Veteran, Survivor, Advocate — Shawn Morgan’s Leukemia Journey

In this episode of Veteran Cancer Talk, Ashton sits down with Army veteran and leukemia survivor Shawn Morgan.

After multiple deployments to Iraq and years of potential toxic exposure, Shawn began experiencing unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, and other warning signs. In June 2024, he was diagnosed with leukemia and quickly began an intense treatment journey that included chemotherapy, long hospital stays, and a stem cell transplant from his brother.

Shawn shares what the experience was like for him and his family, the challenges of treatment, and the lessons he learned along the way. Today, he is focused on advocacy—encouraging veterans to prioritize their health, seek early detection, and speak up for themselves during medical care.

His story is one of resilience, support, and turning survivorship into purpose.

 00:00 Welcome to Veteran Cancer Talk
 02:28 Military Service and Deployments
 05:33 Toxic Exposure and Cancer Risk
 10:47 The Road to Diagnosis
 16:37 Chemotherapy and Hospital Treatment
 19:31 Family Impact and Support
 22:27 Stem Cell Transplant and Recovery
 25:37 Early Detection and Veteran Health
 27:16 Advocacy and Helping Other Veterans
 28:47 Advice for Others Facing Cancer 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Veteran Cancer Talk by the Veteran Cancer Network. And I'm your host, Ashton. And today I'm joined by Sean Morgan, Army veteran, leukemia cancer survivor, and veteran advocate. Welcome, Sean.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Hey, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Yeah. So um go ahead and uh just tell me a little bit about your uh military service. Why, why the Army and where where all of you been?

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Yeah, absolutely. So uh growing up in North Texas, I uh after graduating high school, I decided I was gonna try my hand at college. Uh went to college for a few years, and while I was in school, really decided that uh that wasn't for me. Um didn't didn't do too well and um was was looking for an adventure, and that's how I ended up in the army. Um a friend of mine said he was gonna join. I was like, hey man, I'll just go with you. And uh, you know, signed up that summer, shipped off back in 2004 to Fort Benning, to the land of the infantry. Uh from there after graduating, I went to uh Fort Lewis, Washington and spent a majority of my time at Fort Lewis, Washington, um, in the 4-2 Strucker Brigade that was there, and then finished up my time in the Army as a drill sergeant uh before getting medically retired.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Goodness. So tell me a little bit about uh you know some of the places that you've been to, um specifically ones that might have had some some toxic exposure in your in your past.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Absolutely. Um so I did deploy to Iraq uh multiple times, so so three times during my uh enlistment, um, which I you know kind of all over the place we were um you know in Baghdad, we were in northern Iraq, um, caravanned across Iraq. So I I don't know if there's one place I could, you know, point specifically, but I think during that time, you know, like many others, I'm assuming, you know, the contaminants that we came in touch with were probably numerous and and unknown. And with leukemia, one of one of the driving factors is exposure to benzene. And I I spent many years in the back of a striker exhaust, you know, dealing with with fuel and stuff like that, um, and around those vehicles for a majority of my career. So I I'm not saying that, you know, that's definitely the the cause, but benzene is is highly linked to uh leukemia. And you know, as a betting man, I would say probably a good indicator of of that toxic exposure.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Now, did you have a history of you know, I guess, leukemia in your uh in your family, or was this uh an anomaly?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

No, this is an anomaly as far as I know. I mean, I think it within my family there, you know, have been some other um different maybe types of cancer, but but no one I I've known in my family had has ever been diagnosed with leukemia um within that I'm aware of.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Now, when you were you know on deployments in the back of the striker and you know, just kind of just doing your job, did you ever, you know, worry about toxic exposure or anything that you know is kind of you're inhaling or eating or drinking?

