Health
US Navy veteran beats cancer with experimental treatment and reliance on faith
After facing the threat of active war, many veterans also wage battles with cancer.
One of those is John Ryan of Aldie, Virginia – a U.S. Navy veteran who was diagnosed with lung cancer after serving in the military for 30 years.
Since he enlisted in October 1962, much of the commander’s military service has been “shrouded in secrecy,” according to a November 2024 report from the Cancer Research Institute (CRI).
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In an on-camera interview with Fox News Digital, Ryan shared that he joined the “nuclear power program” amid the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which he embarked on about a dozen patrols on nuclear submarines.
U.S. Destroyer inspects a Soviet freighter off the coast of Cuba on Nov. 12, 1962. (Getty Images)
Ryan retired from active military service in 1992, and then retired full-time in 2000 to spend time with his family in Northern Virginia.
In 2013, Ryan called his doctor after he began spitting up blood and was sent to the emergency room. His diagnosis was grim: stage 4 adenocarcinoma, otherwise known as non-small cell lung cancer.
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Ryan underwent four sessions of chemotherapy at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but he did not improve. He also suffered from residual side effects from both chemo and cancer, including fatigue, pain, weight loss and pleural effusion.
Upon seeking a second opinion, Ryan met Julie Brahmer, MD, at John’s Hopkins in Maryland. He was enrolled in a clinical trial for immunotherapy — a type of treatment that uses the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer — that began in October 2013.
Veterans face a 25% higher risk of developing lung cancer due to exposure to toxic substances during military service, according to the VA. (iStock)
Lung cancer poses a larger threat to the veteran community, who faces a 25% higher risk due to exposure to toxic substances during military service, according to Brahmer.
After four infusions of nivolumab (Opdivo) over a nine-week period, Ryan’s CT scans revealed a 65% reduction in tumor size, he told Fox News Digital.
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“The 65% shrink was great and then that just kind of walked down – I was down to like 84% shrink,” he said. “And I was leading a normal life.”
Along with the immunotherapy, Ryan also underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a very targeted type of radiation, which resulted in the arrest of his tumor with virtually no side effects except for minor itching.
John Ryan (right) is pictured with Dr. Julie Brahmer, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine. (John Ryan)
Although his cancer improved, Ryan hit a major roadblock in 2022 when he began having trouble breathing and developed chronic pneumonitis, which he shared can occur in patients who receive immunotherapy for long periods of time.
“The psychological difficulty of staying indoors during COVID-19 was relatively easy, because I had a career being in nuclear submarines. And so, the claustrophobic thing wasn’t bad,” he reflected.
“Get a good night’s sleep, shake it off, and the next day you’ll have some blessings you can at least get started with.”
“But what was pretty challenging for me was the unknown path forward, with increased inflammation and reduced lung capacity,” he added.
Ryan’s immunotherapy journey lasted 100 months, amassing hundreds of 160-mile round trips to Johns Hopkins and more than 225 infusions. Today, the veteran is officially cancer-free.
“What was pretty challenging for me was the unknown path forward, with increased inflammation and reduced lung capacity,” said Ryan (not pictured). (iStock)
Ryan shared that one of the best pieces of advice he received was from a Walter Reed nurse, who was frank about the state of his health.
“She said, ‘Let’s cut to the chase, sonny boy, if you don’t take this, you’re going to die.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s sign off on it, shall we?’” he repeated.
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“And she said, ‘You need to take this seriously. Don’t look for things to worry about, because you can get really wrapped around the axle with the pressure and the uncertainty.’”
The nurse also told Ryan, “Working yourself up into a frenzy has absolutely no value. Get a good night’s sleep, shake it off, and the next day you’ll have some blessings you can at least get started with.”
Ryan (pictured at left) advised other cancer patients to avoid working themselves up “into a frenzy” and to stay positive. (John Ryan; iStock)
The veteran also credited his faith for giving him the strength to beat cancer. “You’ve got to draw your hope and courage from somewhere. Faith was high,” he said.
“I had a father who was a military disciplinarian, so I would say the worst thing that can happen is not going to be a bother to me. I’m just going to move forward. And then being with quality people [gave me] the encouragement to do that.”
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In a 2022 CRI seminar, Dr. Brahmer spoke about the success of immunotherapy development, labeling it as the “new foundation” for lung cancer in various stages, as well as other thoracic cancers like mesothelioma.
“New therapies will continue to build on these successes,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do in these settings. We can certainly improve therapy.”
Dr. Julie Brahmer shared in a seminar how immunotherapy has become the top treatment option in some lung cancer cases. (iStock)
Brahmer expressed that “there is hope” for long-term control of the disease and potentially even a cure.
“It’s very important [for patients] to ask, ‘Is immunotherapy right for me, regardless of the stage and type of cancer that I have?’” she said.
“You’ve got to draw your hope and courage from somewhere. Faith was high.”
Ryan told CRI that immunotherapy represents an “attractive potential for a cure without the serious side effects related to surgery, chemotherapy or radiation,” adding that clinical trials are essential for “safe and viable drug and treatment regimen approvals.”
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A deadly, drug-resistant fungus already spreading rapidly through U.S. hospitals is becoming even more threatening worldwide, though there may be hope for new treatments, according to a new scientific review.
Candida auris (C. auris), often described as a “superbug fungus,” is spreading globally and increasingly resisting human immune systems, Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) researchers said in a review published in early December.
