Past Zephyrhills city councilman fighting for his life
By Kyle LoJacono
Former Zephyrhills City Councilman Mike Bussell had tremendous back pain for weeks before an MRI revealed a problem he never expected — cancer.
Bussell, 68, has a 6-centimeter tumor on his right kidney, which metastasized and spread to his second lumbar vertebra in the lower back. The pain was a result of the cancer damaging 75 percent of his vertebra.
“I was feeling very tired and in a lot of pain about 10 to 12 weeks ago, so we went to the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa when they told me,” Bussell said. “I’m going to beat it, but I understand why people have problems mentally after learning they have cancer. It’s rough not so much for me, but for my wife and family.”
Bussell, who served on the Zephyrhills City Council from 2001 to 2003, said one of the low points when dealing with the pain came when he and his wife, Yvonne, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He said his son, Michael Jr., had to hold him up because of the pain.
He was prescribed steroids, which has greatly reduced his pain, but does not remove the family’s questions.
“My first reaction to it was why didn’t someone tell us sooner,” Yvonne said. “Now I’m just focusing on getting him well. Life is too short to be sick.”
The family said they were told such a tumor grows about a half a centimeter each year, so they estimated it could have been in him for 10 to 12 years without them knowing.
“They told us it’s called the silent killer because you rarely have any symptoms until it’s too late,” Yvonne, 67, said.
“All of his family had heart problems, not cancer,” Yvonne continued. “It hit us right between the eyes and was unreal. We don’t know what the future holds, but we’ll stay positive and fight with him until he’s fully cured.”
That family history of heart problems actually sped up the timetable on Bussell’s treatment. He was experiencing some chest pressure May 25 and was taken to the VA to get it checked out. He had two stents inserted into an artery to open it and improve blood flow.
“The doctors said I was going to need the stents and go through stress tests on my heart before I could get anything done about the cancer,” Bussell said. “Now my treatment has been moved up several weeks. It’s a very good thing it happened and I thank God they could deal with it sooner.”
Bussell can use the VA hospital because he served 17 years of active duty with the Army. He emphasized he loves the treatment he has received from the hospital, especially because the facility can draw on services from Moffitt Cancer Center. He said his doctors do not have a set plan yet for how to attack the cancer, but will have a better idea in the next two weeks.
One of the things that has kept Bussell positive throughout the ordeal is his faith.
“I grew up in a very religious family and so did my wife,” Bussell said. “All my faith is in God and Jesus Christ. If I didn’t have my faith it would be a lot harder for me right now and I wouldn’t be as positive that I’m going to beat this thing.”
Bussell’s positive attitude has made it less painful for his family.
“I’m really glad he has a positive attitude,” said Bussell’s grandson Michael Bussell III. “It makes things easier on the family. We haven’t dealt with anything like this as a family and hs attitude helps us all.”
Michael III, 14, lives in Sarasota. He was visiting his grandfather in Zephyrhills just after graduating from middle school to give Bussell as much support as he could.
Bussell and Yvonne have two children, Michelle and Michael Bussell Jr. The family moved to Zephyrhills in 1988 and said he is most pleased of bringing in some pockets of land to the city.
“We added several enclaves during my time with the city council and that is what I’m most proud of,” Bussell said. “The areas had all the benefits from the city, like police and fire protection, but they weren’t part of the city.”
An enclave is an area of land not officially part of a city that is completely surrounded by that metropolis. Such areas benefit from city services like police and fire protection without paying into the tax base.
Zephyrhills city clerk Linda Boan said 18 enclaves were added during Bussell’s term.
“I thought I always wanted to get into politics and give back to the community,” Bussell said. “It turned out to be much more than a part-time job like they told me originally.”
Besides being on the council, Bussell owned Mike’s Sending Place, which shipped packages around the world. He also got involved with the American Cancer Society (ACS) Zephyrhills Relay 4 Life in 2002. That relay raised $69,000 and work done by the ACS may help in Bussell’s treatment.
“This isn’t going to beat me,” Bussell said of his diagnoses. “I won’t let it.”
