As a husband, father, pastor and military veteran, I have served my country, my church, and my friends and family over the years. I have always tried to carry other people through both light and dark times.
Now, for what feels like the first time in my life, I need other people to help carry me.
For 15 years, I served in the United States Navy, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan that changed me profoundly. My military service taught me discipline, perseverance, and how to function under pressure.
I never imagined that years later I would have to draw on those same qualities to fight a completely different kind of battle.
To understand my story, it’s important to go back to November 2025.
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I had a really bad nosebleed that was hard to stop, though I wasn't overly concerned because I'd had frequent nosebleeds before, usually from the dry air. My wife, Nina, urged me to go to the doctor and get it checked out, but we as men have a tendency to ignore our body when it tries to tell us something.
“I’m not going to the doctor for a nosebleed, but I will change the filter in the air conditioning unit,” I told Nina.
I thought the air was too dry, and it was surely just a quick fix.
Unfortunately, that didn’t help, and the nosebleeds just kept happening. They occurred maybe once a month, but I told myself nasal symptoms can be caused by a range of reasons, from allergies to irritation to weather changes.
I had no reason to believe that it was anything serious.
‘The Battle Was Happening Inside My Own Body’
As the months went by, the symptoms became more persistent and harder to dismiss.
One Sunday, while my family and I were at church, I got a really bad nosebleed. The nosebleeds had gotten progressively worse, and this time, it was as if someone punched me in the nose.
Nina kept telling me to go to the emergency room, but instead, I agreed to swing by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) later that week after I got my hair cut nearby.
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Truthfully, I only went because Nina was so persistent that something was wrong. As the symptoms became increasingly concerning, I knew I needed to find out what was happening.
Once I got to the VHA, I told them about my symptoms, and they suggested that it could be a possible sinus infection, but a CT scan would provide clarity.
Once the CT results came back, the doctor called me and said, “Sir, we can see something on your scan, and it appears to be cancerous.” There was a significant tumor involving my right nasal cavity and surrounding structures. Nonetheless, they wouldn’t know for sure until they performed a biopsy.
After a CT, MRI and biopsy, all that was left was to wait. Then I got another call a few days later. I answered the phone, knowing that everything was about to change.
Indeed, the biopsy and subsequent pathology confirmed that I had adenoid cystic carcinoma involving my nasal cavity. It’s a rare form of cancer that affects glandular tissue.
I had never even heard of this cancer before. It accounts for just 1 percent of all head and neck cancers, with around 1,200 people in the U.S. receiving this diagnosis each year.
This year, I became one of those people.
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Hearing the word "cancer" changes the atmosphere in the room. You hear everything the doctor is saying, but at the same time your mind starts going in a hundred different directions. I thought about my wife, my children, my church, and the people who depend on me. I wondered whether I would survive.
As a pastor, I have stood beside others during some of the darkest moments of their lives. As a military veteran, I have been trained to face difficult circumstances. But this was different.
This time, the battle was happening inside my own body.
‘My Identity Was Greater Than What I Saw in the Mirror’
It turned out this was not simply a small growth that could be removed without significant consequences. We were dealing with an aggressive location and a tumor that threatened structures of my face.
Because of the location and extent of the cancer, my treatment required major surgery followed by radiation therapy. The goal was to remove as much of the cancer as possible and then use radiation to address microscopic disease that remained.
So, on February 12, I had a total rhinectomy, meaning my nose was surgically removed. I also underwent bilateral functional endoscopic sinus surgery, a medial maxillectomy, placement of zygomatic implants, and a skin graft taken from my left thigh to reconstruct the nasal floor.
It was an extensive operation, but it was necessary to give me the best opportunity to fight the disease.
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Looking in the mirror after surgery and seeing that my nose was gone was a very emotional experience. You can prepare yourself intellectually for what a surgeon tells you will happen, but that doesn't prepare you for the reality. Your face is part of how you recognize yourself, and how the world recognizes you. Suddenly, I had to learn that my identity was greater than what I saw in the mirror.
I am still Dewayne.
I am still a husband, a father, a pastor and a veteran. Cancer changed my face, but I refused to let it take away who I am.
The final pathology after surgery confirmed that my cancer was T4a, meaning it was locally advanced. The report also showed extensive perineural invasion as cancer cells were found tracking along nerves. Those findings made postoperative radiation especially important.
When I started treatment, it was physically and emotionally demanding. Surgery changed my appearance overnight, then radiation brought its own challenges.
I dealt with discomfort, mucus, dryness, changes in my nasal and sinus area, fatigue, and problems with my right ear, including significant hearing loss. Recovery wasn't simply about healing from an operation. I was adjusting to a new physical reality while continuing to process everything.
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For many months, there was a hole in my face that I covered with a bandage. As I healed from treatment, I worked with specialists to create a prosthetic nose designed specifically for my face.
Then on September 22, I finally got my prosthetic nose, just five days before my 44th birthday. It was the greatest gift. I was so excited to face the world again with a more familiar appearance.
‘Courage means Acknowledging That You Are Afraid’
Throughout this journey, my faith has been foundational in helping me cope and process what I’m dealing with.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been difficult days. I don't want to portray this as though faith means you never experience fear, frustration or grief. For me, it has meant trusting God while experiencing all those emotions.
My military experience gave me another framework for dealing with this. In combat, you learn that fear doesn't necessarily mean you stop moving. Sometimes courage means acknowledging that you are afraid and continuing forward anyway.
I look at life differently now.
The experience has taught me not to take time, health, family, or purpose for granted. I have learned that surviving isn't always about returning to exactly who you were before something happened.
Sometimes survival means learning how to live fully as the person you are now.
I am grateful to still be here. My story isn't simply about losing my nose to cancer. It is about discovering that even when life changes your appearance, your plans and your expectations, you can still have purpose.
My message is to pay attention to your body. Don't ignore something because it seems minor. Some cancers are uncommon, but they still happen to real people.
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I also want people facing cancer or any other life-changing diagnosis to understand that losing part of your body does not mean losing your identity. Some wounds we can hide; others everyone can see. Either way, they do not have to define us.
Cancer took my nose. It changed my appearance. It changed aspects of my health.
But it did not take my faith. It did not take my family. It did not take my purpose. And it did not take my voice.
Dr. Alfred Dewayne Sutton, 44, resides in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife and their children. He is a military veteran who currently serves as Executive Pastor of Freedom Church Ministries in Lansing. He shares his cancer journey on TikTok (@i_am_d_sutton) to highlight the importance of early detection.