Country singer John Berry, 59 years old, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in January, has good tidings for his throngs of fans: he’s in remission and getting back on stage.
“I’m better than I thought I would be,” Berry said to PopCulture.com. “I’m recovering nicely from this cancer. The treatment was worse than the cancer.”
Read MoreThe event that he’ll be attending post medical check-up is called the “We All Come Together for John Berry and Music Health Alliance” benefit.
The Initial Diagnosis
“We started off this year with just a little bit of a hiccup, and we want to tell you a little bit about that,” he said in a video at the time.”Back in November, when the tour was just getting cranked up, I had a little catch in my throat. Felt exactly like the skin of a Spanish peanut was stuck in my throat,” he said upon first learning he had throat cancer.
“I couldn’t get rid of it,” he continued, “so finally, I got a flashlight and I looked down my throat, and my tonsils were really swollen. I went to see my nurse practitioner, and they put me on a round of steroids and antibiotics. It just never really did seem to improve.”
About 53,000 people will get oral cavity or oropharyngeal (tonsil) cancer in 2019. An estimated 10,860 people will die of these cancers. They are about twice as common in men as they are in women, and about equally common across black and white people.
Smoking and HPV infection can both increase risk for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer. In recent years, there has been an increase in HPV related oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, but a decrease in non-HPV related oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Overall, deaths from these cancers has decreased over the past 30 years.
The tonsils, where Berry’s cancerous tumors were found, are positioned in the back of the throat. The voicebox sits right below the throat, and is also susceptible to throat cancer.
Symptoms of oropharyngeal cancer include a lump in the neck and a sore throat, and it can be detected using tests that examine the mouth and throat including physical scan, CT-Scan, MRI, and biopsy.
“They did a biopsy, sent it off, and we just got a report that it is cancer,” his wife, Robin, shared.
“You don’t see fear on these faces,” she continued. “We have a planned regimen, and John is undergoing treatment for about five weeks. We’ve had to move a couple tour dates around. All is going well. We’re just trusting God to get us through this time. It’s not fun. It’s not something you look forward to at the beginning of your year, but it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
“This particular form of cancer is highly treatable, and has an incredible cure rate,” said the singer.
The New Song, ‘Beautifully Broken’
“Chuck Howard produced all of my hit records over the years. And he produced this movie ‘Beautifully broken.’ And he called me up and he said ‘I got this song I want you to sing in this movie.’ He said ‘It’s just perfect for you.’ And I saw a rough cut of the film, and I was in. I mean the film was just so good. And then I heard the song, and I was like ‘oh yeah, come on,'” Berry said during an interview about his latest release “Beautifully Broken,” accompanying the film of the same name.
“The fact that I’ve been able to do this, to make a living, to provide for my family, we’re not starving, life is good– to have a career, to do something I love to do so much,” he gave a look of gratitude. “Next year will mark the release of my first album, my first little independent record, humble beginnings, came out 40 years ago,” he continued.
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