In 2015, musician John Tesh received devastating news. Tesh was six months past his regular physical due to helping his ailing mother-in-law when his doctor noticed something suspicious during a digital rectal exam. After a sonogram and biopsy, it became clear: Tesh had stage III prostate cancer and might have only 18 months to live if the cancer was inoperable. He was told to get his affairs in order. “I just was like, ‘OK, this is over.’ And so, there was some tears. It’s like getting a brick in the face. And my wife, who is a faith-filled Italian girl from the Bronx, just rose up, and she [said] that ‘this is not us,’” Tesh told “Good Morning America.”

After much research, Tesh found an expert who felt he could remove the cancer. That August after his diagnosis, Tesh had a radical prostatectomy which was a success, but led to an intestinal blockage. He received what is called a “nasogastric tube” to treat the blockage, an experience that was so awful, Tesh wasn’t sure he wanted to live any more. He fell into what he called a “pity party,” falling into drugs and alcohol. It nearly broke up his marriage to wife, actress Connie Sellecca, whom he’d married in 1992. “I was not behaving. I was drinking too much, and when you’re a terminal patient, you can get any meds you want, and so, I was — Connie calls it — I was in the middle of a pity party, and so she just said, ‘Come on, snap out of it,’ and she wasn’t having any of it,” he said.

In 2017, Tesh thought prostate cancer might be a thing of the past after his surgery. However a routine MRI showed the cancer seemed to have spread to his lymph nodes. Rather than give up, Sellecca suggested Tesh reach out to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. There the suspicious lymph nodes, which were indeed cancerous, were removed through robotic surgery under the care of Brian Chapin, M.D. Tesh also underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and a type of hormone therapy called androgen deprivation therapy. He continues to be treated by MD Anderson, with regular bone scans, MRIs, and CT scans. He still lives with prostate cancer, but it is currently stable. Meanwhile, he continues with his life, enjoying time with his grandchildren and even making new music. Through it all, Sellecca has stood by him, something for which he said has been vital for his survival. “I’m able to look back at the things that have happened in my marriage and look at the strength that Connie imparted to me,” he told “GMA.” “ If you unplug that piece from my journey, I’m not here.”