& so much more
A bi-monthly podcast where we share the stories of our Caregivers, patients and community.
& so much more
From Diagnosis to Joy: Jamie Day on Cancer, Care, and Carrying On
A tumor that seemed to “smile” back in a flashlight’s glare set Jamie Day on a year-long path that tested his body, rewired his priorities, and strengthened every bond that mattered. From the first uneasy swallow after a film festival to the bell that marked the end of treatment, we walk through the raw, funny, and fiercely grateful choices that kept him moving: asking for all the blankets, blasting Mongolian thrash during radiation, and letting two devoted service dogs turn sterile rooms into safe places.
HPV-positive squamous cell throat cancer came with good odds and brutal treatment, seven weeks of radiation and chemo that burned, thinned his beard, and made food a battle. Jamie made a decision early: he wouldn’t “sad sack” the process. He made the clinic a stage for levity, and the staff met him there. Techs leaned in for the day’s soundtrack. Nurses became guides. A nurse advocate unraveled insurance knots at midnight. Front desk faces remembered his name, his jokes, and his dogs. Along the way, he forged symbols to fight by: art of himself on horseback charging the “meatball with tentacles,” a homemade “war hammer,” and the image of two opponents calmly sipping poison until one quits.
The through line is simple and strong: choose who you’ll be when life breaks, let people help, laugh when you can, and ring the bell for everyone still in the fight. If this story moved you, follow the show, share it with someone who needs a lift, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so more people can find it.
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Hi, and welcome to Anne So Much More. I am here with Jamie Day, which might be my new favorite name that I've ever heard. And we um, I say we, you are here to share your experience. You have been on um a cancer journey and it's impacted your life significantly. And you've got, you know, these little guys here to help share this story. But um, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit about yourself first.
SPEAKER_00:Uh Jamie Day. Um I I've I guess I've been on this uh this little trick for about a year. Um, and uh, you know, I'm starting starting to feel much stronger now. So that's you know kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01:So what's the one-year mark?
SPEAKER_00:Um Well, what do you want to call that? My wife's over there, sorry.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, his wife is is off camera, but she's hiding.
SPEAKER_00:I would say we officially ran aground. Uh I grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, everything's sailing terms with me. Uh we ran aground in October. Uh, we came back from a film festival and it had an uncomfortable like thing in my throat. And I had like I thought I had strepter, something like that. And wifey, I asked Wifey to take a look down my throat with a flashlight, and she said, holy expletive. And I mean, what do you mean, holy expletive? And then I took the flashlight and looked in the mirror, I was like, holy expletive. And it was, yeah, it was uh yeah, it was a uh a gruesome little thing growing in the back of my throat.
SPEAKER_01:So you could actually see it.
SPEAKER_00:It was Yeah, it was smiling at me. I didn't like it at all.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I wasn't like that at all either.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so um uh so you know, off we went to I think that that we I had to put so we were training people to ride horses, and I was like, oh, you guys go do your thing, and I'm gonna run over to the emergency room. And uh, we didn't tell anyone why or anything like that. Yeah, but it's funny because as much as like I I believe in like um positive thought, I was like, Yeah, I was like, there's only one thing that looks at you like that and smiles at you. Oh, so you kind of knew you kind of I had a very strong suspicion, and and this one's a little medical genius, so she kind of knew too.
SPEAKER_01:It's a good card to have.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Oh, absolutely. Uh I don't know what I did. That there's a you know, it's it's funny when I talk about this, and my my friends ask me about it a lot. Like, you know, oh like that cancer, that's so terrible. I'm like, stop right there because there is so much. This is gonna sound weird, but I'm I'm actually really grateful for this journey.
SPEAKER_01:Really?
SPEAKER_00:Um the the people that I've met and the perspective that I now have, and and um Yeah, you get married and you take a vow, right? But then someone ponies up and takes care of you and you just realize it's like what the hell did I ever do to deserve this person, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But um, yeah, the the you know, the people that I'm at respect that I have now, um having done this, I mean, uh I I almost feel like you know, a whole new person, actually. And uh yeah, it's strange, but as rough as this was, and it was rough, um I I don't think I would trade it for the world.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, experience like that changes you. No, no, it doesn't. I think that an experiences like that change who you are, now you're fine. Um and it's it's a growing experience to come out on the other side of it is is huge.
