N.C. Couple Has Survived 6 Cancer Diagnoses Between Them

A husband and wife in North Carolina have survived cancer six times between them — a journey that has turned them into advocates for early detection.

David and Pat Penny of Johnston County have been married for than 51 years, according to local news outlet Ural.

David, who is an Army veteran and was a career firefighter, has received five cancer diagnoses in his lifetime, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, sarcoma and, most recently, male breast cancer — the latter of which affects only about 1 percent of men.

“He was supposed to be dead at 30,” Pat said of her husband while speaking to the outlet. “We’re just blessed. He’s the ever-ready bunny. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”

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While speaking about his most recent diagnosis, David said he was conducting a self-exam in the spring of 2025 when he felt a pea-sized lump in his breast tissue.

“When I felt it, I said, ‘This is not normal,’ ” he recalled.

He received a lumpectomy the following week, and his scans are now currently clear.

Pat, meanwhile, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 56 during a routine mammogram in 2009. She credits not putting off the appointment with saving her life.

“They found my cancer early. It was really deeply embedded. If it had grown to the point where I could’ve found it, it’d have been too late,” she explained.

Both David and Pat are now volunteers with the American Cancer Society, where they use their story and experience to encourage others to listen to their bodies and to get regular checkups.

“Nobody knows your body but you,” David said while speaking to the outlet. “If you have anything wrong with you, don’t put it off for a week or two weeks hoping it’ll go away.”

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“Early detection and early treatment is so important,” Pat added. “There’s no age; just because you’re young or old, either way, you can get cancer. So be aware.”