JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At 15 years old, Matthew Chanan-Khan doesn't sound like he only recently picked up a guitar.
“Most of this was self-taught,” he said.
“I was 11 years old. After I came back from a Lauren Daigle concert is what inspired me," he said.
For a Bolles freshman, it started as a hobby, until he started to find his voice.
“'Voices' is a song I actually wrote two years ago," Matthew said. “I was going through some mental health, tribulation. Like dark nights of the soul, as I like to call it. It gives me an outlet in which I can articulate my feelings."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mental health in teens continues to worsen. In 2021, more than 4 in 10 students felt persistently sad or hopeless.
Nearly one-third experienced poor mental health.
Two years after writing "Voices," Matthew released the song to rave reviews from his father, Dr. Asher Chanan-Khan.
“Oh, amazing. Yes, almost every evening is a music jam session," Chanan-Khan said with a smile.
"Voices" is Matthew’s story and Chanan-Khan's heartbeat.
“God gave me 15 years of remission, and all of a sudden it came back in 2020," Dr. Asher said.
Chanan-Khan has terminal chest cancer.
“At that time, the doctors thought it would not last more than a year," he said.
Chanan-Khan is an oncologist at Mayo Clinic and has spent years researching a cure for cancer and delivering the worst news to families. None of it prepared him for having the conversation with his own family.
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“We sat down. He [Matthew] was 11 years old. And I think it's very hard on him. I could see that over the years," Chanan-Khan said.
“I was in a little bit of a dark night of the soul," Matthew said.
Struggling to find light, Matthew started to write.
“When it writes that he'll help me carry through. I live with my God, and I'll share my load, he'll help me carry it through. And that's, that's just kind of, that's the line I hold on to the most," Matthew said.
"Voices" chronicles Matthew’s struggle with tragedy and finding hope.
“Sometimes I feel not heard. And so, this gives me almost a perfect vessel on which I can do that, and hopefully others as well," Matthew said.
"Voices" is helping Matthew's biggest fan.
“He melts my heart, but I'm so proud that the burden that his soul has carried, has allowed him to channel it in a very positive way," Chanan-Khan said.
Given one year to live, Chanan-Khan is now in year four.
It's been an unexpected journey that started dark but is brightened every day by his favorite voice.
“Matthew has helped me find hope and how his music is his own journey and has allowed me to see that God is in control," Chanan-Khan said.
“Lean on God for sure. He is the only reason I'm able to speak here and be here today," Matthew said.
Matthew released "Voices" during Mental Health Awareness Month and hopes the song can serve as an outlet for other kids and teens like it has for his father.