SPEAKER_00:Um you kind of have to ask yourself at the beginning of the thing. It's like who are you gonna be in in this thing? And I guess if there was one thing that I could say going into this, if you find out, like it, you know, you you welcome to the show, right? You're you're gonna find out that you're gonna do the cancer thing. Um, I I guess I just set my head in the beginning and was like, I'm I'm not gonna sad sack this. I'm just gonna try and be the goofiest son of a gun in the room. I think I did that. I think I was the biggest idiot. Do they give that award?
SPEAKER_01:Uh uh no, but we don't have that award or a lollipop or something like that. We're gonna look into that.
SPEAKER_00:Anyway.
SPEAKER_01:So tell me about these guys.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, this uh this is free pop right here. No, under the chair. Okay, come here, come here, come, come here, come here. And we're only doing this because I know that my oncology staff would uh hurt me if if I didn't have the dogs with me. Come here, mommy. Come here, mom. This is your mom. Um come here. Hiding under the chair because that's what we do.
SPEAKER_01:Come here, mom, come here, come here, come here. Well, I think that's it.
SPEAKER_00:They're my service dogs, and they used to be really well behaved uh before they met Matt and Laura and Dr. Brady and and and and yeah, they and now if they see anyone in scrubs, they are completely useless.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and you said at all your appointments you have them sit under your chair.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And so they are there, this is like I guess their comfort place. If I tell them the K-E-N-N-E-L-U-P. Oh, yeah, right up under you.
SPEAKER_01:So you mentioned that one of these beautiful dogs kind of knew what was going on.
SPEAKER_00:Mom, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So tell me about that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, so I spend a lot of time on set and doing things where there's a lot of noise and a lot of lights like this and a lot of a lot of confusion. And mom, who is hiding right now, like a good little service dog, Pop was standing literally on his head. Well, I could park him and I could walk away from him, do an hour's worth of work, and go back and be right there, you know, sitting right in the wings where I left him. Well, he started to break ranks.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And I thought, you know, I've been an animal trainer uh my whole life, and uh I've trained both these guys. You guys untrained him.
SPEAKER_01:Uh let that sink out.
SPEAKER_00:Um, you know, training animals my whole life, and I know that a service animal can hit their limit like a search and rescue animal or a or an emotional support animal, they can burn out emotionally, and I thought that's where we were, yeah, you know, because he just he wouldn't, he was glued to my side, and if anything got exciting or loud, if you should be right to my side, or if I, you know, he's protecting you. Right. So I'm like, I you know, I said to my wife, I was like, the Vic, I don't think I can take him to set anymore. I don't think that he's gonna be that dog because he's just he's breaking ranks and he's not, you know. And we started was like, maybe his hearing's going, or maybe he's got, you know, so the first thing we always do is anal turns, we run him to the run them to the doctor. Ha ha ha ha. Um, and anyway, we were we'd gone through this whole thing and this litany of tests with the vet, and the vet finally, Kency's like, he's fine, and uh, this is fine, and that test is fine, he's all fine. And Vicki's like, no, she wants that test too, and that test, that and that test. And finally, she said, wait a minute, how's Jamie? Now what the doctor did no, and so literally that morning, uh, Vicky had gotten the news from the first scan we took. What was it? Uh C Anyway, um, he's like, no, he is a mass. So Vic literally looked at the doctor, took in a breath, and open open mouth started crying. I think it's hilarious. It's I have to think it's hilarious. So um, and so they that I guess that was the thing. Mom knew I had had cancer before anyone else did. I just should have, I told I should have I should have trained them to talk.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So what was your diagnosis?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I had um uh I always forget the word say it. Squamous cell HPV positive. Yeah, throat cancer, head and neck, lymph, tonsil, base of the tongue. Yeah, unattractive cancer. He's the ugly little son of a gun.
SPEAKER_01:Unattractive cancer. So what was, you know, what was that like? I mean, you kind of went in knowing after you saw it with your own eyes. That this is probably what's happening. Yeah. Um, what was that conversation like? What did they how did they paint that picture?
SPEAKER_00:What did treatment so the immediately they they hit me with like, you know, this is there's you know there's good news and there's bad news, right? And the good news is that, you know, and this is where I think I had it better. There's always someone who has it worse than you do. Um, I had it really good because you said, you know, this is like 90 and change percent treatable. So odds are you're gonna be fine. On the other hand, this is one of the most unpleasant cancers to treat, and the treatment is gonna be uh wildly unpleasant. That's not the words they used, but and but those are the words that it was the it was the it was it was what was conveyed. Um so uh it was seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy.
