At age 71, Tom McCarroll Sr. is facing perhaps his toughest battle yet, but he is not slowing down.

The Tamaqua resident is recovering from an intense surgery to remove a tumor that developed in a second bout with oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer that affects the middle part of the pharynx.

The 15-hour surgery in September involved removing his larynx, part of his esophagus and his thyroid.

Doctors took skin grafts from both of his thighs to build a new tube to get food into his stomach and separated his airway from that tube.

He lost his voice and so much else.

“I now breathe through my neck,” he said. “Then in October they put in a prosthetic voice device. I’m am now trying to get used to it.”

He lost 40 pounds because he can’t eat the way he used to with the new tube leading to his stomach.

“His life is completely different, he eats completely different, speaks a new way,” his wife Michele said.

She says he has to suction his airway 10 times a day. “If his prosthetic comes undone which it has three times we have to get immediately to Geisinger so that operation doesn’t close and saliva doesn’t leak to his airway.”

“It’s a struggle every minute of everyday,” she said.

He had his first bout with cancer in 1999. He had 45 radiation treatments then and he can’t have any more.

His son, Tom McCarroll Jr., remembers he was in his senior year of college when his dad took him and his three siblings Tim, Dustin and Kristen, to the beach to break the news.

“For me personally it was an unbelievable piece of news,” Tom Jr. says.

The younger McCarroll remembers his dad was the “best at everything,” very involved in sports. Likewise, he challenged his children to be “as good as we could possibly be.”

McCarroll was 47 at the time. “What he did was nothing short of tremendous,” Tom Jr. said.

“The fact that we’re talking about this now speaks volumes.”

His dad is one of 10 siblings. Seven are left and provide an enormous support system. “There is always someone there for him,” Tom Jr. said.

When his dad told him the cancer had returned and the extent of the surgery, Tom Jr. was stunned. “Anybody who knows dad knows he’s a talker and can relate to a lot of people.”

Tom Sr. hasn’t stopped. “It’s most impressive that he continues to do what he does,” Tom Jr. said. “He is always moving. He has taken on volunteering as a job.”

He is vice president and head of the house committee for the East End Fire Company, serving as chairman of the block party committee and head of the golf tournament.

He has been raising money for the Cancer Telethon for 20 years, bringing in at least $100,000. Even before the diagnosis, his goal was to raise money to find a cure.

This year he becomes the first person to receive the Cancer Fighter Award for his fundraising efforts and the Courage Award for his battle.

Through he has pain from the skin grafts, hie wife said, “He will have a normal life span and he will communicate and thrive.”

He has been a member of the fire company for over 50 years.

“I think it’s very important to help out in the community and the fire company is a great way to do that,” McCarroll said.

Michele said, “As soon as his feeding tube was removed and his grafts on his thighs healed, he started preparing for his indoor yard sale at the East End Fire Company for ACS. I was a wreck to let him do this."

She said his body was healing and he could not speak. “The only way to get our lives back was to let him loose,” Michele said.

Tom Jr. added, “When you’re 71 and get cancer and have crazy surgery it’s easy to shut things down, but not him.”

This past Christmas he orchestrated his drive to feed and give presents to over 40 families in the Schuylkill and Carbon area. There were 150 children and he did it without a voice.

“It ran smooth as silk,” Michele said.

Both Tom Jr. and his son Tim commented on all the things their father does.

“What a fighter,” Tim said, saying his father is his inspiration. Because of him, he can say, “Life’s not fair, but you can’t just give up.”

They say he never complains and makes people realize their bad days really aren’t that bad.

Tom Sr. said, “I don’t think cancer has changed me all that much. I may look different physically but really think I’m the same guy inside that I’ve always been I believe I’m coping pretty well and I try not let it affect my everyday routine.”

He had surgery in January to place a voice prosthetic. “It’s hard getting used to communicating but I try to stay positive I do know that I wouldn’t be doing as good as I am without the love and persistence of my wife Michele.”

And the siblings are always there. His brother Frank said, “He’s very strong. I don’t know where he gets strength to do everything. He doesn’t give up.”

McCarroll commented on the Courage Award. “I’m not sure what courage really is but if it’s having family and friends who constantly tell you you’ve got this and you are strong you’ll beat this then I have enough courage for a few lifetimes!”

McCarroll will receive his Courage Award on the Cancer Telethon in the 7 o’clock hour Sunday night. The telethon will broadcast live on BRC from noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday.