PHOENIX — Walking the halls of Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dan Ammann wears a dark blue shirt with white lettering that reads “Los Angeles County Fire Department”.
It’s the department he served in for 31 years.
The logo is representative of the fire family that he still carries with him three decades later as he battles a different fight — for the second time in his life, Dan has oral cancer.
He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2012. Dr. Michael Kupferman treated Dan’s oral cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dan underwent surgery, taking out teeth and bone and allowing the cancer to be removed.
“They got it all — no radiation or chemo,” Dan said.
Years later, Dan and his wife Susie moved to the Valley, and about a year ago, Dan found another sore on his gum.
Dr. Gary Walker, a radiation oncologist with Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center is treating Dan now.
Susie said Dan has never touched tobacco in his life, and Walker said it’s possible that Dan’s cancer is related to his career as a firefighter.
“He had a difficult cancer to treat in the head and neck that involved surgery, a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy,” Walker said. “And anytime a patient has had a previous cancer that makes it all the more complicated.”
A mold, lasers and a CT scan on the table help staff at the cancer center line up Dan for his radiation treatment.
“We really need to spare his normal tissue, meaning his nervous tissue, his swallowing muscles, his salivary glands, which produce spit,” Walker said. “We're really focused on how can we maintain his quality of life, continue with his ability to speak and swallow normally.”
Earlier in December, Dan went for his final radiation treatment — hugging those who treated him day in and day out as he left.
“It takes a lot out of you,” Dan said.
Dan will have to wait a few months before knowing exactly how well the treatment worked. Susie described the treatment as ‘a Hail Mary’.
“It’s a rough treatment, it’s very aggressive,” Susie said. “We’re hopeful and very, very lucky to have been here."
In the meantime, Dan will turn 84 next month, and he’s waiting for his taste to come back.
“I’ve watched The Food Channel a lot,” Dan said with a smile.
“He tries to get inspired,” Susie said while laughing. “We’ve been watching 'Holiday Baking Championship.'”
When Dan left the radiation oncology wing to ring the bell signaling his end of treatment, he was greeted by teams of Gilbert and Mesa firefighters. He walked out the door to cheers, claps and congratulations.
“Ring this bell three times well,” Dan recited from a plaque on the wall next to a bronze bell. “Its toll to clearly say my treatment's done, this course is run and I am on my way!”
With each ring of the bell, further claps and cheers erupt from those gathered around.
Including Kupferman, who treated him in Houston and reassured him at the beginning of this latest round of cancer that he was in good hands.
“Just being able to see him and his wife again, after a very long journey is you know, it's very emotional. It's very meaningful,” Kupferman said. “And I'm excited to be able to see that he's moving on to the next phase of recovery.”
Dan and Susie had given Kupferman the same LA County Fire Department Shirt Dan wore after his treatment in Houston.
“I still have it to this very day, it's in my closet, I wear it every once in a while,” Kupferman said. “The fact that I could still be part of his cancer and treatment journey over the course of a decade is incredibly meaningful.”
The same shirt was presented to Walker following the bell-ringing ceremony.
A step, signaling a new phase of recovery.
“It’s amazing how everything came together, you know, the doctors and it was a miracle so far,” Dan said.
“You’re a miracle, buddy,” Susie said.
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