Chef Jon Bonnell beat cancer. Now, he wants you to hear this HPV message
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- Chef Jon Bonnell is cancer-free after surgeries and radiation for head and neck cancer.
- Bonnell said one vaccinated generation could virtually eliminate cervical cancer.
- Australia now has nearly zero cervical cancer among young women; Sweden close to the same.
Chef Jon Bonnell is cancer-free, and now, the former Ironman Championship triathlete has a new reason to train.
He no longer runs. But he needs the strength to tell the world about his recovery from a four-month round of surgeries and radiation, as well as the simple vaccine that can protect so many adults and teens from cancer.
On Tuesday, the Fort Worth chef who founded five restaurants went out to eat for the first time since December.
He said he could barely taste the brisket tacos, cheese quesadilla and guacamole at a South Hulen Street restaurant.
But there were days last winter when he thought he had lost more than his sense of taste.
Now, Bonnell is the one with a special request for his customers and fans.
“It’s absolutely essential,” he said, “that we get everybody vaccinated” against HPV, the commonly prevalent virus that causes most cervical cancer and some head and neck cancers.
“This is the only vaccine that is specifically for cancer prevention,” he said. “If we get one generation vaccinated, it will virtually eliminate cervical cancer and 70% of men’s head and neck cancers.”
Bonnell’s brother is a pediatric emergency doctor. For 10 years, he’s been a hard-working volunteer for cancer-related causes.
His voice weakening the more he talked, the chef said: “I started off with the typical, ‘Why me?’
“I quickly got to the conclusion, ‘Why not me?’ ... Maybe there’s a reason I need to be spreading the word as much as possible.”
Once so controversial that Gov. Rick Perry was forced to cancel an executive order requiring the vaccine for sixth-graders, the two-shot series originally meant for children age 11-12 is now widely accepted as the reason for an 80% decline in premalignancies among young women.
The vaccine is now also reducing certain cancers by 50% among men, particularly the head and neck cancers that are striking men like Bonnell.
HPV used to be discussed with raised eyebrows. It was preached about as a “sex disease” and proof that sex risked cancer.
But now we know it can be spread through any kind of human contact.
When Bonnell announced on Feb. 1 that he had Stage 3 cancer surgeries and radiation for cancer of the head and neck, a few commenters posted leering replies.
“Like, 99% of the messages were great,” he said. “But then somebody would make a comment like ‘That’s what you get, you know.’ “
He’s determined to spread the word about how common HPV is and how well the vaccine works.
Australia required the vaccine early. Now, cervical cancer among young women is nearly zero. Sweden, Scotland and the Netherlands are getting comparable results.
Coincidentally, it was Chicago celebrity chef Grant Achatz who drew national attention to men’s risk of HPV-related head and neck cancers. Bonnell listed friends who are also being treated.
“I want the public to take the stigma off the letters ‘HPV,’ “ Bonnell said. “Everybody will get the HPV virus at some point in their life. Most will never know it.”
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His case started with a swollen lymph node that wouldn’t heal.
“Guys, as soon as you find any symptom like a lump in your neck or your tongue or anything,” he said, ”get it checked out.”
Now, Bonnell, whose portfolio includes Waters Restaurant, Buffalo Bros and flagship Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, wants to get back to enjoying good food.
He wants to take a vacation to Argentina.
And he wants to take his son fishing and bird hunting.
More than anything, he wants to promote the HPV vaccine. It’s now recommended through age 26 and available up to age 45.
“Let’s get vaccinated and save some people,” Bonnell said.
He’s off the operating table and back to the restaurant table.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 8:37 PM.
