Country Singer John Berry Diagnosed with Tonsil Cancer: 'You Don't See Fear on These Faces'
Country singer John Berry is battling tonsil cancer.
The “Your Love Amazes Me” singer, 59, took to social media Tuesday to disclose the health bump in the road he hit just as his 22nd annual Christmas Songs and Stories Tour was getting “cranked up” last November.
“We started off this year with a hiccup and we want to tell you a little bit about that,” Berry, sitting alongside his wife Robin, revealed in a video on his Facebook page.
Berry says he was experiencing a “catch” in his throat that felt just like the “skin of a Spanish peanut was stuck in my throat.” When he shined a flashlight down the back of his mouth, he noticed his tonsils were “really swollen.” After a visit to the doctor, he was prescribed a round of antibiotics and steroids. But the symptoms continued – and so did his powerful, unphased voice, which made it through the 21 cities on his Christmas tour “without any issues or any problems.”
After a second round of prescription antibiotics and steroids, Robin “pushed” him to go see an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist on Jan. 4 after the tour completed. “They took a look and the doctor asked a few questions, and then he took a look down my throat and he didn’t like what he saw at all,” says Berry. “He ordered a CT scan and we went and had that done later that day.”
The CT scan revealed he had two tumors in his tonsils.
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“We’re so grateful that it was contained to the tonsil and that they were able to take both tonsils out,” says Robin. “With that being said, they did a biopsy, sent it off and we just got a report, and it is cancer.”
“You don’t see fear on these faces,” she continues. “We have a planned regimen and John is undergoing treatment for about five weeks. We’ve had to move a couple of tour dates around and all is going well. We’re just trusting God to get us through this time and it’s not fun – it’s not something you look forward to at the beginning of your year – but couldn’t have happened at a better time, can I say that?”
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“If it’s gonna happen, it’s a good time,” he adds, assuring fans his cancer is “highly treatable” and has an “incredible” 90 percent cure rate.
Even in the midst of the shocking news, Robin encourages fans to send the “You and Only You” singer their love, thoughts and prayers to let him know “you’re keeping up with him.”
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“There is nothing greater that John needs right now than to hear from you guys that love him so very much,” she says to fans, who can either contract him on his email at JohnBerryMusic413@gmail.com and by mail at P.O. Box 353, Gallatin, Tennessee 37066.
“Robin and I have a Bible verse that we’ve been claiming during this time,” Berry says, quoting Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
