After cancer, he is singing more joyfully than ever (2024)

Robert Wynn Jr. loves to spread joy. One of six children in a family from Winnsboro, South Carolina, he often shares happiness through food, cooking for his large family. He also loves to sew, bringing smiles to others when he wears his handmade, custom bowties. But most of all, Wynn spreads joy through music. As the assistant choir director and a singer at his church, he often uplifts others with his voice.

“God has always put a song in my heart and in my head,” he said.

So when Wynn was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the fall of 2021, he feared it would steal away the music and joy in his life. DLBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the U.S., with more than 18,000 people being diagnosed each year.

After receiving the news, Wynn said it brought him to a turning point in a conversation with God: “You have a decision to make: Either you are going to live, or you are going to die. If you choose to live, you’re going to have to fight,” was the message he received.

Now, the song in Wynn’s heart became his battle cry. With a team of expert oncologists and hematologists behind him at the Novant Health Agnes B. and Edward I. Weisiger Cancer Institute, he faced down his cancer.

In 2021, Wynn was a healthy 46-year-old living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and had recently completed a master’s degree in human resource management from Strayer University. He knew something was wrong when he began experiencing heart palpitations and an irregular heartbeat, and inexplicably losing weight.

He underwent a series of diagnostic procedures at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. An MRI revealed a mass on the right ventricle of his heart that appeared cancerous. Doctors recommended an open-chest procedure for a biopsy. This would be an intense procedure, requiring months of recovery with live-in support.

Wynn went home and weighed whether to have the biopsy. He sought counsel from his siblings and his pastor. Good news came the following week when his doctor called to share that they had found an alternative: A minimally invasive option through his neck that meant a much smaller incision and far quicker recovery time.

“You can imagine the relief that fell off my shoulders,” Wynn said. “I was like, ‘Thank you, God!’”

Fighting a complex cancer

Following the procedure, doctors gave Wynn his DLBCL diagnosis. He felt like his whole world was turned upside down. He had no history of cancer in his family.

“It impacted my entire life,” he said. “When you receive a diagnosis like that, the only thing you can think is, ‘I am going to die.’”

But his care team reassured him, they were going to fight.

Dr. Alan Skarbnik, Wynn’s hematologist oncologist at the Novant Health Cancer Institute - Elizabeth and director of Novant Health’s Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program, called Wynn’s cancer “quite complex.” And his expertise is treating these complex cases.

Wynn’s DLBCL had reached an advanced stage, and Skarbnik individualized Wynn’s treatment course to come. He would receive chemoimmunotherapy, combining chemotherapy medication that kills cancer cells with immunotherapy treatment that helps the body’s immune system fight cancer.

This combination treatment is a newer approach than chemotherapy alone. Wynn would also receive alternating days of blood transfusions and lumbar punctures to deliver chemotherapy directly into his cerebrospinal fluid.

Finding strength through music

But it was not going to be easy. While undergoing chemotherapy treatments, Wynn experienced the fatigue that is a common side effect, and he sometimes broke down into crying spells. His hair fell out, and his skin and nails darkened.

He thought of his mother, who worked three jobs to support her six children, and taught them all the importance of remaining optimistic, no matter what. He struggled to smile, the way she encouraged him to do, even in hard times. But through this trying time, he knew where he could turn to restore his positive spirit: to music.

While receiving his cancer treatments, Wynn would listen to spiritual choir music through a Bluetooth skull cap. In the infusion center overlooking the skyline of uptown Charlotte, team members became accustomed to hearing his voice rising up in song.

“It was a lifesaver,” he said. “The music uplifted me and kept me going.”

Wynn relied on the support of people around him, too. His best friend Scottie Haile, whom he calls his “ride or die,” helped him with personal and household tasks like bathing, cooking and cleaning. Wynn also met Susan Berry, a social worker at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, whom he calls his “guardian angel.”

“We bonded instantly,” Wynn said. “Anything I needed, she was right on it.”

‘I love Novant Health’

Along his journey, Wynn realized how important it is to find the right doctor – “someone who’s very knowledgeable about your diagnosis” – and found peace knowing that he was receiving the best care.

“Novant Health was wonderful. I love them, and I hate hospitals,” he said, laughing. “I love Novant Health because from the day I walked in the door they were patient and understanding. The compassion they had for me was unbelievable.”

Drawing inspiration from his music, family, friends and his care team surrounding him, Wynn completed his cancer treatments and today he is more than two years cancer-free. Despite the physical and mental toll of cancer, Wynn said he’s stronger now than ever. He embraces life in a new way and found his purpose.

“I look at life totally differently because I feel like a totally different man,” he said. “I’m here with a meaning and a purpose. And everyone who meets me, they know.”