After fighting throat cancer for five years, John Pearson is finally cancer-free.

Written by Cindy Davidsmeyer, SIU School of Medicine

John Pearson speaks through an electrolarynx with an oral adapter. His distinct voice, generated through a handheld device, is a constant reminder of the throat cancer he was diagnosed with in 2009 after smoking cigarettes for 25 years.

Head and neck cancers similar to Pearson’s account for approximately four percent of all cancers in the United States. They are more common in men and in people over age 50. Pearson, a husband and father of three, urges others not to wait to get screened. “I was diagnosed in 2009. Earlier that year, I had a sore throat and ignored it. It got the point where I couldn’t swallow,” he explains.

After being diagnosed with throat cancer, Pearson underwent a total laryngectomy and has a stoma/tracheotomy. Five years, 200 hours of surgery, 59 days in the hospital, 35 days of radiation and eight weeks of chemotherapy later, Pearson is cancer-free and determined to make a difference. “If we can get people to stop buying and smoking cigarettes, that will be a gift to me. I caused my cancer. This is a way to make it right,” Pearson says.

Making it “right” for Pearson is volunteering to speak to health classes in Springfield schools about the dangers of smoking. “Once people see me, they will know,” Pearson says, wiping tears from his face. “I pick my daughter up from school, and I see kids smoking. I don’t want them to go through what I went through, what I put my family through.”

Pearson will always speak through the electrolarnyx and carry the scars of the Stage 4 cancer that nearly cost him his life. “My family’s life is forever changed,” the Mattoon native said. “I live every day like it’s my last.”

Should you get screened for head, neck and oral cancer? If you smoke or chew tobacco, consume alcohol regularly or have a family history of head and neck cancer, you are at higher risk and should be tested. Regular check-ups can detect the early stages of head and neck cancer or conditions that may lead to it.

You should also be on the lookout for these warning signs:
• Persistent earache or sore throat
• Difficulty or pain with swallowing
• Hoarseness that lasts more than two weeks
• An ulcer in the mouth or throat that does not heal
• A lump in the neck or thyroid gland
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) positive

If you have any of the warning signs or are at an increased risk of developing head, neck or oral cancer, you should schedule a screening. Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU will offer a free cancer screening performed by SCI head and neck surgeons on Monday, April 13. During the screening, a doctor will take a brief patient history, ask about potential risk factors and look for cancer that affects the ears, nose, mouth, throat, voice box, neck and thyroid gland.

For more information about the free screening, visit http://www.siumed.edu/news/Releases%20FY15/HeadandNeck_CancerScreenings_3-26-15.html.

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