Checking In with Don and Ann: Eight Months Later, Good Cheer to End the Year
Read Chapter 1: How Hope, Community, and a Single Comment Saved One Man's Life
Click here: https://research.smartpatients.com/resources/how-hope-community-and-a-single-comment-saved-one-mans-life
Chapter 1: Don’s Story, April 2025
If you haven’t read the first chapter of this remarkable journey, here’s a quick summary.
In 2017, Don Jackson was a stage 4 head and neck cancer patient given zero hope and advised to prepare for hospice. He went on to defy every prediction through a combination of faith, perseverance, caregiver support from his soulmate and wife Ann, community support, and one life-changing comment he found on Smart Patients. Because of that comment, Don requested a tumor DNA biomarker test years before such testing was standard. Almost four years later, those results got him treatment with Keytruda as soon as the FDA approved it - at a moment when no other treatment was available. Against extraordinary odds, the drug activated his immune system, his tumors disappeared, and he survived far beyond expectations. Don’s experience shows how connection with other patients and proactive research can spark real-world medical miracles.
Chapter 2: What’s New with Don and Ann, December 2025
As the year wraps up, Don and Ann have been reflecting on how far they’ve come and on the unexpected developments that continue to shape their lives. In the spirit of the season, they wanted to share their update filled with good news, gratitude, and a few surprises.
A Connection That Came Full Circle
Recently, Don’s former oncologist, now fully back in research, emailed Don and Ann with a warm personal message. He shared his private home phone number and let them know they could call him any time to discuss his case. Ann, a retired registered nurse, couldn’t believe it. In all her years of hospital work, she said, a gesture like that was “unheard of.”
That message brought them back to the earliest days of their journey when their original “no hope” oncologist had left suddenly on sabbatical. Stanford and the VA were facing severe staffing shortages. This oncologist had been temporarily pulled from research to help, and Don became one of his first patients. This doctor's steady reminder that outcomes don’t always follow predictions, his unfailing hope, and his advice to forget the negative and believe in miracles are memories Don and Ann still hold with deep gratitude.
New Scans, Ongoing Miracles
Since December 2025, Don receives all his cancer care at Stanford under a rare dual specialist who treats both lung cancer and head and neck cancer. That expertise matters greatly now: his latest PET scan revealed a very small new lung tumor, too tiny to biopsy. A repeat scan and possible biopsy are scheduled for this month. Numerous times when this has happened in the past, the tumors have vanished by the follow-up scan. Don and Ann are quietly hoping that pattern holds — maybe one more miracle.
It has now been nearly four years since Keytruda activated Don’s immune system despite being told he had only about a 20% chance of remaining stable even for one year. Yet here he is: still off treatment, still stable, still joking that whenever a new tumor appears, “my immune system just goes on vacation for a month or so.” Their general doctor recently told them they “are an inspiration.”
Sharing Hope With Others
Don and Ann speaking at Stanford.
Don continues to share his inspiring story widely. He was recently invited to serve as a National Ambassador for the Head Neck Cancer Alliance and has already spoken at several online programs for patients and caregivers. A few months ago, he delivered a talk titled “The Power of Hope” at a major Stanford Head/Neck cancer symposium with nearly 500 participants and caregivers online and in person. Now the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is working with him to try to schedule the same talk on their campus soon. Click here to watch the full speech.
Giving Back by Paying It Forward
Since 2018, Don and Ann have been supporting cancer research by participating in Cycle for Survival for Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, which specializes in rare cancers like Don’s. They recently made a significant donation to advance head and neck cancer research at UCSF that's being matched by new donors recruited by UCSF staff fundraisers. They plan to continue “paying it forward” as long as they are able.
Still Moving, Still Winning
And in the most “Don” update of all: At over 90 years old, with two full knee replacements and two missing lung lobes, he is back on the racquetball court and playing surprisingly well. He’s already planning a return to senior tournaments, where he’ll have to compete in the 80s division since racquetball doesn’t offer a 90+ bracket.
Anyone wishing to reach out to Don and Ann can contact them at: donannj@icloud.com
If you or someone you love are affected by head and neck cancer, please use this link to join the Smart Patients online community.