Sheriff Spangler shares cancer update

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler shared some good news on Election Night regarding his battle with cancer.

At the Republican watch party in Knoxville on Aug. 1, Sheriff Spangler, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, told 6 On Your Side’s Don Dare that the tumor doctors found is about gone.

Spangler, who has served as Knox County sheriff since 2018, revealed his cancer diagnosis earlier this year , and had assured the public in a written statement that the day-to-day operations of the sheriff’s office would not be disrupted and that the disease was identified in the early stages.

On Thursday night, Spangler told Dare he had been “very blessed,” and appeared to be in good spirits.

“I’m doing good, really good,” Spangler said. “Things are positive, I’ve been very blessed… The tumor’s DNA is still at zero, which is absolutely where they wanted it to be. I think we started out with it being at eleven. So, it’s gone down to where they say it is almost non-existent, so it is not moving around in my blood system.”

Spangler is now halfway through his second term as Knox County sheriff. He was first elected in 2018 and previously served as a Knox County Chief Deputy. He was reelected in 2022 after defeating former Sheriff JJ Jones.

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