SPEAKER_01:And um to like your face.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, right here. As a matter of fact, uh like I still I still have no beard down here where they but it was funny, the beard fell out at one point. I was scratching my chin, I was like, aw. Like really.
SPEAKER_01:Have you had a beard like your whole adult adult?
SPEAKER_00:Like when I say I work on set, I'm I'm an actor, and my agent kind of locked the beard when I first got into it. It's like don't ever uh you know, and here I'm like, and then the chin starts to swell. I'm like, yeah, well, I'm done. Uh one friend of mine, and again, it's like the the when I talk about perspective, it's like I met all these guys that were uh that just had it. It's like, you know, how many, you know, we we could there's like you you go in and there's a locker room and you wait in the locker room and you know they're gonna talk to uh you know a bunch of other guys who are in there for whatever it is that they're going through. Yeah, it's been 30 weeks of radiation, and I'm just like, you know, I heard that oh, you know, because it was at first, it doesn't it's almost like at first there's nothing to it. Like everybody warned me and warned me. I was like, oh, this is no problem. Then the radiation starts to like really kick in and burn, and then you know, swallowing food is not your you know strong suit anymore. Yeah, it's it's hard not to get negative sometimes, and I and I just said, you know, when I found this out, I was like, I just don't want to do this, I don't want to be a negative person. And it was so easy. Uh the st the the the oncology staff and the the techs that did the radiation, um, it was like summer camp. I was we would just go and laugh our butts off and and just be stupid. Like the first so you go into the text, right? And like, well, name uh name, birth date, and comfort level, and do you want a blanket? So you it's cold in there, yeah. So it's like you get into the thing. So I'd like to walk in and they wouldn't even have to be JB Day, 2668, and I would like three blankets or five blankets, because like as many blankets as it would be. Give me all the blankets, and then they would ask you what music you wanted to listen to, because in the booth they they pump in the music, and if you don't have a presence, they put whatever. So it's it became a game. So I always try to find like the most ridiculous music to ask for. So like I I feel like the finest, the finest moment there was was uh I like gave them the name of a band and it was Mongolian Thrash.
SPEAKER_01:Whoa.
SPEAKER_00:And it was hilarious, but then everybody wrote it down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was good, it was like pump pump you up music, but uh, but it was funny. So it became a thing. They walk in and it's like, what kind of music do you want? And three booths worth of text would just surround you and want to know what we're listening to today. So it's just it was ridiculous.
SPEAKER_01:I mean Yeah, I bet that shone a bit of a light into those who are going through this around you.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Just a just uh I will say this about the the the centra, the the um Pearson staff is just if they didn't let me laugh, or if they'd been more serious when I wanted to cut up, I I don't I you can't I can't tell you how much I appreciate like who they are. I mean, just some of the silliest moments, but I needed that, you know. So, you know, I feel like these people are my family, and I I wouldn't trade knowing them for the world.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So sorry, I'm a squish.
SPEAKER_01:Sounds like the you made a difference there too.
SPEAKER_00:Um, I hope so, because I mean I mean the the difference that they made in my life was I mean ridiculously positive.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they I I heard birthday parties.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, my my I guess my wife had planned, uh sorry, I'm such a sob. Um my wife had planned to do something on my birthday. Uh, and so she brought all these party favors and she literally went back, snuck back to see the the the the tech staff, and they were already they were already wearing stupid wings at that science. And so they just like met in the middle and just had this ridiculous thing.
SPEAKER_01:So they were already planning something for you.
SPEAKER_00:They were already planning something silly, like with hats and tiara. I got to wear a tiara. I felt very pretty.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Wow. So I'd ask why you choose to have your care at Pearson, but it sounds like the answer is obvious.
SPEAKER_00:Like, Lord, the the uh the first, you know, we thought about going to Richmond or going to you know uh Pearson, and we're like, the drive's so much prettier going out to Pearson. We'll do that. So that was literally the criteria. Yeah uh and of course we Googled like you know uh excellence of care and stuff like that. So we did you know a little bit of due diligence there, but really it was like it was like pretty drive, let's do the pretty drive.
SPEAKER_01:I love it.
