04/13/2026
Mark James is a distance runner and his favorite race is the Blue Ridge Relay through the mountains of North Carolina, his home state. James is an administrator at East Carolina University and part of a national men’s workout organization called F3, with whom he runs.
In November 2023, however, James ran into issues. He started experiencing hearing and ear drainage issues that eventually led to a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx. The diagnosis was unusual because it is a very rare cancer in white men. It had also spread to four lymph nodes in his neck and the base of his skull.
“I was scared,” said James, “but I am a very positive person. I figured I had to get in the best possible shape to deal with treatment.”
His local cancer team told him that they don’t see this cancer very often as it's more common in Asian people. Knowing this, James reached out to his brother, Chair of Family Medicine at University of Washington, to seek his advice. Given Seattle's much larger Asian population, they see this cancer more often. So, James came to Seattle and met with Fred Hutch expert, Jay Liao, MD.
Liao gave more details and context about James' cancer, and the efficacy of proton therapy in relation to his diagnosis. He began treatment that December and was able to work remotely during his treatment, which involved seven weeks of proton therapy and three chemotherapy sessions.
“Cancer of the nasopharynx is challenging to treat due to the location close to and often invading the skull base close to the brain,” Liao said. “Proton therapy is especially well-suited to treating this very tight area, since it allows us to better target tumors while minimizing the risk of radiation damage to the normal tissues in the head and neck, which may improve recovery of swallowing, saliva, taste and other important factors that affect quality of life after treatment.”
The treatment wasn’t without challenges.
“I'm claustrophobic and was strapped to the table for 40 minutes each day because they treated me from four different angles,” James said. “The team was so supportive when I felt alone. They knew what to do, to talk to me.”
When he finished treatment in early February, he was so fatigued he could barely get out of bed to walk, but he pushed himself because he wanted to run in the Blue Ridge Relay again in September. By June, he could run at intervals and in September, he fulfilled his goal, even though it meant walking much of it.
James advises patients to lean into the support provided by friends and family. He benefited greatly from his own family's support and from his F3 team.
“Before I left for Seattle, about a hundred guys got together wearing special T-shirts with my nickname, to pray over me and give me positive vibes,” he said.
Now, James is looking forward to returning to running longer distances. He sees his doctors for follow-ups and is confident about his recovery as his last scan showed zero cancer.
![“Proton therapy has less exit radiation dose compared to photons [X-rays],” said Yolanda Tseng, MD, a radiation oncologi...](https://img3.findhealthclinics.com/900/437/1493617499004378.jpg)