SPEAKER_01 2:59

No, I absolutely not. I mean, we were 20-year-old kids, you know, running and running around and getting to do awesome things, right? Jumping out of strikers and and shooting guns and and blowing things up, and then you know, all that time spent there. I honestly never never crossed my mind. Um, and then even you know, deploying, like I I can remember uh, you know, burning things over there, you know, we were definitely in some austere conditions, you know, sleeping in the sand, like there's no telling what we were sleeping in. Um opening things. I mean, I don't know how many times we probably went in somewhere and we're like, hey, what's in this barrel? Let's like open it up and you know, stick your head in there, right? Like, um, so then no, not not at all. And and that's the crazy thing is that when I think you're younger, um, and there wasn't also any awareness either. Like, you know, they're not telling you, uh, hey, you know, be cautious, let's check this out, right? I I don't think that awareness, you know, this this is going back 20 something years ago. So um hopefully we've gotten better about that, but I I can tell you that never crossed my mind.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

I think the only thing that I was really worried about in Iraq and Afghanistan was malaria, since that's what the military was sitting there pushing those malaria pills or you know, possible anthrax or you know, so we had the multiple anthrax vaccines or the smallpox vaccines, but I didn't really think anything of you know the the sand or anything else that you know we were sitting there breathing in, and definitely not the burn pits. I just thought that was fun to be able to go and throw whatever we could find in the in the burn pit and watch it burn. Now, for um, you know, for you, so you you were medically retired. Was that due to your cancer or was it just a different, you know, different type of you know, injury that that caused that retirement?

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah, it great question. So it was a totally different injury. So I I got out of the military in 2014. Um and and of course my cancer diagnosis didn't come until way later on. But um in 2007, uh we we were doing a route clearance convoy, and uh my platoon was ambushed. Uh I was at the back catch of the striker and was actually shot by a sniper uh through my right shoulder and uh spent some time, was evacuated, you know, through Germany, uh on to the United States, did some recovery, and then um ended up going back to Iraq a couple times after that. And as I as I got older in my military career, you know, I definitely had got out and was starting to have you know those issues, and that's what led to my uh medical retirement um was you know the effects really from from being shot in my shoulder and and the stuff that comes along with that.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

You know, I I obviously when you join, that's always a risk of of being able to get shot at, but I don't know if I would want to go back a couple of times. I think after the the first time being shot at might want to just stay, you know, stay here back in America. Goodness bless you. And and I'm so glad that you're still here.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

My friends thought I was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

I mean, I'm not I'm not gonna say it, you know, that's your friends that said it, but um there might there might be some uh you know similarities there. Now go ahead and talk to me about leading up to your leukemia diagnosis. Did you know something was going on? Like how how did you get diagnosed and and did I mean were the symptoms there?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Yeah, I I think you know, starting out, I I'll tell you, so I was diagnosed June 2nd, 2024. Um, but but back that up about six weeks. So um leukemia uh kind of symptoms start to present themselves, especially with AML, you know, beforehand before that diagnosis. And um, like any any military person, um, you know, I had started getting like tired, and um, you know, that was kind of the first thing was the fatigue. Uh is I would take a nap after work, and my wife's like, what is wrong with you? You're like sleeping like two, three hours after work. Um I was like, you know, maybe like I just don't feel good. I got a flu. I'm gonna take some Tylenol, right? What is it, like 800 millimeter milligram ibuprofen that we all take? Um so that was kind of the first presenting thing, and and then it kind of started to progress of where I was starting to get shortness of breath. Well, then I would find a reason, like, oh hey, I was around somebody that had, I think had COVID. Like that's maybe I'm like I have COVID, like, but I'm not gonna go to the doctor. And and before that, I was always kind of afraid to go to the doctor because I was like, I'm gonna go to the doctor and they're gonna tell me I have cancer at some point in my life. So that was kind of always a joke, I think, that came back and and and got me. So so that kind of started, and and it was getting to the point where like I couldn't walk, like my heart would start seizing up. And and this is several weeks later, and my wife's like, You have got to go to the doctor. And I was like, All right, I'll make an appointment, um, which I put off. So it started to progress, like flut I would be flossing my teeth, and just like excess blood would be coming out of my mouth, and I'm like, hey, like, you know, I just haven't flossed my teeth in a while. So I was always like making these excuses, and it I kind of bruised a little bit, and and at no point did cancer ever cross my mind until we were we were sitting there uh June 2nd. It was my daughter's third birthday. My my brother comes in, um, he he's a uh firefighter EMT and is like, hey, I'm taking you to the hospital, get in the car. Like, there is literally something wrong with you. And and people have said I just wasn't looking good. And um he takes me to the hospital. Uh, I walk in, I'm telling him about my heart. I'm thinking I'm having like a heart attack, and they're like, hey, let's let's do some heart test on you. They do that, they don't find anything. Um, and then they come back and like, hey, we gotta run your, we're gonna test your blood. And immediately, I I'm telling you, five minutes later, they came in with with platelets and plasma and said, We don't know how you're breathing right now. They my platelets were almost zero, my white blood cells were crazy, my my red blood cells were were non-existent. And uh they're like, you either have a severe infection or you have cancer. And and that's kind of what led they threw me in an ambulance and took me to the hospital. Um, and I started chemo three days later. And that's uh that's what got me to today.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Wow. Now, did you go through the the VA healthcare system or was this all civilian?

