For the first time during the whole process, Andrew Dillon admitted to his parents he was frustrated.
It had been a little over a year since Dillon’s initial brain cancer diagnosis. He went through surgeries and treatments and chemotherapy throughout 2025 to beat the disease. He had won.
Or so he thought.
Months of scans and re-scans in early 2026 led to the discovery of the cancer returning in two spots on his brain: one in the original tumor location, and a smaller one in another part of the brain. When Andrew and his parents, Bryan and Michelle, stopped for lunch on the way back from hearing the news, Bryan asked how Andrew was feeling.
“He goes, ‘I’m angry,’” Bryan recalled. “’I’m angry that I ever got this.’”
It was yet another obstacle for the 21-year-old Andrew.
This spring was meant to be one without worry. It was his final season playing baseball for Bethel University. He was on track to graduate a year early, having accumulated enough college credits taking classes at Wabash High School to put him on an advanced track. He was going to have a Senior Day at baseball. Walk across the stage at graduation.
He still did all those things. Andrew Dillon is determined to not let cancer define him.
A strong support system
Both Andrew and Bryan had the same reaction when they received the news of the cancer returning.
“It was a real punch in the gut,” Andrew said. “It’s not what you want to hear. … We always knew there was a possibility it would come back, but I was really hoping and praying that it wouldn’t.”
Since being diagnosed with brain cancer on Feb. 14, 2025, the Dillon family has leaned on faith to get through the difficult times.
Even before the diagnosis, Andrew had started finding a second family at Cornerstone Church in Mishawaka. Andrew became good friends with Elijah Poorman, whose father, Matt, is the lead pastor for the church. The two of them spearheaded the creation of the student ministry that meets every other Sunday night at the Poorman’s house.
Andrew credited the Poorman family for being a huge help the last 15 months. For Matt Poorman, a simple mindset guided his decisions to help the Dillon family.
“If this were my son, what would I want people to do for me?” Matt Poorman said. “What would I need them to do for me? And so, I just wanted to do what I thought really needed to be done.”
After the re-diagnosis, Andrew continued with normal life. He kept playing baseball, attending church and keeping up his stellar work in the classroom. He finished with all ‘A’s’ despite every potential obstacle getting in his way.
He wasn’t just a member of the roster for Bethel baseball, either. Andrew finished as the team’s leader in batting average at .289. He played in 43 games, helping the Pilots qualify for the Crossroads League tournament.
“I had fun,” said Andrew of his senior season. “We weren’t the most successful on the field, but this team itself was great. I loved hanging out with the guys. We had a lot of fun, made a lot of memories.”
Andrew’s courageous battle earned him the Ron Paulsen Award, presented to one male and one female athlete annually who “exemplifies the values of Pilot Athletics” based on “athletic involvement, character, leadership, and involvement in the social and academic programs of the college.” It was four days after the fact that Andrew’s parents even found out about the honor, and they didn’t even learn the news from Andrew himself. His girlfriend, Paxton, told Bryan and Michelle about it.
“He is so humble,” Michelle Dillon said. “I find that we probably brag on him more than we should maybe because he is just so humble. You don’t see that a whole lot in young men. He’s always been that way.”
What lies ahead for Andrew Dillon
A microcosm of Andrew Dillon’s life came across three days last week.
On April 30, he was playing baseball in the conference tournament. The next day, he had to go in for his first brain cancer infusion treatment. The day after that, he graduated college.
The future remains uncertain for Andrew. He’s returning home to Wabash for the summer, looking for a full-time job after graduating with a bachelor’s in business management. He plans to umpire little league baseball games in the meantime to keep himself busy.
Andrew is also looking at another summer of cancer treatments. He’s tentatively scheduled to start a five-day radiation treatment plan on Monday, May 11. He’ll be staying with the Poorman family during that span to save time and money commuting from Wabash to South Bend and back. After that is a likely return to the chemo pills he was taking last year.
“You don’t know how many times I’ve asked why; why did this happen?” Bryan Dillon said. “Why are we still unclear of the future or what’s going to happen? It’s hard, but then again, I heard Andrew say a peace came over him and that everything would be OK. I haven’t experienced that, but when he’s the one battling it and he felt the peace come over him, that meant a lot.”
Andrew admits he hasn’t had time to slow down and reflect much about the last 15 months. He does know that his story has resonated with all of those around him.
“I’ve definitely learned that I had put my identity in school and sports, and what this has shown me is this is all bigger than that,” Andrew said. “The ability to impact others through this … I’ve learned there is more to life than school and baseball. That’s not who I am.”
Austin Hough is a sports editor within the Center for Community Journalism at USA Today Co., overseeing high school sports and Notre Dame athletics coverage for five Indiana newspapers. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough. Hough can be emailed at ahough@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Andrew Dillon continues to not let brain cancer define him
Reporting by Austin Hough, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
