Mark Sevillano Jr.
“Cancer gave me a huge wake-up call, telling me that each day is a gift. Now, I don’t take anyone or anything in my life for granted.”
It was the summer of 2024 when Mark Sevillano Jr., then age 40, noticed something strange: He was having trouble swallowing. The cause of this, he learned, was stage 2 esophageal cancer. “At that moment, I wondered if I was actually going to die,” he says. “Cancer held a huge clock in front of my face and said, ‘Mark, you don’t have as much time on Earth as you thought.’ I had lived my life as if I had a bunch of years ahead of me. I had a million other things to think about: my kids, career, bills, family, and friends. But the truth is, cancer stopped me in my tracks and slowed my life down.”
His treatment included chemotherapy. “I suddenly had to learn what the aftereffects of chemotherapy felt like, and I learned new words like scanxiety, malignant, port, and remission. I was thrown into an entire new world.” Mark then underwent his first and only surgery, an eight-hour robotic procedure. “They removed a strawberry-sized tumor from my esophagus,” he describes. “It took me an entire year to recover from that major surgery, yet I still experience some side effects to this day.”
Now looking back, Mark reflects, “there is nothing that can prepare you for a life-altering diagnosis like that.” He relied on a strong support system and his faith and took things “one day at a time.” Mark’s support system included his mother. “She was my main caregiver, and I am forever grateful for her.” He recalls the memory of recovering from the surgery, feeling incredibly weakened and deprived of contact: “By day 4 or 5, I remember saying, ‘Mom, this might sound random, but could you give me a hug please?’ Without hesitation, my mom got up from her seat, walked over to my hospital bed and lifted my back up slightly, put her arms around me and gave me the best hug ever! I will never forget that moment.”
Today, Mark has no evidence of disease and dedicates himself to bringing people together as a wedding officiant, all while advocating for other cancer patients and raising awareness. “The best advice I would give someone facing a new diagnosis is to please hold on to hope,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what stage you are in—please never stop hoping that there will be a cure, that you will reach remission, that the cancer you have will stabilize, or that you might be contributing to new treatments through clinical trials. You might think that you can’t get through it but let me remind you that you are stronger than you think. Let my story give you hope.”
Our Mission
Stand Up To Cancer raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients. Find out how you can get involved.