SPEAKER_01 9:10

It was all civilian. I uh was was taken to medical city here in Dallas, um, which is was a godsend. They they've been just such an amazing I've got one of the best doctors in in the state of Texas or the country, um, who is also an air, he's an Air Force veteran from the Desert Storm era. So um I I was blessed there, but all my care um because leukemia also wasn't um on the presumptive list for the PACT Act at that time. Um, so luckily I had TRICARE and private health insurance through my employer.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

I mean, that had to have been, you know, really scary for the family as well. Uh and I know that you said that you have a three-year-old and obviously you're married. How how was that conversation? How'd that conversation go when you, you know, had to call your family and let them know what was going on?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Yeah, very scary. You know, I left my daughter's birthday and didn't get to see her for over 30 days because she's young, she wasn't allowed in the hospital. Wife immediately followed the ambulance uh while my my other family, you know, my luckily I had my brother and his wife and my mother there to take our daughter, but my wife went straight to the hospital with me. And and it was really, you know, I don't want to say it was great, but you know, some of the people that were most important in my life were there with me when they told me I had cancer in the room. Um, so that made it a lot easier to me to, you know, not have to repeat that to them. Uh we we all heard it together and and we just dove in and and went for it.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

So what was the treatment like? You know, I know you said that you spent 30 days in the hospital, but when it comes to the chemotherapy, what what was the regimen? You know, what were some of the effects that you had?

SPEAKER_01 10:47

So with leukemia, uh it's normally the same. So you kind of start with the um with the induction phase. So I immediately started, I had a regimen of three um different types of chemotherapy drugs, uh, cytarabine, collater bean, and I can't remember the other one. Um, but that was given to me over seven days immediately, and then I spent uh 30 days after that week, it was three weeks recovering enough to be able to come home. And and over that summer uh that year, I was in and out of the hospital three times a week, you know, getting transfusions, getting platelets, and then I went in uh three, I had to do three separate weeks of a week-long chemotherapy as well during the consolidation phase to to prepare me for my stem cell transplant. Um so you know, lots of lots of platelets, lots of red blood cells and hemoglobin, um, many hours uh sitting uh in in the infusion clinic, and I was even uh diagnosed with leukemia in my uh spinal fluid, um, which which can happen. So then I was also uh having to have uh chemotherapy through my head. Um I've got a a thing they call an Omaya put in there to uh to be able to treat the leukemia that was in my spinal fluid at the same time. So I was kind of doing like two separate versions of chemotherapy, and this all led up to my stem cell transplant.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Now, I know a lot of people have a misconception, you know, when it comes to chemotherapy. You know, a lot of people thought, I mean, I talk to people all the time and they say, is this in-person uh or not in person inpatient, or is this, you know, outpatient? So I know for my husband it was outpatient. What was what was yours like?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Yeah, I I was totally impatient. Um, every every time that they did chemotherapy, I had to spend a week in the hospital. Um, so it was, you know, the first 30 days and then three separate weeks throughout the summer. And then uh my stem cell transplant, I had to spend another 30 days in the hospital back uh November of 2025. Um, and then in between that I would get the the chemo injected into my head. Um that that was kind of my only outpatient, and then of course on like maintenance drugs and stuff like that. Um, but yeah, any any time I got any of it, I I had to go stay in the hospital.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Were you on FMLA or uh you know on the days that you weren't you know in treatment, were you able to work? I mean, what what would what did that look like?