The findings reinforce prior CDC warnings that have labeled C. auris an “urgent antimicrobial threat” — the first fungal pathogen to receive that designation — as U.S. cases have surged, particularly in hospitals and long-term care centers.
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Approximately 7,000 cases were identified across dozens of U.S. states in 2025, according to the CDC, and it has reportedly been identified in at least 60 countries.
Candida auris is a drug-resistant fungus spreading in hospitals worldwide. (Nicolas Armer/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
The review, published in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, helps explain why the pathogen is so difficult to contain and warns that outdated diagnostics and limited treatments lag behind. It was conducted by Dr. Neeraj Chauhan of the Hackensack Meridian CDI in New Jersey, Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary of the University of Delhi’s Medical Mycology Unit and Dr. Michail Lionakis, chief of the clinical mycology program at the National Institutes of Health.
Their findings stress the need to develop “novel antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity against human fungal pathogens, to improve diagnostic tests and to develop immune- and vaccine-based adjunct modalities for the treatment of high-risk patients,” the researchers said in a statement.
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“In addition, future efforts should focus on raising awareness about fungal disease through developing better surveillance mechanisms, especially in resource-poor countries,” they added. “All these developments should help improve the outcomes and prognosis of patients afflicted by opportunistic fungal infections.”
Candida auris can survive on skin and hospital surfaces, allowing it to spread easily. (iStock)
First identified in 2009 from a patient’s ear sample in Japan, C. auris has since spread to dozens of countries, including the U.S., where outbreaks have forced some hospital intensive care units to shut down, according to the researchers.
The fungus poses the greatest risk to people who are already critically ill, particularly those on ventilators or with weakened immune systems. Once infected, about half of patients may die, according to some estimates.
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Unlike many other fungi, C. auris can survive on human skin and cling to hospital surfaces and medical equipment, allowing it to spread easily in healthcare settings.
“It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and it tends to spread in hospital settings, including on equipment being used on immunocompromised and semi-immunocompromised patients, such as ventilators and catheters,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone, previously told Fox News Digital.
Scientists say the unique cell wall structure of C. auris makes it harder to kill. (iStock)
It is also frequently misdiagnosed, delaying treatment and infection control measures.
“Unfortunately, symptoms such as fever, chills and aches may be ubiquitous, and it can be mistaken for other infections,” Siegel said.
In September, he said intense research was ongoing to develop new treatments.
Only four major classes of antifungal drugs are currently available, and C. auris has already shown resistance to many of them. While three new antifungal drugs have been approved or are in late-stage trials, researchers warn that drug development has struggled to keep pace with the fungus’s evolution.
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Despite the sobering findings, there is still room for cautious optimism.
The fungus can cling to skin and hospital surfaces, aiding its spread. (iStock)
In separate research published in December, scientists at the University of Exeter in England discovered a potential weakness in C. auris while studying the fungus in a living-host model.
The team found that, during infection, the fungus activates specific genes to scavenge iron, a nutrient it needs to survive, according to their paper, published in the Nature portfolio journal Communications Biology in December.
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Because iron is essential for the pathogen, researchers believe drugs that block this process could eventually stop infections or even allow existing medications to be repurposed.
“We think our research may have revealed an Achilles’ heel in this lethal pathogen during active infection,” Dr. Hugh Gifford, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
New research is underway to develop better treatments and diagnostics for C. auris. (iStock)
As researchers race to better understand the fungus, officials warn that strict infection control, rapid detection and continued investment in new treatments remain critical.
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Health experts emphasize that C. auris is not a threat to healthy people.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CDI researchers and additional experts for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed reporting.
New flu strain emerging as a severe health threat
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to warn of a new strain of the flu that is spiking hospitalizations across the country and newfound risks of medical marijuana’s link to psychosis.
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The New York State Department of Health reported a record surge in influenza activity, with 71,123 positive flu cases recorded statewide during the week ending December 20.
Health officials said the figure represents the highest number of flu cases ever reported in a single week since influenza became a reportable disease in New York in 2004.
State health data show the weekly total reflects a 38% increase from the previous reporting period, signaling a rapidly intensifying flu season.
There have been 189,312 reported positive flu cases so far this season, while influenza-related hospitalizations rose 63% in the most recent week.
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New York reported the highest weekly total of cases ever recorded since influenza became reportable in 2004. (iStock)
“We are seeing the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week in New York state,” Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a press release.
There have been 189,312 reported flu cases so far this season, with influenza-related hospitalizations increasing 63% in the most recent week. (iStock)
Earlier this month, the department declared influenza prevalent statewide, a designation that requires unvaccinated health care workers to wear masks in patient care settings.
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Health officials continue to emphasize that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from influenza.
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New Yorkers who have not yet received a seasonal flu shot are still encouraged to do so, with experts saying vaccination can offer protection even later in the season.
Health officials continue to urge New Yorkers to take preventive steps, including vaccination and staying home when sick, to limit further spread. (iStock)
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To help limit further spread, the department advises individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms — including fever, cough, sore throat, or body aches — to stay home. State health officials also recommend frequent handwashing, using hand sanitizer, and avoiding close contact with sick individuals.
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For those who become ill, officials say antiviral medications are available and are most effective when started within 48 hours of symptom onset.
Health officials also added that people at higher risk for complications should contact a health care provider promptly for evaluation and possible treatment.
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The department noted that flu activity typically peaks in January, meaning case counts could continue to climb in the weeks ahead.
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