Country Singer Returns to Action Amid Eye Cancer Treatment
- Country singer Colt Ford is back with new music amid a battle with recently-diagnosed eye cancer.
- Ford had surgery for his eye cancer at the end of April, and now his treatment consists of chemotherapy eye drops. His doctor said if he had waited much longer, he would’ve had to treat the cancer with full chemotherapy.
- This past year has been a tough one for a lot of people, but it’s important to try to keep your head up by focusing on things that make you happy. Studies have shown that cancer patients who take care of their emotional health may have better health outcomes.
Ford, whose real name is Jason Farris Brown, talked to an optometrist after a friend noticed a spot on his eye in March. Per the optometrist’s recommendation, Ford began using eye drops. Unfortunately, the spot only got bigger and Ford’s concern grew.
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“All in all, I got lucky, thank y’all for your prayers and everything,” he said in the video. “The doctor told me I was probably a week to 10 days away from having to do full chemo, so thank god I didn’t have to do that. I’m having to do chemo drops in my eye which, you know, all things considered, ain’t nothing compared to what it could be and what some other people are going through, so I’m trying to be mindful of those other people that are in way different situations than me.”
Ford also shared his excitement for upcoming music in the video. Then on Thursday morning, he released the music video for his new single When Country Comes Back.
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“It’s been quite a year with some tough news, but I’ve never been so glad for Country to be Back!” Ford wrote on Instagram.
Ford also said he’s been having a tough time beyond just dealing with his eye cancer.
“I’m a happy guy and I love being with people and playing my music for people, so lockdown was just brutal for me,” he explained. “I did what I could to pay my band and such, but it just hurt me that I couldn’t do more.”
Ford has now returned to his 41-date “When Country Comes Back” tour, and he’s trying to move forward with a different outlook on life.
“I thought to myself … all the dumb s*** I have done, I could have killed myself multiple times, and this is what is going to take me out?” Ford said. “I know darn well that God never puts anything on you that you can’t handle, but the Lord might have a lot more confidence in me than I thought.”
Understanding Eye Cancer
The term eye cancer can refer to any cancer that originates in the eye. We don’t know Ford’s exact type of cancer, but we do know that melanoma is the most common type of eye cancer.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reports that approximately 2,500 adults are diagnosed with ocular melanoma each year. Their Ocular Melanoma Center also says most ocular melanomas can be difficult to detect because they occur in a part of the eye you can't see. But when symptoms do arise, they can appear as a dark spot on the iris or conjunctiva, blurred or distorted vision, a blind spot in your side vision or the sensation of flashing lights.
"In most cases, these are tumors that are detected upon a routine sight test by your optometrist or your ophthalmologist," Dr. Rizwan Haq, director of the Ocular Melanoma Center at Dana-Farber, said in a video for the center. "Most patients do not experience symptoms when they have a diagnosis of ocular melanoma."
Keeping Busy during Cancer
During your cancer journey, it’s important to try to find happiness as often as you can. Taking care of your emotional health as well as your physical health when living with cancer actually may improve your health outcomes. To better understand the role of emotional health and social support after a cancer diagnosis, we spoke to Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology.
“We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes,” Chase told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "So working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival.”
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Whether that means continuing to work, like Colt Ford, doing yoga or painting a picture, there’s no right or wrong answer. Dr. Chase says trying to do more of whatever activities bring you joy is a great place to start. She recommends writing down ten things that make you happy and intentionally making the time to do those activities throughout the day.
"Sometimes I will talk to a patient about making [a] list of the top ten things that bring them joy," Chase says. "And trying to do those ten things…to make at least 50 percent of their experiences positive throughout the day."
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