Ear ache leads to cancer diagnosis for WFU security guard

By Jackie Pascale

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    WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — Scott Smith has always wanted to be in law enforcement. He’s served with the Winston-Salem Police Department, the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control System and, now, Wake Forest University security. He said it’s all because he loves helping people.

As he walks Wake’s campus, averaging 8 miles per shift, he’s realizing how much the people help him. Sometimes, he even forgets all the struggles he’s been through in the last year and a half.

In the beginning of 2024, Smith said he had an ear ache, figuring it was an ear infection. His doctor gave him antibiotics, but the pain wouldn’t go away. Smith described it running down into his jaw, and his doctor eventually referred him to an ear, nose and throat doctor.

“I was in the doctor’s office for five minutes, and he said, ‘You do not have an ear infection. You have a lump at the base of your tongue,” Smith said. “He did a biopsy. A few days later, the doctor called and said that I had cancer.”

Smith said the lump had been pushing on the ear canal, causing the pain.

“He said it’s very unusual, that’s not usually how we find it, but luckily, by the grace of God, they found it,” Smith said. “I’m so glad I checked.”

It was stage one tongue cancer, but still required intense treatments to ensure it would not spread any further. Smith noted he worked with Dr. Shaiba Sandhu, an oral medicine provider at Novant Health’s Forsyth Cancer Institute. She ensured his teeth and jaw would be able to handle the radiation. Watch our web-exclusive interview with Dr. Sandhu here, about why this can be a life-saving step for all those undergoing cancer treatment.

Starting March 12, Smith underwent 35 rounds of radiation and six rounds of chemo, all done in less than seven weeks.

“That was probably the hardest thing I went through,” Smith said. “The 30th day, I was so sick, and it was so hard with just how bad I felt. I told my wife, I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’m done. I don’t want to go anymore.’ And she pulled me through it.”

“She said, ‘Don’t worry, God’s got this. We got this together. We’re going to get through this as a family,'” Smith said.

His family screamed and cried tears of joy when they found out on July 22 that he was cancer-free.

Nearly one year later, Smith still does daily throat and jaw exercises. He has a slight lisp, from the effects of chemo and radiation on his salivary glands, and gets blisters from the friction. He also gets check-ups with his Novant Health team of doctors every two months.

Smith said it’s all worth it to keep living a life with his family and continuing his mission to help others. He just joined the cancer institute volunteer team this week, wanting to help other patients the way volunteers helped him through his darkest, weakest moments.

Smith is also back working as a security guard at Wake Forest University, from the short-term disability he went on during treatment. As he takes his walks, he said he almost forgets the story behind his smile.

“The people here are so friendly,” he said. “Seeing people, the students, I can just talk to them. It makes it easier, and you can forget for a while.”

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