Dr. Suen is an Arkansas legend

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 10, 2026

By Jeff Brasel/Harrison Daily Times

We were young. One daughter had reached middle school and one was in elementary.

Becky was a high school English teacher and I was a sports writer.
My wife had a temporary cap placed on a tooth. It might have been her first cavity ever.
The cap on her tooth created a sore on her tongue. A quick trip to her dentist got the real cap on but the sore remained.
After a couple of months of trying various medicines, she had an appointment to have it reexamined to make sure it was OK. The dentist immediately sent her across the hall to an oral surgeon who called it a chronic sore and he could remove it so that the tongue could heal.
When she was scheduled for the post-surgery checkup, the oral surgeon’s office called me asking me to accompany my wife to her appointment.
The warning signs went off in my mind, but we could never imagine the conversation that we were about to have.
I surprised her with my appearance, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise of the day.
That surprise was when the “C” word was dropped on us.
Cancer.
What were we to do?
Our faith is in Christ, but this is something that was going to rock our world.
We got advice from our medical friends who were doctors. Dr. Cathy Clary got us an appointment with Dr. James Suen at UAMS.
He was the best head and neck oncologist in the world and he was in Arkansas.
We made the visit to see him. He was a very caring man full of compassion and empathy
He explained to us what needed to be done.
We were in shock that cancer had struck our family.
But we trusted this man. We trusted him with my wife’s life.
Her cancer was serious and needed immediate attention.
We get to UAMS for surgery and there are delays after delays. My wife finally had surgery and we got the news that he was able to remove all of the cancer. We got to come home a few days later with my wife and 120 stitches one day before Thanksgiving. That year I thoroughly enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich for Thanksgiving while Becky slept for her recovery.
Her cancer came back seven years later, then again, again, again, again and again. Yes, six times to be exact.
Every time Dr. Suen took care of her. She has made many medical text books because of Dr. Suen and her unique reoccurrence of the same cancer on different sides of her head.
Dr. Suen fought his own cancer and helped thousands of Arkansans live life after their battle with cancer. Besides Becky, Dr. Suen helped some rather famous people along the way. We once had to wait an extended time for a visit as the vice-president of Mexico was in his office. Then there is Bill Clinton, Jerry Jones, Charlie Pride to name a few.
Dr. Suen touched lives and extended them. We are so proud that he was an Arkansas boy saving Arkansas lives. He, along with another doctor, established the cancer treatment center at UAMS.
This week Dr. Suen lost his battle with cancer.
He may be gone, but his legacy will last forever.
There will not be a November go by that I will not mention to my grandsons that they wouldn’t have their BeBe if it wasn’t for Dr. Suen.
I am very grateful for what this wonderful man has done for my family.

Jeff Brasel is the sports and managing editor and general manager of the Harrison Daily Times. E-mail him at jeffb@harrisondaily.com or follow him at X.com/jeffbrasel.