From Vietnam to victory: A Veteran’s cancer journey

“Every time I got off that table, I was weaker and weaker, but there was always another set of hands right there”

Walter Lohden enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965. He served until 1972, spending three years in Vietnam, along the Demilitarized Zone near Dong Ha, Khe Sanh, Con Thien and Camp Carroll.

“I was in Vietnam, from 1966 to 1968,” said Lohden. “I was a gunner on a Huey (UH-1N a light-lift utility helicopter), and I worked on spotter planes.”

Decades later, when he was diagnosed with cancer, Lohden chose Oklahoma City VA Health Care System (OKCVAHCS) for his cancer care.

“I chose VA because it’s improved so much from what it was in the 70’s,” he said. “They’ve done so much for Veterans and understand Veterans.”

Since Sept. 2022, the same team has treated Lohden twice for cancer and once for arthritis pain relief. He’s been a patient since the 70’s.

Thirty-five sessions

Lohden’s treatment for head and neck cancer included 35 sessions of radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. The treatment lasted several months. Lohden drove 40 miles each way from Shawnee, Okla., to Oklahoma City for every session.

His days were long. He would start with radiation treatment, move to the chemotherapy clinic for blood work, return for more radiation, then spend the rest of the day receiving chemotherapy infusions through an IV.

Staff fitted Lohden with a custom plastic mask to hold his head and shoulders perfectly still during each radiation session. The mask ensures the radiation beams hit the same target every time. The radiation was delivered using a linear accelerator, a machine that rotates around the patient and directs high-energy beams at cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissue.

“It was rough, but that was the nicest group of people that was back there in the radiation that I ever seen,” Lohden said. “They took care of me. They’d get me laid down, and they’d get me comfortable, and they put my mask on me.”

Head and neck radiation often causes painful mouth sores, difficulty swallowing, severe skin reactions and extreme fatigue. Lohden lost so much weight that doctors placed a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tube on him that delivered nutrition directly to his stomach when he couldn’t eat by mouth.

His fatigue worsened with each treatment.

“Every time I got off that table, I was weaker and weaker, but there was always another set of hands right there to walk me down the hallway and make sure I was stable,” he shared.

Lohden’s son came by every morning to make sure he ate before the drive to Oklahoma City. Near the end of treatment, Lohden asked his son to stop reminding him how many sessions he had left. He told him just to let him know when it was done.

Lohden finished treatment for head and neck cancer in Jan. 2023.

Back for prostate cancer

In July 2024, Lohden returned to the same team for prostate cancer treatment.

“Prostate. They found it when they were looking for the other, fixing the other cancer in my throat and everything,” he said. “They found it by accident.”

Lohden completed 28 sessions of radiation therapy for prostate cancer and finished in Sept. 2024.

Arthritis pain relief

In May 2025, Lohden started radiation therapy for osteoarthritis in both knees, a treatment that reduces inflammation and pain. He completed 12 treatments and finished in Sept. 2025.

The same people every time

The staff have known Lohden for over three years. He joked with them and gave them nicknames.

“I had so much fun teasing because they teased me back,” he said. “The whole staff. I’d give them nicknames. I had fun with them, and they’d pick back.”

Chief Radiation Therapist Ashley Arres says Lohden is grateful to the Radiation Oncology team and visits them when he’s in Oklahoma City for a VA appointment. Despite living nearly an hour away, he’ll make the drive to visit the team.

Telling other Veterans

Lohden is now cancer-free. He will need follow-up care for years to make sure the cancer doesn’t return.

“I’m cured,” he said. “I mean, I know I’ve got so many years to go, to make sure they check it out again, but they got me.”

He wants other Veterans to know they can trust the cancer care they’ll receive at OKCVAHCS.

“Don’t be afraid to go to VA,” he added. “I mean, no matter what you heard. Just do it, just do it and don’t worry about it.”