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Well eighth, when I when I initially, I mean I was I was so sick that like I I mean there was days I couldn't get out of bed, and I'm sure you guys understand that. I I did take that time off. I think I was off for about six months um initially, you know, thank goodness for VA disability and you know good insurance and to be able to step up and take care of stuff. Uh but the rest of the time, like when I would go in for my week, like I had sick time that I could take. Um and I was back to work, you know, um working. And and I really tell you, I think working in the hospital uh helped keep me sane. Like I just didn't sit there all day and watch TV, you know. I would I would work as much as I could. Um and to me that that's what kept me driving forward because um I I love to help people and that's what I do, and and it gave me that sense of of just being able to escape, you know, uh sitting there connected to this pole that I gotta drag around everywhere with me.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Goodness. Now, did your doctors try to encourage, you know, movement or or you know, did they tell you just to kind of you know either lay down and and rest or sit and rest? What what did that look like?

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Uh movement. I was I was up moving, I I would get up and you know, you can only I'd probably walk that hallway, I don't know, 15, 20 times a day, you know, in in a loop, you know, trying trying to at least get a mile a day, dragging this, you know, ginormous pole around with me everywhere. But that, you know, being able to get out, um, you know, you can't leave the floor, so you can only you know see the same door so many times. But the the movement definitely helped, and I think that's what's continued to help, uh, especially during my transplant. Like once, you know, staying moving, not you know, letting the muscles kind of of heal themselves.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

For those that are, you know, are expecting to go through chemotherapy, what are some of the symptoms you know that can happen happen after you know, like during chemo, after chemo, you know, uh, you know, basically just how how did you feel and what should they expect?

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah, they uh not being hungry, I'll tell you that. There are certain foods now that I I will not eat um after being in the hospital, but I think the fatigue, um, you know, get ready for your skin to look weird. Um, I've got spots that that come up all the time. Uh go ahead and shave your head. I think for me, the you know, I was losing my hair once it kind of started coming out. I was like, all right, I'm not playing this game. Um, you know, it's it the tiredness and then you know being cautious of of what you can eat and can't eat and be around, I think I became a lot more aware of like protecting myself. Um, you know, I think during COVID, I was like, I'm not gonna wear a mask, but now I'm like, all right, I'm going around some like you know, a place that I'm gonna be around some people. I probably should put a mask on, um, you know, carrying hand sanitizer and stuff like that. But I think chemo just affects everybody so differently um that you you just have to go by day by day and and know that it's okay to like take the day off, like, hey, I don't feel well, like I'm going to stay in bed today. And I think that was what was hard for me to to kind of do that switch, right? Like, hey, I don't feel good today, I'm I'm gonna hang out.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

So how important was it for you to have your you know, have your wife with you during this? Like, what was what was her role in this? How did how did you both get through this together?

unknown 16:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Well, I'd say the biggest role she had, I think, is when I got diagnosed, I was hungry. So she uh I have a picture of me eating pizza in the back of the ambulance um while she was following me. So being able to get me food was was one of the big things. But um just her being there and being able to step in and be my advocate, uh, you know, at the times like I wasn't feeling the best. And I'll tell you, my wife, absolutely amazing. We were actually in the middle of selling our house and moving to a new house when when this all happened. Like we were like packing our house up and had to be out in three weeks uh and to move into like an Airbnb before we could move into our new house. And my wife, bless her heart, like she did this, you know, had our kids, you know, um, got us moved out, you know, and and supported by her family and mine, and got us into our new house and closed on it and had everything set up. So when I came from the hospital, you know, I I got to come home. And um, but throughout that time, I mean, she was just by my side, you know, being my rock that I can lean on and coming to visit me and and coordinating our life. I think that, you know, being not being home, having to manage work, your kids, your sick husband, I mean, she just did phenomenal job.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

