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Former Port Allen police officer honored with flag presentation for dedication despite health issues

A patrol deputy who went back to the streets after being told he had only two years to live was honored Monday with a flag presented by Congressman Garrett Graves.

Robert Cannon, now an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office deputy, was diagnosed with myelodysplasia in late 2015. It's the type of cancer caused by a stomach tumor and is related to pancreatic cancer, Cannon said.

Doctors told Cannon he'd never work again, but by the next summer he was back on the job with Port Allen Police Department continuing his decades-long police career.

He never underwent treatment or surgery, and the cancer essentially went away on its own, Cannon said. He describes it as one of "life's little miracles." Keep reading...