SPEAKER_00:And then once I met, it was like, you know, Dylan Natasha and and these people in the back there and the uh the uh yeah Dale the the the uh the chemo chemotherapy like she was kind of my guidance counselor for that. Um Cindy, our nurse advocate. Oh you know getting stuff done can be weird, especially with medical insurance and stuff like that. Yeah, I imagine um it's just so many moving parts, you know what I mean? Um and Cindy the nurse advocate was just oh I think you email her in the middle of the night and you'd have an answer almost immediately. It's just you know, and you have like questions, not all of them are rational.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Like, you know, things that you that that you didn't think of and like or a problem you're having, and and you know, emails were and people will come out to check on you, like when you when you got there. You know, Cindy was always there to say hello. Um and that's not even not even just the the oncology staff. I mean the front the front cat Kathy at the front desk, um we were homies, almost a media. I mean she was great. Like the the first day I went in, the second day she'd greet me by name. Wow, and it was and she had just hurt her ankle, she had a little booty on, and we was like, Well, how's your ankle? She was like, How's your cancer?
SPEAKER_01:Great, love it.
SPEAKER_00:Wish you were here. Um, and you know, just the sweetest uh uh um Connie, who was, I think, maintenance on the maintenance staff. We were we'd maul her on the way in every day. We'd give her a big big fat hug. Uh, and she we'd check in and I mean start to finish, the the the um they have a pharmacy there. That star, that staff. I never did catch any of their names because it was always like it was always rushing to get to an appointment or something like that. Those people were angels, you know. It's like um, you know, I I forget what I did. One thing it was, you know, my fault I didn't have a certain medication with me or something like that. And they're like, hang on, we'll get you one. And it was just, you know, I think it was pain, maybe something like that. Um anyway, it seemed very essential at the time. I can't remember what it was now, but yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But they met you there in that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. And and allow me to tell on Dr. Brady.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, please do.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, she comes in and she's obviously extremely well educated and intelligent individual. And then she sees the dogs, and she becomes a baby talk muppet. And we're like, Dr.
SPEAKER_01:What just happened?
SPEAKER_00:So uh yeah, so it was just it was amazing. And then they would leave, like they'd run out. They have a a lint brush, apparently, somewhere, because someone would just like pull that out of thin air and something because their scrubs would just be marishly covered in in all kinds of oh, worth it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, totally worth it.
SPEAKER_00:But yeah, that's why I was like, I knew if I didn't bring the dogs in here, someone would hurt me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Matt, probably. Matt would probably give me the biggest amount of.
SPEAKER_01:So, what does life look like now?
SPEAKER_00:Uh, right now, it's like you said you're you're this impacted you so much. It is like so, you know, you start off and you're strong, and I can do this. I immediately, you know, gave cancer a face, and I had I have I have friends who are artists, and I'm like, you gotta draw pictures of you gotta draw pictures of me doing heroically awful things to these, and I described the tumors to them because they had like one was long and and like kind of lean, and that was the one of my lymph uh gland, and then the meatball with the tentacles with the tentacles, yeah. And then so this one guy, he just you know, and I ride horses and have the dogs, so then I have this great thing in my library at home. It's me. I'm on a horse and I'm a sword, and I'm charging these two Greebleys on the like there's a dog running next to me, and I'm like there, put that on the wall, and you know, constrained playlists of like I mean that is taking like putting on a mindset to the next level. It was uh I don't know, essential. Essential for me. I think everybody else's journey was it's gonna look different. Uh gonna look, but anyway, you know, it starts off like that, you know, and just like, oh but I need I'm uh I'm I made a war hammer. Like it was a framing hatchet. Yeah, oh yeah. And it was like a framing hatchet that broke a million years ago and it was sitting in the garage, and I drilled out the handle and I put in like this big long handle. It's my cancer slaying war hammer. Um so there's that. Um so anyway, um and and then you know your strength, especially chemotherapy, and uh, you know, the throat cancer, my threat, throat cancer homies, boy, you know, there's gonna be a time where you feel weak, you know, and you feel terrible. And you're in your chair, and the you know, the mindset of is like I'm just sitting across from my greatest enemy, sipping, very politely sipping cups of poison until one of us expires. But these are the images that government's like, it's gonna be you. I'm gonna make it one another, come home, and uh yeah, and so it you know, you get to the point where you can't help out, and the guys who had no one, like, oh yeah, you're what? No, I live alone. How do these guys do it? You know, uh, and I only met guys because it was the guys' locker room. I think it would have been awkward if I went into the ladies' locker room. Yeah, probably like, hey guys, how are you? Tell me your story. Jail. Um, but yeah, I mostly met uh guys um and you know that didn't have this teammate that I have, and again, I said I have no idea what I I don't remember doing anything good to deserve that woman right there. Um but you know we have a farm with like six horses, seven horses, uh, and we have a bunch of dogs, and there's the house and the farm, and uh it's a lot of work to say. It's a ton of work, and then emails to doctors and scheduling, and invariably something's gonna go wrong with your insurance. Something is gonna somebody something's gonna slip through the cracks, there's all these moving parts, and she's doing that, spending hours on the phone, and I, you know, I'm in my chair on morphine, you know. Um, you know, and it there the so what does life look like now? It's like I I ride my horses again, yeah. And um, I'm helping, you know, mending fences and driving nails and turning screws and uh working again and and uh and um I'm it you know what it's a pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_01:You're living your life with you, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It was the alternative. Ah, I thought that would have kind of sucked.
