Two days before Thanksgiving in 2022, I was diagnosed with mouth and neck cancer. I had my first surgery in my mouth to remove the mass on December 20, 2022. I had my second surgery on my neck lymph nodes on January 21, 2023. From the second week in February 2023 through April 19th, I had radiation therapy every day of the week for eight weeks. I had chemotherapy every Wednesday for seven weeks.

During my first day of radiation therapy, my military comrade technician told me that neck radiation can be the most painful to endure. I am here to tell you that he did not lie. Besides the blistering on my neck and inside my mouth, my throat swelled mostly closed, and I had to feed myself through a feeding tube for over three months.

Three days after I completed both treatments, I was hospitalized for five days for a pulmonary embolism in my lungs (blood clots in the lungs), a side effect of the chemotherapy. Since then, I have been recovering pretty smoothly. On July 21, 2023, I was told I am in remission. I agree with the folks who think being a cancer survivor starts the day you are diagnosed. Every day you stay alive is a victory! – Jack