-Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center-
Ben Cohely has said the words that many a father has thought, if not said, themselves, but they carry added weight when taken in context.
Ben Cohely’s son, Jacob, has glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain cancer.
“I wish I could trade places with my son every day,” Ben Cohely said.
Those words don’t come lightly. Ben Cohely is a survivor of an aggressive testicular cancer and one of the 20 Faces of Hope portraits and stories featured in the Harbin Clinic Cancer Center. Jacob Cohely’s portrait and story are also part of the display, which aims to encourage and inspire visitors to the Cancer Center.
Ben Cohely’s cancer journey began in the spring of 2018 after noticing he was having trouble getting in and out of his truck, which progressed to impairing his ability to walk.
Ben Cohely saw his primary care physician, who referred him to Harbin Clinic Urology. Two days later, he was in surgery for testicular cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes.
His oncologist, Dr. Dilawar Khan, recommended immediate treatment, but Ben Cohely first wanted to take his wife on a beach vacation with friends.
“I didn’t want to skip our trip and let cancer redefine life. I needed to keep living,” he said. “That fall, my cancer journey brought me closer to the Lord and helped me remember what life’s all about.”
Those lessons would become incredibly important just two years later when Jacob Cohely began his own cancer journey on Thanksgiving Day 2020. Out of the blue and with no prior warning, Jacob Cohely had a seizure.
“He completely stopped breathing and turned blue,” Ben Cohely said. “I was sure we had lost him.”
Jacob Cohely was taken by ambulance to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed the cause of the seizure, a grade 4 astrocytoma or glioblastoma, a fast-growing, terminal brain cancer.
Following his diagnosis, Jacob Cohely’s tumor was removed. He then received 36 rounds of radiation followed by oral chemotherapy at the Cancer Center.
Jacob Cohely said he knew he was in good hands because he had witnessed his father’s cancer experience. “Coming back to the Cancer Center could have felt awful, but it felt more like a family reunion,” Jacob Cohely said. “We knew all the doctors and trusted them because my journey began after my dad went through cancer.”
Jacob and his dad also shared their family mantra toward cancer as Jacob faced treatment and the future:“ You have cancer; cancer doesn’t have you.”
With the encouragement of his father, Jacob Cohely has remained upbeat in the face of his own battle, even injecting humor into what is an otherwise difficult conversation.
“Sometimes I make people uncomfortable when I say this, but I always joke, at least I know what will probably get me in the end,” he said.
Once he completed treatment, Jacob Cohely and his father began attending their follow-up appointments together. The pair took off work on the same days to get their scans and rechecks, meeting at the Cancer Center and walking their journey side-by-side.
In October 2024, doctors found a second spot on Jacob Cohely’s brain, resulting in further surgery, a brain bleed, and a stroke. He has stayed on oral chemo treatment since, and he works for two hours, three days a week, with Atrium Health Physical Therapy to regain his mobility.
Ben Cohely has walked by his son’s side every step of the way. And while their journey continues, Ben Cohely is grateful this Father’s Day.
“It is probably wild to say this,” Ben Cohely said, “but I feel blessed by the opportunity to spend so much time with my son. After his stroke, he was bed-bound. He could not move at all. Then, we went to rehabilitation, and we’ve finally made it to PT and OT. We can’t thank the staff at Atrium Health Physical Therapy enough. His therapists are giving my son his life back.”
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