Brian Boyle’s Cancer in Remission

In a bit of really good news, NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale is reporting that Brian Boyle’s cancer is in remission. Morreale said that Boyle got the news on Monday following his latest blood test.

Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last year during training camp. The exact date of the diagnosis was September 17, 2017 according to Morreale’s article on NHL.com, meaning it is just over a year since. To that point, Morreale said that doctors originally told Boyle that “it could take up to 18 months before the disease went into full remission; it took 12 months and 33 days.”

Boyle told Morreale: “A test (BCR-ABL1) looks for the leukemia cells in your blood and when I was first diagnosed, it was at 75 percent. At the end of last season, it was at .08 percent, and in July I was .04 percent. The results showed all zeros on Monday. It’s full molecular remission, and I feel really good. It was kind of the way the progression was happening the last few tests. When I told my wife, she was excited and got emotional.”

He continued to tell Morreale that he is keeping with the “game plan” his doctors have given him and he will continue to take the medication for the leukemia.

Morreale said that Boyle continues “medication once a month and” has “regular checkups with his doctors to make certain the cancer remains in remission.” His treatments are at “Summit Medical in New Jersey” during the season “and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston” during the offseason.

In additional Boyle family news, Morreale reported that Brian’s son, three year old Declan (“who has an arteriovenous malformation of his jaw, a rare condition that impacts blood flow and oxygen circulation”) is also “doing well.” Brian told Morreale that Declan is attending school four days a week and being “normal kid again.”

Boyle, who won the Bill Masterton Trophy last season for “perseverance and dedication to hockey” had returned to the ice last season on November 1, 2017 against the Canucks in Vancouver. He scored his first goal of last season in a game against the Oilers at Prudential Center in an emotional moment. This season, he has three goals and an assist for four points in playing in all six of the Devils’ games this season.

This is fantastic news to say the least. Hearing that things are going well for the Boyles after a rough couple of months, not just what Brian has been going through, but also what his son has been through, is wonderful news. Fans all around the NHL by and large embraced Boyle as a symbol of hope and fight last season and he has proven their faith in him to be correct. Good luck to the Boyles going forward, as hopefully everyone stays healthy.

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