are raising three boys: Colton, Connor and Finn.
What population data and support services can tell families
National Cancer Institute SEER data describe breast cancer outcomes across groups of people, but the institute cautions that population-based survival statistics cannot predict an individual patient's outcome. The National Cancer Institute also reports that cancer survivors generally have higher out-of-pocket expenditures than people without a cancer history; that broader finding does not establish what is typical for the Lyons family. For caregivers seeking support, Cancer Support Community Massachusetts lists weekly virtual support groups for people caring for someone with cancer and says intake and registration are required before joining.
A Community Rallying Around Team Lyons
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family. Lyons's best friend plans to run the Boston Marathon in April in her name to benefit Mass General Cancer Center, where Lyons receives treatment. In a social media post, Lyons wrote, “I wish he never had to be this strong.”
Lyons also wrote that Colton's performance brought her hope during a difficult day: “my son found a way to give me hope when I was supposed to be the one giving it to him.” On X, where she posts under the handle @jennalyons, her bio describes her as living with metastatic breast cancer, a former Brigham NICU nurse and “forever a mom of boys.”
