At Face Value: My Struggle With a Disfiguring Cancer

by Terry Healey

I was a senior at the University of California at Berkeley. At the age of twenty, my life had been smooth sailing, seldom interrupted with adversity or difficulty. I was confident and not concerned much with my appearance. But out of nowhere, a lump had formed behind my right nostril. I had cancer. I fought it and survived. But after multiple surgeries and radiation treatment, I would discover that I hadn't even begun to deal with what would become my greatest struggle for years to come - the disfigurement that resulted from it. At Face Value explores the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges that a disfiguring cancer brings to one's life. It's a story about tragedy, obstacles, and ultimately, about triumph. At Face Value is a personal story that tells about the life I celebrated, but took for granted; the life I abhorred and tried to change; and the life that I treasured because it finally had meaning.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kathleen Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

At Face Value is Terry Healey’s candid story of fibrosarcoma, the rare cancer that arose in the cartilage tissues of his face when he was twenty—a strapping athlete and Greek man in his junior year at UC Berkeley. A handsome stud who measures his comings and goings in term papers and sports seasons and weekend keggers. Terry approaches his cancer with the same gung-ho spirit, facing his initial surgeries with the cheeky confidence of someone who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. Which is lucky. The trust he places in his primary surgical oncologist is crucial to his willingness to commit to the journey.

But the journey proves longer than expected, with bewildering twists and turns, and disfigurement more pronounced than he has fully contemplated. An intense course of radiation follows his initial surgeries, buying insurance against rogue cancer cells—but gravely compromising the healthy tissue so critical to reconstruction of his face. His surgeon’s often repeated promise to make Terry “streetable” is altogether different than “getting back the old Terry”, as he is anticipating. Still, a seemingly endless parade of pretty nurses helps him keep his head in the game, as he crisscrosses the country to access the medical expertise his reconstruction requires.

Replete with the sort of true to life dialogue that puts the reader right in the scene, At Face Value follows a callow youth as he is forced to mature sooner than he’d planned, learning lessons of patience, humility, appreciation for small victories, and tolerance for disappointments—his own and others’. Terry relies upon his solid Catholic faith, in prayer, visualization, what he calls “positive thinking”, and above all the support of his loving parents and brothers. Ultimately seizing ownership of both his illness and his destiny, Terry discovers a calling to give back through cancer support organizations, and finds his reward, not in “getting back to Terry” but in stepping forward, into an even better life.

[Usman Kamran · Rating 5 out of 5]

At Face Value is an incredibly powerful and eye-opening memoir. Terry Healey’s journey hit me in a way few stories do. At just twenty years old — an age where most of us feel untouchable — he was forced to confront a reality that would change not only his health, but his identity.

In a world that puts so much weight on appearance, Terry’s strength becomes even more remarkable. He doesn’t just survive a life-altering diagnosis; he learns to navigate life with a facial difference in a society that doesn’t always make space for that. The courage, honesty, and emotional depth he shares while rebuilding his life is nothing short of inspiring.

This book reminded me how fragile life is, how quickly everything can change, and how much resilience the human spirit truly holds. It’s moving, humbling, and beautifully told — a story that encourages you to look beyond the surface and appreciate the quiet bravery it takes to reinvent yourself after unimaginable hardship.