About This Site

Who is Joe-
My name is Joseph F. Durocher. I'm an Associate Professor of Hospitality Management at the University of New Hampshire. I've never been a smoker and I consumed the amount of red wine as recommended by the national Cancer institute for a prolonged life. I have three grown daughters and three wonderful grand children. I live with the most wonderful wife / friend / partner in southern New Hampshire. We truly had a team working to diagnose and cure my cancer. Here are the characters in order of appearance:

The Neck Cancer Team-

Dr. Patrick Clary- Family Physician, Salmon Family Healthcare, Somersworth, NH

Dr. Joseph White- ENT Physician, Somersworth, NH

Drs. Paul and Singh- Seacoast Cancer Center, Dover, NH

Drs. Posner and Norris- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Center, Boston, MA

The Melanoma Team-
Dr. Stephen Hodi- Adult Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dr. Michael T. Jaklitsch- Thoracic Surgeon, Brigham & Women's Hospital

Dr. Stephanie E. Weiss- Radiation Oncology, Brigham & Women's Hospital

Finally, my family, friends, students and colleagues....they all contributed more than they can imagine.

Caution-
This site documents the diagnosis and treatments of one man's cancers. I've learned that the exact same cancer in one person can act radically different in another person. I went through three major treatments: chemotherapy, chemo-radiation and surgery that spanned a 6-month period for my tongue cancer. Others do not need the surgery or have differing periods of treatment. If you or someone you care about is now dealing with cancer, do as much research as you possibly can before you start treatments.

As for the melanoma, that has been a longer battle with multiple treatments over the last number of years. For some, a melanoma may never metastasize. For me, it did and each of the treatments were a function of where the melanoma decided to set up shop.