I love that. So I want to talk about you know, your your kids, you know, and and how you know how that played, how it impacted them, you know, because this is not too long ago, this is not even two years ago that that you went through this. So, first of all, how you know, how did everything play out with um, you know, telling them, did you tell them, or you know, was it more of a you know, dad's sick, he's gonna be gone for a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Yeah, I think so. Crazy enough during this whole time we actually had a kid as well. So I had when I when I got diagnosed, we had our our one daughter, um, and and my oldest daughter was away at school too. But we we had our our youngest daughter who turned three, and the last time she saw me was at her birthday party, right? And and dad doesn't come home. And then my wife was pregnant at the time. So we, you know, the youngest, you know, being able to FaceTime is is amazing, you know, being able to see her. And and she was kind of used to me traveling for work as well. So um, you know, it was hard on her. She definitely would would have some meltdowns and stuff like that because you know, dad's not here to help tuck me in bed, and and she didn't understand why she couldn't come see me in the hospital and so forth. But you know, like I said, FaceTime definitely helped out. And then, you know, our our baby was born. I'd actually just got out of the hospital um for some chemo. My my other daughter was born a couple weeks later, and then I had to, the week after she was born, I had to go into the hospital again for for some treatment. Um, so you know, for her, uh I she's never gonna remember that. But I I think my little one, it really took some adjusting because you know she couldn't climb in my lap, she couldn't jump on me. Um, you know, she likes to drink after you, right? And and it was those things that like she just couldn't do anymore. And and she still sometimes doesn't understand, like, hey, dad's tired, like I I can't come do something with you. Um, but but we try to make the most of it and and and she's good. And you know, like I said, the our oldest child, um, she was really helpful as well in being able to, you know, uh entertain and do stuff like that. So um it's it's a struggle. And I when you can't see your kids and and they just don't understand, you know, life changes in in the flash of an eye.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Oh, it absolutely does. So uh kind of going back a little bit to the the diagnosis period, you you said that there were symptoms, that there were signs, you know. How important is early detection?

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Oh, I I I couldn't be the biggest supporter of it nowadays. Um, I, you know, if I would have been going to the doctor and doing follow-ups, like I I could have probably caught this earlier. Um, so you know, I think nowadays, especially with the VA and the PACT Act and everything that's out there, um, I I don't think, you know, I was diagnosed at 40. I I don't think it's an age thing. I think if if you were in the military and and had been around at like go to the doctor, get tested, you know, do routine checkups. Um and I think the popularity is gonna grow for the awareness, but um I I think a lot of different cancers, not just leukemia, can be caught way earlier. Um, or or you have those biomarkers. Like I was uh watching a video last night of you know personalized medicine and stuff, but you know, there there's things in our body that can tell us that, hey, something's not right, you know, I maybe need to take some lifestyle changes or or see a doctor that hopefully we could save some lives if if more people could get behind the early detection and and going to their doctor and getting those routine checkups.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Absolutely. So where are you at now? I mean, obviously you're post-chemo and stem cell and and everything. What's the surveillance like, or is there surveillance? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 21:30

So I celebrated uh in November, they call it your rebirth day. So, you know, I'm over uh one year, so I think I'm like 400 days and some change uh post post transplant, which is amazing. Um, I have followed up on my second round of uh shots. So when you get a stem cell transplant, they pretty much take you to like infancy. So like you have no, you know, they kill your immune system, right? So like we were joking that my uh My daughter that was born in September is older than me, technically, right? Um she's like a month or two older. Um her immune system is stronger. Um now I'm like getting the shots, you know, that you get as a kid. Like I so I have to do three rounds of those every couple months. And and I just finished my second round. Um, which going through that, I'm like, man, is this what our kids experience? Getting these shots like this hurts. Getting all these shots in your arms. And uh so I'm good. I've got one more round of shots, and then they'll continue to monitor. I'll still be on um some cancer-specific meds to help, you know, hopefully mitigate my mutations that I had with AML. Um, I I'm on some still like transplant medicine to help uh the transplant continue where my body doesn't fight it. Um I I I do suffer for some graft versus host disease, which is common uh with people that have received a stem troll stem cell transplant. So, you know, I take some medicine and stuff for that. Umce I get these shots in March, you know, hopefully that's kind of the the big point where um, you know, I get to go to the doctor less. It's more of a monitoring and kind of a maintenance phase, and and we'll go from there. I I feel healthy, I feel strong. It's just been amazing. I can't believe the human body is amazing. I can't believe where I'm at today, you know, versus where I was almost two years ago.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Oh, absolutely. Now, I a lot of people think of cancer and they just think worst case scenario, obviously you're a testament, you know, you're here, you're still fighting, you're still advocating. Um, but what were some of the, I guess, and I hate to say it like this, but some of the positive things that came out from from all of this or some of those silver linings that, you know, you kind of look back on and be like, man, this this actually was worth it.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