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I'd say yeah, so it's like that was the that's like there's never more of an understatement than it's it's a pleasure to be here. Yeah, and it really is. It's it's um the people that I met, the the things that I've seen, there was this old veteran. Um I was uh the first thing I did, I knew I was gonna lose weight, so I'm just like, cake? Uh like started like I put on like 20 pounds going into this thing. Um, just ate everything, just full fat son of a gun mode, and it was great. Um so in the beginning I was strong, I had some extra padding. Um and it, like I said at the beginning, it was not that bad yet. And I was leaving, and like it's such a great mood. I just left the radiation staff, and I always made a point to go back and you know see all my oncology guys. And I walked out, and right up by the curb where there was kind of loading area, there's a gentleman in a wheelchair, and his wife was trying to get him into the car. And maybe the car was parked too close, but anyway, it's like one wheel up, one way. They were in a really awkward spot, and uh and I was like, Can I give you guys a hand? You know? Yeah, and he looked at me and I and suddenly I was unaware if maybe he was my age. Like when I first saw him, he was like older gentleman. Yeah, like I really like he sort of you couldn't really tell where he was by looking at his face, how old he was, or anything like that. But he had like a a veteran hat from a air, I think it was an aircraft carrier, and he's like, Yeah, I'm just trying to get in the car. So do me a favor, uh just put your hands under my armpits, and uh my my wife will back the the wheelchair out. And um, and so I did it, and she got the thing up, but the the you know, the tendons in your armpits between your you know your pecs and your they were so uh emaciated and there was zero fat, you know, to pad. And it was literally it was cutting my wrists, you know, like it was like two ropes. Uh and it was obviously hurting him, and I heard his breathing change, and he started to squeak. Not like, you know, it just started to he was obviously in pain.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, labor.
SPEAKER_00:And um his knees started to wobble and give out, and just instinctively I just sort of scooped him up. And if he weighed 50 pounds, I'll eat my hat.
SPEAKER_01:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:And I put him in the car and I thank him for his service. And I and I just and I left there. I'm like, okay, I get it. You know, this is this is what I guess first world problems. You know what I mean? Like always someone who's got it worse than you. Always someone who's having a rougher day than you are. And um, and I just count myself lucky to have learned that, uh, have that demonstrated from for me, and to um to have met the people here at uh not here at Pearson, but you know, here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:At Pearson and uh and you know, even center over in in Farmville, you know, Dr. Rasheed, those those people over there, it's like I did so much laughing. And you know, I tortured poor Dr. Rasheed. Like I said, sorry, Dr.
SPEAKER_01:Rasheed. I'm not sorry.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not sorry. I'll do it again. Um uh yeah, just a such a sweet guy, and the staff were all I mean, they just all got me, even the front desk, you know, and uh, you know. I I love these people. I uh I consider them part of my extended family, and uh I I missed them. I you know, on the last day when I rang the bell. Did you know about that?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah, I love the bell.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I went out and I rang the bell, and uh there's uh you read that read the post, ring the bell, and I'm going home, it's like damn, like I feel like that kid who like camp is over. Like I'm not I'm not gonna like I'm not gonna go back to camp. Like every day for seven weeks. Wow, yeah, it was I miss them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. I think that's pretty good evidence of people who have made an imprint on your life.
SPEAKER_00:Oh Lord have no, I can't even that's I mean, what that isn't an understatement. Yeah, that's what that is.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I so appreciate you have such a grateful spirit um and such a good outlook on life.
SPEAKER_00:Oh no, we're grateful. Yeah, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, grateful to be here.
SPEAKER_00:So, yeah, yeah. No, everything, just grateful for everything. But thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Of course. Sorry, thank you. No, thank you. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for being vulnerable with your whole cancer experience. Um, and we wish you well.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. I'll take that. I want you guys well too.
SPEAKER_01:And thank you all for joining us on and so much more.
