After cancer changed the way food tasted, a Daytona Beach survivor found a way to help others

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Phillip Sceiczina always loved the parts of life that brought people together around food. So when he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer years after surviving prostate cancer, he worried about more than getting through treatment. He worried cancer could change the way food tasted and take away some of the joy he had always found in food.

While traveling in Italy in 2024, Sceiczina, 65, of Daytona Beach, ate Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a traditional Florentine steak, and began noticing discomfort when swallowing bread. The next morning, he awoke with a sore neck and discovered a lump in his throat.

After returning home, imaging and a biopsy at AdventHealth Daytona Beach showed oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, a form of head and neck cancer.

Surviving prostate cancer years earlier gave Sceiczina confidence that he could face cancer again. But his first thought was not about himself.

“What went through my mind was, how am I going to tell my wife, Stephanie?” he said. “I knew that she would get very emotional, so I just swallowed my emotions and we both said, ‘Let’s fight this.’”

He underwent two surgeries at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs in August 2024. The procedures removed part of the back of his tongue, part of his tonsil and a tumor wrapped around his carotid artery.

After an extensive recovery that included a feeding tube, he returned to AdventHealth Daytona Beach in October 2024 for radiation treatment.

Radiation Oncologist Shiv Desai, MD, created a personalized treatment plan for Sceiczina that used lower doses and targeted a smaller area to treat his cancer while helping limit side effects.

But his recovery was not finished after his 30 radiation treatments.

For Sceiczina, one of the most personal parts involved something that had been part of his life since childhood: food.

Sceiczina had been cooking since fifth grade, took food classes through high school and later worked his way from dishwasher to the line at an Italian restaurant. Pasta Sunday remains a family tradition his adult children now carry on themselves.

For him, cooking was always more than a hobby. It was a way to care for family and friends.

Phillip’s neighbor recommended the memoir "Life, on the Line" by Grant Achatz, a three-Michelin-star chef who overcame stage 4 tongue cancer and wrote about his experience relearning how to taste and create food.

The book gave Sceiczina both hope and practical inspiration during a difficult part of his recovery.

“I had zero taste. That was the most unpleasant and frustrating time,” he said.

Because his food initially had to be soft, he started with vanilla ice cream, concentrating on trying to recognize sweetness.

He had not lost his sense of smell, so he began slowing down, paying closer attention to aromas and using memories of how food once tasted as a guide.

Gradually, flavors began to return. Sweetness came first followed by salt.

“It was a true blessing when those first flavors began returning,” Sceiczina said.

His taste has since returned, although he still experiences some dry mouth and occasional difficulty swallowing.

The experience also changed the way he approaches food.

“I smell everything because I want the memories,” he said. “I think people don’t take the time to really smell their food. They are missing the opportunity to create memories.”

When Sceiczina finished the book, he gave it to Dr. Desai so other patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer could benefit from it.

“Phillip was profoundly impacted by the book, and he wanted to pay that forward,” Dr. Desai said. “I’ve now shared it with three other patients. They’ve returned it and asked me to give it to the next patient who needs it. It has become a special tradition. What Phillip started is now helping other patients through their own recoveries and reconnect with what matters to them.”

Sceiczina's journey reached a much larger audience during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, where he was recognized as a 2026 Cancer Hero and his name appeared on the No. 43 car driven by Erik Jones.

The recognition was part of the NASCAR Foundation’s Honor a Cancer Hero Online Auction Program Presented by AdventHealth.

AdventHealth is the Official Healthcare Provider of Daytona International Speedway and a partner of NASCAR Cup Series team, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

“It’s hard to put into words what it meant to have my name on Erik Jones’ car,” Sceiczina said. “It was a very moving and emotional experience that brought me to tears. I wish there was room for all the survivors on the car. The real heroes are the doctors, nurses and all the staff at AdventHealth. I was just a patient.”

Dr. Desai sees it differently.

“He went through something that changed his life, worked hard to recover and then chose to help others facing the same thing,” he said. “That is what makes Phillip a hero. He is not looking for recognition. He wants to make the road a little easier for the next person.”