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'Duke Saved My Life,' says Retired Marine

Sgt. Major Greg Embrey, USMC-Retired, has given a gift of thanks.Sergeant Major Greg Embrey, USMC-Retired, of Jacksonville, N.C., has had more cancerous lesions in the past 30 years than he can count—at least 1,000. He believes exposure to chemicals during the Vietnam War, as well as sun exposure are the causes. The majority have been non-life-threatening basal cell carcinomas, but several have been the more dangerous melanoma cancers.

Two years ago a particularly unusual bump formed on Mr. Embrey’s face near the left eye.  While the initial biopsy was negative for cancer, within two weeks the bump had grown so big it affected his ability to wear glasses. A second biopsy showed a more aggressive carcinoma and his dermatologist at Camp Lejeune immediately made an appointment for Mr. Embrey at Duke.

The next day he was at Duke meeting with a dermatologist and a head and neck surgeon, who told him that removing the several cancerous tumors stretching down the left side of his face and neck would be extremely difficult and might result in paralysis of the left side of his face.

Mr. Embrey had multiple surgeries over two days. The first day he had Mohs Surgery—one of the most advanced cancer procedures available.  Throughout a Mohs surgery, skin samples are analyzed under a microscope to ensure all of the cancer has been removed.

The next day he had a seven-hour operation to remove cancerous saliva and lymph nodes, followed by surgery to graft skin from the side of his head over the damaged area.

The surgery was followed up with six weeks of radiation therapy, and today Mr. Embrey is living a fulfilling, healthy life.

“They saved my life,” a grateful Mr. Embrey says of his Duke doctors. “If they hadn’t caught it I’m certain I would be dead today.”

And almost miraculously, the only paralysis he suffers on his face is the inability to move his left eyebrow.

“I really appreciate everything Duke did for me,” Mr. Embrey says. “The doctors are extremely intelligent people. And everyone was extremely nice and I got a lot of support. When you’re a cancer survivor, you really appreciate things like that.”

Mr. Embrey is so grateful to Duke that he wanted to do something to help others. He made a gift to the Friends of Duke Medicine Fund, which will help fund innovative research and provide educational opportunities for future doctors and nurses—all of which will ultimately benefit patients in our community and beyond.