Couple who postponed wedding plans after dual cancer diagnoses tie the knot

A New Jersey couple whose plans to wed years ago were derailed after they were both diagnosed with cancer finally tied the knot on Saturday.  Ashley Wood and Kevin Sochanchak, who have been together for 11 years, said “I do” with the help of Adelphia restaurant in Deptford, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

The couple had won a contest for an all-expenses paid wedding hosted by the restaurant, which Sochanchak, 26, said helped him get through his most difficult moments.

“This is going to be the breaking point of our bad luck,” Wood, 25, told the restaurant after learning they had won. “It’s been a really long year, but we’re finally going to have our good year. We’ve been through so much, and this couldn’t have come at a better time.”

In 2011, Wood was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Three years later, Sochanchak was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach and esophageal cancer and doctors gave him six months to live. They had planned to marry at Adelphia, but postponed all nuptial planning to focus on their health. In 2016, doctors declared Wood cancer-free. However, although Sochanchak defied doctors’ expectations, he had to undergo several surgeries after learning that his cancer spread, AJC.com reported.

“The only thing I want to accomplish in my life now is to marry Ashley,” Sochanchak told Adelphia.