Well, you know, uh, I went from, you know, only probably having if I wouldn't have gone to the hospital that day, they they said I probably had about five days left with maybe with you know what what was left in my body, um, which was amazing that I was like being able to walk and talk and and do the things that I was doing. I was loading furniture, you know, to move our house. Um, so I I think the first thing for me is like I said, the human body is just does amazing things, um, which also, you know, show the perseverance and the resiliency that I think we have as as service members, right? Like, you know, I I will say while I was in the hospital, like deployments probably helped me out the most because I I treated it as such. Like I was routined, I you know, got up and and it helped me keep my sanity for why while I was in there. Um, you know, I I lost 40 something pounds. I I was, you know, overweight and um not the way you want to lose weight, but it definitely you know helped help me be healthier now, right? And and and really the positive is like I've changed my lifestyle, you know, it's it's allowed me a second opportunity to spend time with my kids and my family and just uh look at life differently and and be an advocate for others. And I this problem is gonna continue to grow, and I think it's given me the um the courage to be able to help everybody else. And you know, I I heard something recently that said, you know, this doctor was talking about that, like it's you know, we think the goal is survivorship, but the goal really should be to live, and and I think that's really hit me lately. And and I just want to be a positive influence and help out where I can and just live my life. And um I know it's gonna be managed daily, um, but I want to do the best I can. And I can't. I you you gotta be strong, you gotta be positive and and know that you're going to beat it.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

I love that. Now tell me a little bit about the advocacy work that you're doing surrounding uh, you know, your your lived experiences.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Um, you know, connecting with you guys, uh, you know, being able to help support your cause and and you know, helping other veterans, you know, I've started to get involved um in in some other things. Um my brother, who was actually my stem cell donor, um is a firefighter and and firefighters suffer from uh extreme cases of cancer just like veterans do. Um and you know, being able to get him involved as well, you know, we've helped and got connected through some old friends uh that you know helping to advocate for firefighters. We're we're going to a conference here in in Fort Worth next month to be able to meet some other people and looking for opportunities, connecting with other organizations where you know we can we can help publicize this and and get more awareness around veterans, getting to the VA, getting them connected with the PACD Act, getting their cancer service connected. So I I think there's a lot of opportunities and just creating a network of support because that supports what got me through this, and we're here to support other people.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

I love that. So before we uh before we leave, tell me one thing that you want somebody else to know that is going through cancer right now or about to start on their journey, something that you wish that you knew going into it.

SPEAKER_01 27:07

I would say, you know, learn learn what's going on so that way you can you can advocate for yourself and be informed to help the decision making. It is your treatment. Um I would say that find a network of people, you know, reach out to people. That I wish that's something I would have done maybe a little sooner. Um my family, we kind of kept it private for for probably about a month where only certain um close people knew what was going on. And and I kind of regret that. I I wish I would have had more visitors when I was in the hospital. Um, I wish I would have talked to more people. And I and you know, I know it's hard to be positive in that light, but you know, you you you gotta be positive, you gotta try to stay strong. Um and take pictures. I that's something I regret. Uh I I think I told you that the first time we met. Like, I didn't take enough pictures. Like, you know, looking back on it, you know, sometimes I I think I'm like, man, you remember that day? And then I I want to see the picture of it to just show like what the difference was or something like that. Um and I didn't do that. I I think I was I was dead set on on getting through it and and just some things that I didn't want to do. Um I think that you know looking back on it, that's probably something I regret a little bit. But yeah, be be your advocate. Um don't be afraid to say no. Um, you know, find find some people, reach out for help, talk to somebody. Um, there's plenty of people there, um, whether they're in the hospital, there's many organizations that are cancer specific. And you know, if you're a veteran, there there's a ton of help out there for you as well.

SPEAKER_00 28:39

No, solid advice. Well, Sean, thank you so much for joining the Veteran Cancer Talk. I hope to be able to uh see you soon whenever I uh head out to Texas. But thank you again for being on the show.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you uh to you and your husband, and you guys are doing great things out here and and continue to keep up the hard work.