Leland’s Story: Song Implores Patients to ‘Fight to Survive’
Everyone deals with cancer in their own way, but when you’re a retired country music singer and truck driver, writing a song about the experience is as natural as breathing.
Leland Martin’s song, “Fight to Survive,” was inspired by his sisters, who showed their support during chemotherapy by having T-shirts made with his picture and featuring the slogan. The song was released to streaming platforms in May, and a video was released on YouTube in September.
Leland was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2024. Under the care of Dr. Dushyant Verma and his team at American Oncology Network (AON) partner practice Oncology Hematology Associates (OHA) in Springfield, Missouri, Leland underwent three months of chemotherapy followed by Whipple surgery, then an additional five months of chemotherapy. Although most people undergo just one or two months of chemo following surgery, OHA physicians determined that Leland’s body was healthy enough for a more-aggressive course. In the summer of 2025, Leland’s tumor was no longer detectable!
“Dr. Verma and his staff were awesome and so caring and professional,” Leland recalled. “The front desk was always so nice and supportive. And the nurses who gave me my treatments were kind and uplifting and very professional. Me and my wife, Pam, were very impressed with them all.”
Born in 1957, Leland always loved music. He was inspired by an Elvis Presley movie to learn to play the guitar and sing. His musical tastes turned country after hearing Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, musicians as pivotal to country music as Elvis was to rock ‘n’ roll.
His early life evokes a country song: growing up in Success, Missouri, one of nine children finding their way in a rural environment. “I had a happy childhood there with good country people,” Leland said. “Mom had nine kids to raise, and she did an awesome job doing it. That’s why she’s my hero.” He learned to hunt and fish, which helped put food on the table. Leland continued to hone his musical skills, playing and singing at local auction houses and country stores.
Leland married in 1974, working in sawmills or driving trucks, most often dump trucks. He and his wife, Pam, have one son and two grandchildren. Over the first two decades of marriage, Leland started writing original songs that he would perform along with country standards.
In the mid-1990s, Leland ventured to Nashville to live his country music dreams. After releasing “Home Is Where the Honky Tonk Is,” on Rival Records in 1998, he was signed to IGO Records after being noticed by a producer during a performance at the famous Bluebird Cafe. One album and two videos from the IGO release “Simply Traditional” met with some success. He released two more albums during his decade in Nashville, then moved to Republic, Missouri, and worked in road construction for a decade before retiring at 64.
The cancer diagnosis came three years later. While some describe cancer as a battle, Leland takes a more philosophical view, referring to it as a journey. And he never expected his cancer journey would take him back to a recording studio with his longtime producer, Doug Driesel, to record “Fight to Survive.” But he wanted to raise awareness, support, and research to beat cancer, Leland said.
“I just wanted to give back in some way for all everyone has given me,” Leland said. “My dream is to give everyone battling cancer hope and inspiration to fight hard to win. I have so many stories of people who gave me hope and strength, and I want to share those stories with everyone I can, so that it may inspire others in their cancer battles!”
In other words, Leland Martin wants everyone to “Fight to Survive.”