PRESCOTT — On June 8, Prescott Mayor Mike Gerke is expected to make a proclamation that establishes June 18 of every year as a day to honor the late Bryson McGrath, who died of pediatric cancer after a battle that lasted over 1,000 days in September 2025.

Bryson, who was 5 years old at the time of his passing, was diagnosed in 2022 with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma. He was given a poor prognosis, but his family did not let that stop them. Bryson went through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to the point where no evidence of disease was found. After three months in remission, Bryson relapsed, dealing with further surgeries and new tumors that had grown, bringing on high-dose chemotherapy. In April 2024, Bryson’s cancer was found to be incurable, and he was given a few months to live. The family did not stop fighting, moving to San Diego with relatives, finding a Los Angeles doctor that specialized in his type of cancer. The doctor helped Bryson’s months turn into a year and a half before he died.

“It means a lot. The biggest fears a parent or mother could have, besides losing a child, is their child being forgotten. He’s supposed to grow up,” Bryson’s mother Lillian McGrath said of the mayor’s proclamation. “This is a very tight-knit community, and when he was diagnosed, they really rallied around us. They donated money and did things for us like paid our rent, did our laundry. Just kind things for us, and we really wanted to thank the community, but also keep his memory alive.”

Bryson is known by his loved ones as Goose because his older brother Paxton called him Brycey, which turned into Bryce, then Bruce Goose and eventually Goose. He was also a silly guy, fitting the name Goose. He loved going to the beach, eating ice cream and having a laugh, but most of all, he loved watching trains go across Prescott’s railroad bridge.

“We want that day to be a day that, obviously, we remember him, but also a day for people to do something in his honor, to do something silly or to do something that he liked,” McGrath said. “Grab an ice cream cone, go down by the beach, go watch the train tracks; his favorite foods were spaghetti, donuts, Taco Bell steak quesadillas and he liked to play outside.”

He loved the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani as well as playing Roblox and Minecraft with his brother. June 18 was his birthday, and McGrath hopes his memory of being silly and having fun carry on for years to come.

Every school year, the Prescott teacher who corresponds with what grade Bryson would have been in will hold up his picture to honor him. When Bryson would have graduated, the school will put a photo up with the rest of the seniors at the football field to remember him. The baseball team will retire No. 18 in honor of his birthday, and a banner for him will be raised at the Malone field. McGrath hopes a bench to memorialize Bryson is installed at the riverfront by the train tracks, because the Prescott tracks are the place that Bryson first fell in love with trains.

McGrath plans to make a hashtag for Bryson’s day, encouraging people to remember his name, but also do something that makes them laugh.

The family also started a non-profit called Derail Childhood Cancer, a name that honors Bryson’s love of trains.
“He was obsessed with trains, hence the name Derail Childhood Cancer, so that would mean a lot for us. He loved the water, he loved swimming, he loved the beach and, obviously, he loved trains. That train specifically is what got him interested in trains since we live right by it,” McGrath said.

Donations and gifts allowed the McGrath family to not work a single day during Bryson’s two-and-a-half years of treatment, spending every day with Bryson. Now, they want to give that opportunity to others, starting up a non-profit that supports families experiencing pediatric cancer financially and emotionally. They are trying not to limit what Derail Childhood Cancer does for families. They want to pay for people’s living expenses, give them groceries and care packages and provide them with end-of-life doulas that help them through the process of losing a family member. For more information, visit www.derailcc.org.

“We really just want to keep his name active in the community. We want people to say his name and spread awareness for childhood cancer as well, because it’s not rare. People will tell you it’s rare. It’s not rare,” McGrath said.

McGrath said their hospice experience was “absolutely terrible,” so this is a chance to make the fight just a little bit easier for others.

“I want to be every version of the person that I didn’t have on that journey,” McGrath said. “We just want to help any way we can. We want to give back.”

“Raising awareness one, obviously, informs people, and two, gets the word out there about how chronically underfunded childhood cancer is,” McGrath said. “In 60-plus years, there hasn’t been developments in pediatric cancer.”

McGrath said not a single chemotherapy round Bryson received was designed for children; every one he received was older than his grandparents and many were not initially approved to treat his specific type of cancer. She said children treated for cancer often experience lifelong effects like fertility issues and bone damage. Bryson faced hearing loss, lost the ability to walk, lost his hair and lost a kidney. The family hopes to raise awareness to research treatment methods that are less toxic for children and more effective. About 4% of federal cancer research funding goes toward pediatric cancer, which is then divided further into each specific type.

“Bryson died waiting for a clinical trial to be funded. Had that trial been funded, he would have been able to enroll in it and potentially have lived longer or maybe even lived,” McGrath said.

The McGrath family goes to Washington D.C. every year for Action Days to advocate for childhood cancer funding. They have met with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Derrick Van Orden, showing them pictures of Bryson after his death to display how difficult it is for families that are impacted.

They also go to D.C. for Cure Fest, where the city is covered in yellow in support of families dealing with pediatric cancer. About 2,000 shoes are placed at the Washington Monument each year to honor those that have died from pediatric cancer during the year.

“It’s just really eye-opening to see that. To see how devastating it is, but to also advocate and meet other families,” McGrath said. “That’s the one thing that I will say I am thankful for after all this is the people you meet along the way. The families that are also going through it… Unless you know it, you don’t know it. When you meet families that know what you’re going through, that’s huge.”

McGrath encouraged people to remember Bryson, get second opinions from doctors and always advocate for their children at the hospital, because families know their children. The June 8 Prescott City Council meeting that will feature Bryson’s proclamation will be at 6 p.m. at City Hall (800 Borner St.)