{"id":678,"date":"2024-02-15T22:46:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T22:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/?p=678"},"modified":"2024-02-15T22:46:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T22:46:19","slug":"members-of-alabama-share-their-personal-battles-with-cancer-and-parkinsons-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/?p=678","title":{"rendered":"Members of Alabama Share Their Personal Battles with Cancer and Parkinson\u2019s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Randy Owen, a beloved singer from Alabama, faced a terrifying moment when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The first question that popped into his mind was, \u201cHow long do I have?\u201d His bandmate, Jeff Cook, the guitarist and fiddle player, also discovered he had the same form of cancer. Teddy Gentry, the bass player, experienced a scare as well, but thankfully, his test results came back healthy after a month of waiting.<\/p><div class=\"311fe198f191a864c1efcdfa9efedfdf\" data-index=\"3\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1782571\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\u201cIt was such an eerie feeling,\u201d Gentry remarked. \u201cBut the truth is, it could happen to any of us at any time. We have no control over it, and it\u2019s absolutely terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alabama, the legendary country music group, will be honored with the Tony Martell Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award at the T.J. Martell Foundation\u2019s 11th annual Nashville Honors Gala. This recognition from the leading foundation that funds cancer research holds a special meaning for Alabama because every member of the group has been affected by cancer. In addition, Jeff Cook, who is currently battling Parkinson\u2019s disease, will also be in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I think of Alabama, I think of America. They have touched so many people in this country through their music and their wonderful beliefs in helping others,\u201d said Laura Heatherly, CEO of the T.J. Martell Foundation. \u201cWe love to honor and recognize people who have made incredible contributions to our community, and Alabama has undoubtedly impacted communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alabama, celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2019, initially embarked on a farewell tour in 2003. Surprisingly, they discovered that their music still resonated with fans, leading to a reunion in 2011 for Brad Paisley\u2019s hit song \u201cOld Alabama.\u201d Since then, Alabama has continued to make music and plans for the future.<\/p>\n<p>During their break, both Randy Owen and Jeff Cook were diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, Cook had faith in his medical team and believed their assurance that he would be fine. Owen, on the other hand, faced a more intense battle. When he asked his doctor about his life expectancy, he was met with a stern response.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me, \u2018I refuse to work with you as long as you have that attitude,\u2019\u201d Owen recalls. \u201cI was taken aback and asked him what he meant. He said, \u2018I\u2019m the ship\u2019s captain now, and together we\u2019re going to beat this.\u2019 Those words gave me strength.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The singer\u2019s doctor suggested seeking treatment in Mexico, where a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure for cancer is commonly used. Unfortunately, this procedure was not available in the United States. Owen, accompanied by his wife and doctor, flew to Mexico for the treatment, which proved to be successful. Nine years later, Owen remains cancer-free.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Randy Owen, a beloved singer from Alabama, faced a terrifying moment when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The first question that popped into his mind was,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":680,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678\/revisions\/680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/findpath.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}