Pinning hopes on Saugus bone-marrow drive

SAUGUS – Anthony Mitrano spent eight years as a professional wrestler for Big Time Wrestling in Reading, winning the promotion’s television championship under his ring name AJ Mitrano.”He loved to do it, that was his passion,” said his mother, Debbie Mitrano, a secretary at the Ballard Early Childhood Center. “That was his fun.”She said Anthony, 27, lived on his own and worked as an assistant manager at Saugus Federal Credit Union (now Webster First Federal Credit Union) in addition to wrestling.”He was a very independent kid right out of high school,” she said.However, in September 2013, Anthony Mitrano learned that he would be facing a foe far greater than any opponent he encountered in the ring when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Debbie Mitrano said her son began experiencing shortness of breath and increased fatigue, prompting him to seek medical attention.Although anemia was initially suspected, tests revealed the presence of leukemia and the Philadelphia chromosome, which, according to the About Health website, produces an enzyme that “causes the cancer to grow uncontrollably.””He got the package deal,” said Debbie Mitrano. “Now his life is on hold.”After hearing about Anthony Mitrano’s diagnosis, the staff members at Ballard wanted to know what they could do, though Debbie Mitrano was not sure what to tell them. All she wanted was for her son to be well again. Her colleagues continued to inquire until they came up with the idea for a bone marrow drive.”I know how bad people want to help,” said Debbie Mitrano.The drive will be held Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Saugus Senior Center.Anyone wishing to participate will be asked for a swab from their inner cheek which will then be put into the bone marrow registry.Debbie Mitrano said she had wanted to host the bone marrow drive herself, however, all of her attention and energy has been on her son.”They came together and wanted to do something nice,” she said of her colleagues. “They took the worry away from me.”While making numerous trips to Boston for chemotherapy at Tufts Medical Center, Anthony has endured fevers, pneumonia and other infections. He also needed spinal taps and an Ommaya reservoir, a tube placed inside his skull to administer treatment intravenously.Debbie Mitrano said Anthony had gone into remission by March 2014, although he continued to receive treatment throughout the summer. In October, Anthony’s doctor told him that “everything was fine.” However, he developed a fever shortly thereafter. Subsequent testing showed that the cancer had come back.The doctor told Anthony about the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, the premier cancer care facility in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report.Debbie Mitrano said Sloan Kettering will be holding clinical trials which would allow her son to receive advanced treatment that could put him in “deep remission” making him healthy enough to receive a bone marrow transplant. The transplant would replace bone marrow cells that were damaged or destroyed by treatment or by the cancer itself.”This clinical trial could be the bridge to the bone marrow transplant,” said Debbie Mitrano.Through it all, she said Anthony has continued to put up a courageous fight.”He’s an amazing kid, that’s what keeps me strong,” she said.