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Pat and David PennyNEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
A husband and wife in North Carolina have survived six cancer diagnoses between them<\/p>\n
David and Pat Penny of Johnston County have been married for 51 years<\/p>\n
Pat said her husband was \u201csupposed to be dead at 30,\u201d while speaking to a local news outlet<\/p>\n
A husband and wife in North Carolina have survived cancer<\/a> six times between them \u2014 a journey that has turned them into advocates for early detection.<\/p>\n David and Pat Penny of Johnston County have been married for more than 51 years, according to local news outlet WRAL<\/a>.<\/p>\n David, who is an Army veteran and was a career firefighter, has received five cancer diagnoses in his lifetime, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, sarcoma and, most recently, male breast cancer<\/a> \u2014 the latter of which affects only about 1 percent of men.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was supposed to be dead at 30,\u201d Pat said of her husband while speaking to the outlet. \u201cWe\u2019re just blessed. He\u2019s the ever-ready bunny. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n While speaking about his most recent diagnosis, David said he was conducting a self-exam in the spring of 2025 when he felt a pea-sized lump in his breast tissue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I felt it, I said, \u2018This is not normal,\u2019 \u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n He received a lumpectomy the following week, and his scans are now currently clear<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pat, meanwhile, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 56 during a routine mammogram in 2009. She credits not putting off the appointment with saving her life.<\/p>\n \u201cThey found my cancer early. It was really deeply embedded. If it had grown to the point where I could\u2019ve found it, it\u2019d have been too late,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Both David and Pat are now volunteers with the American Cancer Society, where they use their story and experience to encourage others to listen to their bodies and to get regular checkups.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody knows your body but you,\u201d David said while speaking to the outlet. \u201cIf you have anything wrong with you, don\u2019t put it off for a week or two weeks hoping it\u2019ll go away.\u201d<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!<\/a><\/p>\n