"Every time I got off that table, I was weaker and weaker, but there was always another set of hands right there"
By Jesus Flores, VISN 19 writer & editor
Marine Veteran Walter Lohden fought cancer twice at Oklahoma City VA and wants other Veterans to know they're in good hands.
A Marine in the DMZ
Walter Lohden enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1965. He served until 1972, spending 3 years in Vietnam, along the Demilitarized Zone near Dong Ha, Khe Sanh, Con Thien and Camp Carroll.
"I was in Vietnam, 1966, 1967 and 1968," says Walter. "I was a gunner on a Huey, and I worked on spotter planes."
Decades later, when he was diagnosed with cancer, Walter chose Oklahoma City VA Health Care System for his cancer care.
"I chose VA because it's improved so much from what it was in the 1970s," says Walter. "They've done so much for Veterans and understand Veterans."
Since September 2022, the same team has treated Walter twice for cancer and once for arthritis pain relief. He's been a patient since the 1970s.
Thirty-five sessions
Walter's treatment for head and neck cancer included 35 sessions of radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. The treatment lasted several months. Walter drove 40 miles each way from Shawnee, Oklahoma, 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 Walter 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," Walter says. "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. Walter lost so much weight that doctors placed a PEG tube, a feeding tube that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach when patients cannot 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," says Walter.
Walter's son came by every morning to make sure he ate before the drive to Oklahoma City. Near the end of treatment, Walter 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.
Walter finished treatment for head and neck cancer in January 2023.
Back for prostate cancer
In July 2024, Walter 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," says Walter. "They found it by accident."
Walter completed 28 sessions of radiation therapy for prostate cancer and finished in September 2024.
Arthritis pain relief
In May 2025, Walter started radiation therapy for osteoarthritis in both knees, a treatment that reduces inflammation and pain. He completed 12 treatments and finished in September 2025.
The same people every time
The staff have known Walter for over 3 years. He joked with them and gave them nicknames.
"I had so much fun teasing because they teased me back," says Walter. "The whole staff. I'd give them nicknames. I had fun with them, and they'd pick back."
Chief Radiation Therapist Ashley Arres says Walter 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 drive to Oklahoma City to visit the team.
Telling other Veterans
Walter is cancer-free. He will need follow-up care for years to make sure the cancer does not return.
"I'm cured," says Walter. "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 Oklahoma City VA.
"Don't be afraid to go to the VA," says Walter. "I mean, no matter what you heard. Just do it, just do it and don't worry about it."