Father of five on life after cancer: ‘Everything feels so good and rich and valuable’

By Mayo Clinic employees

Within the fall of 2020, Gary McCracken observed a swollen lymph node close to the higher left facet of his neck. He initially did not suppose a lot of it.

“I grew a beard for deer season and forgot all about it,” he says with a chuckle.

After Thanksgiving, when Gary shaved his beard, the gland was nonetheless swollen. “There is a video of me enjoying guitar at church, and it appears like I swallowed a baseball,” he says.

That is when the Hayward, Wisconsin, resident determined to get checked out.

“I went into the native clinic. The physician who examined me stated it was in all probability nothing, however I ought to have a biopsy to make certain,” Gary says.

He was despatched for a needle biopsy. When that biopsy uncovered suspicious cells, Gary was referred to an ear, nostril and throat specialist in Duluth for additional investigation.

“The ENT stated, ‘You recognize, you do not want that gland, so let’s simply take it out,'” Gary says.

Gary agreed. On Feb. 17, 2021, he had the lymph node eliminated. Two days later, he acquired a name that made it clear he was not out of the woods and in the end would wish extra specialised care.

Sharing the information, conserving his religion

“The physician stated, ‘I did not suppose I used to be going to say this, however you’ve most cancers someplace in your physique, and the cells have gotten into your lymph system and proven up on this gland,'” Gary recollects of the day he acquired the follow-up name.

Regardless of the heart-wrenching information, Gary placed on a courageous face for his spouse of 42 years and his 5 youngsters.

“I attempted to downplay my analysis to my household and say it is not that massive of a deal, however we’re an in depth household, and we walked by way of it collectively,” he says. “I am additionally an individual of religion, in order that carried me by way of.”

“I attempted to downplay my analysis to my household and say it is not that massive of a deal, however we’re an in depth household, and we walked by way of it collectively,” he says. “I am additionally an individual of religion, in order that carried me by way of.”

Gary McCracken

Inspired by his household and his religion, Gary continued to remain constructive whereas he underwent extra testing to attempt to establish the supply of the most cancers.

His native care crew was unable to find the most cancers with imaging. In order that they despatched him to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for additional examination.

Experiencing the Mayo Clinic magic

Gary remembers the second he arrived at Mayo Clinic. Navigating the huge campus appeared daunting initially, however he shortly discovered what makes Mayo Clinic magical: the folks.

“The folks there are so useful. It is simply so astounding how accommodating they’re to exit of their means to assist guests navigate and really feel relaxed,” Gary says. “It makes for such a constructive and fantastic expertise from the minute you stroll in.”

However Gary’s gratitude for Mayo Clinic extends far past the nice and cozy welcome he acquired when he bought to campus. Specialists labored collectively to uncover the supply of Gary’s most cancers and deal with it.

Gary was seen by the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgical procedure (ENT) Oropharynx Multidisciplinary Clinic crew, together with specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, dentistry and speech remedy, inside sooner or later of arriving at Mayo Clinic. Then he went to the working room the place Eric Moore, M.D.chair of Otorhinolaryngology, and supervisor-physician assistant Eliot Martin, carried out exploratory robotic surgical procedure.

“They defined that they’d take a scope down my throat and begin accumulating items of tissue to ship to Pathology whereas I used to be nonetheless beneath,” Gary says. “And they might do that till they discovered the most cancers.”

It did not take lengthy for them to seek out the supply. Situated within the tonsil tissue in the back of Gary’s tongue was a cancerous, pea-sized tumor.

“It was so small that it did not present up on any of the scans I had earlier than coming to Mayo Clinic,” Gary says. “As soon as they discovered it, they reduce me from ear to Adam’s apple and took out the remaining 39 lymph nodes on the left facet of my neck.”

When Gary got here out of anesthesia, his crew advised him the information: They not solely efficiently discovered and eliminated the cancerous tumor, however he additionally wouldn’t want chemotherapy or radiation.

“It was the absolute best end result. We had a touching, tearful second there. I used to be mendacity within the hospital mattress, each specialists have been there — it was actually fantastic,” Gary says.

“It was the absolute best end result. We had a touching, tearful second there. I used to be mendacity within the hospital mattress, each specialists have been there — it was actually fantastic,” Gary says.

Gary McCracken

“My spouse and I are simply so thrilled with the compassion and care of everybody concerned, from the medical doctors to the nurses who would are available in at evening,” he says. “Such a giant half is to maintain a constructive outlook to battle no matter you are going by way of, they usually simply helped a lot with that.”

Recovering and looking out ahead to his future

Gary says life has been “surprisingly easy” since recovering from surgical procedure. He was house inside a couple of days of the process and had full operate after a couple of weeks.

“I used to be consuming pretty shortly and had little or no ache,” Gary says.

Now that he is absolutely recovered, he plans to benefit from day-after-day he has left. To him, meaning touring across the nation together with his spouse to go to his youngsters, who’re relieved their dad is cancer-free.

“Once I known as and advised them I used to be free and clear, there was this glorious euphoria,” Gary says. “My daughter stated, ‘This might have been the worst 12 months of our lives, and it ended up being a fairly good summer time.'”

Gary agrees.

The cherry on prime of an excellent summer time? A 3-day backpacking journey to Goat Rocks Wilderness within the Cascade Mountain vary of Western Washington with Thomas, his second-born son.

“We did some tenting when our youngsters have been youthful, and when Thomas moved to Portland, he bought into backpacking,” Gary says. “I began touring on the market yearly to go together with him, however we needed to skip a couple of instances due to the pandemic.”

With most cancers behind him, Gary has a deeper appreciation for these adventures and the on a regular basis moments in his life.

“It truly is true what folks say after they expertise one thing like this — the solar shines brighter; the birds sing louder,” Gary says. “Every thing feels so good and wealthy and precious.”

Study extra

Study extra about tonsil cancer and different head and neck cancers.

Find a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic.

Be part of the Head and Neck Cancer Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connecta web-based group for sufferers and caregivers to attach with one another.

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A model of this text initially appeared on the Mayo Clinic News Network.