Diné/Hopi comedy star encourages Indian Country to check your health

ALBUQUERQUE – James Junes, a Diné and Hopi comedian, 53, didn’t know tasting apple sauce would be so enticing after starving for 33 days for medical treatment.

Junes is from Red Valley, Arizona and is Red Water born for the Bear Clan. His maternal grandfather is Tangle Clan, and his paternal grandfather is Waters Edge Clan.

In 2018, Junes felt as if he were in a movie as he struggled with the harrowing decision of whether to keep doing comedy shows while seeing and feeling his body change as cancer set in.

“I couldn’t really stop because I had no other job,” said Junes. “This (performing) was my only source of income so I said ‘Let’s do it.’”

As the pain grew in Junes’ abdominal area, he went to the hospital for help and underwent a colonoscopy. The procedure revealed that he had a pre-cancerous growth in his colon, and so doctors scheduled its removal.

Junes was medically starved after his procedure for 33 days because of leakage from eating.

Junes returned to performing and believed that would be his last run-in with cancer, but five years later in the spring of 2023, the cancer reappeared.

“I thought, ‘Oh gosh, I thought that I had gotten rid of this,’” said Junes.

This time, the growth was on the opposite side of his colon. He required a specialist because through a colonoscopy doctors discovered that this growth was not a solid tumor and was benign.
Junes then checked into the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The thought of needing to go to a cancer center was daunting to Junes.

“This is where people come as their final hope,” said Junes. “I never thought in a million years I’d be at a cancer center seeking help.”

Junes underwent multiple colonoscopies where it seemed as if the cancer was hiding but at the same time continuing to grow or metastasize.

Each day Junes constantly had questions pop into his head about his next choice.

“It seemed like there were more questions than answers,” said Junes.

Because it was hard to navigate where the cancerous growth was coming from, it became even scarier to Junes seeing that the doctors didn’t even know where it was and what to do.
To this day, Junes doesn’t have all his questions answered.

In October, Junes underwent surgery to start the removal of the growth. He was surrounded by his immediate family.

As Junes was a part of the family favorite comedy duo, James and Ernie, and later 49 Laughs, he grew in the hearts of many fans he considers his comedic family.

On social media or in-person, Junes was shown love and support by everyone to whom he had been able to give laughter and motivation.

Junes was confident in the surgery succeeding because of robotic use and state of the art technology. However, the robotic procedure had to be abandoned because of an abundance of scar tissue from his 2018 surgery.

Instead, surgeons had to go in themselves. When they opened up Junes, they found 18 polyps that June called “ticking time bombs.”

The more polyps a person has, the more likely they are to get cancer, according to the cancer center’s website.

“Go figure, the body fights to stay alive, involuntarily,” said Junes.

Since his surgery in the beginning of October, Junes has been on his way to recovery and getting back into show business.

Since 2018, Junes experienced the trials and tribulations of battling cancer and understands it’s a lot, not only for him but his family, too.

Despite those difficulties, Junes continued to get up each day to go to the hospital, to voice his concerns and discomfort, and that’s what he wants other Diné and Natives to do – seek medical help.

“Go get checked, go to your appointments,” said Junes. “It may be troublesome, it may be a lot of waiting in the waiting room, waiting for calls, but that’s where the fight is.”

As a result of Junes’ learning process of what caused his health issues, he knows the food on the reservation is a concern.

Fast food like McDonalds and KFC that are quick meals for families on the reservation, aren’t the healthiest items for people to consume regularly.

Junes is an avid cyclist so on top of eating better and cutting out fast-food, he was exercising for the sake of his health.

To Junes, the fight against cancer started when he needed to get back up after surgery.

“It’s like when the referee is counting to 10, are you going to get back up or are you going to just lay there?” said Junes.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, the symptoms of colon or colorectal cancer are changes in bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation), rectal bleeding, blood in stool, discomfort in abdominal area, feeling like bowel movements aren’t moving, weakness and tiredness, and losing weight without trying.

The Mayo Clinic advises seeing a doctor when the symptoms are lasting longer than a typical discomfort.

Causes of the cancer aren’t entirely pinpointed but people at higher risk of getting colorectal cancer are of older age (50s), history of colorectal cancer or having polyps, inflammatory bowel diseases, inherited syndromes, family history of colon cancer, lack of regularly exercising, diabetes, obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol and radiation therapy for cancer.

Junes not only heard from his doctors to take care of his health through exercising and eating better but from Dine elders.

Junes remembers sayings from his elders that encouraged him to keep fighting for his health, if no one speaks up on their concerns, no one can help.

“Our elders always talk about these things, ‘iiná,’ life, take care of it, watch what you say, watch what you do,” said Junes.

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