​Julie Harris has always trusted her gut when something about her son Brett Harris isn’t right. There was a time when her intuition urged her to pull over, take a moment, and check on him. Brett opened his car door and vomited about 17 times before finally stabilizing, climbing back in, and continuing on to his radiation therapy appointment.
Since October 2023, radiation has been part of Brett’s daily reality as he battles a brain tumor first diagnosed during his freshman year of high school. Yet his struggle hasn’t kept him from becoming one of Iowa’s top high school baseball players, a testament to his grit that has also inspired his family. “It’s really a testament to his maturity at 15, 16, 17 years old,” Brett’s brother, Calvin Harris—who is a Chicago White Sox minor leaguer—told USA TODAY Sports. “At that age, everyone thinks they’re invincible, like nothing bad can happen.”
Brett has endured a grueling medical routine since junior high, undergoing MRIs, CT scans, lumbar punctures, and numerous other tests to uncover the cause of his frequent headaches. The search finally paid off on March 8, 2023, when doctors discovered a mass on his hypothalamus. A brain biopsy in April confirmed a brain tumor, and in June the family traveled to the University of Iowa, where Brett received an official diagnosis—the moment the “C word” entered their lives. He was only a freshman then and didn’t fully grasp what the oncologist was saying. He turned to his mother, who works in the medical field, for a clear explanation after the doctor left the room.
“I think when the doctors first told me, it went right over my head,” Brett recalled to USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, you hear about other people when they have cancer, … but when you hear about yourself, I guess it just went over my head.” Julie explained that the tumor was neither malignant nor benign. It lay in a critical area of his brain, making surgical removal impossible. The headaches he experienced were actually seizures.
Brett describes his seizures in his own words. “Everyone has a different kind of seizure,” he said. “I am not on the ground spasming out.” Back then, a sensation of deja vu would precede a pounding, painful headache, followed by garbled speech and a clouded mind. He would need to sit down and wait for the episode to end. These episodes even struck him while he stood on the bench between baseball doubleheaders and once on the football sidelines, when a concerned coach worried he might have a concussion.
In search of more answers, the family sought a second opinion at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. There, they received reassurance that Brett’s cancer was not fatal and, more important, a clear plan of attack was laid out. The Mayo Clinic visit offered a positive prognosis and a strategic path forward, underscoring that while the journey would be challenging, it could be managed.
Brett’s story is one of resilience, where a promising athletic career is tempered by a life-altering medical crisis. The combination of his competitive spirit on the field and the unwavering support of his family, particularly his mother’s steady guidance and medical insight, has helped him navigate a path that balances treatment with the pursuit of his dreams. His experience also serves as motivation for others facing similar battles, illustrating how courage, determination, and a strong support system can sustain hope even when the odds seem daunting.