Peter “Pete” Smulligan has dealt with back pain before.

But late last year, he had what he called “major” pain.

“I had been going to chiropractor,” Smulligan said. “I was getting massages but it was getting worse and worse and worse.”

He visited a local emergency department for help — and that’s where a CT scan revealed something he wasn’t expecting.

Smulligan had stage IV esophageal cancer.

“It’s in my esophagus, my lymph nodes and my liver,” he explained.

The diagnosis was delivered to Smulligan, 54, owner of Smulligan Glass Shop in Tamaqua, on Nov. 3.

“The next morning I had a whole team of doctors already,” he said.

Professionals at St. Luke’s University Health Network ordered chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

He recently completed his eighth cycle of treatments, and will undergo a scan in May to see how the therapies are working.

“I did have one scan that showed a little bit of improvement,” he said.

Smulligan noted that he was in grade school when doctors diagnosed him with an ulcer.

“Ever since fifth grade, I’ve been taking pills for heartburn — over the counter stuff,” Smulligan said.

It was later learned that he had Barrett’s esophagus. It is a condition, according to the Mayo Clinic, where the esophagus becomes damaged by acid reflux and causes its lining to thicken.

“So I am dealing with this for a long time,” Smulligan said.

The cancer began behind the Barrett’s esophagus and spread from there, he said.

Despite it all, Smulligan said he’s not feeling “too bad” and continues working.

“I would prefer to work, instead of sitting at home and moping,” he said.

Smulligan recently told his oncologist that he’s often asked what having the disease feels like.

“I said, ‘It feels like I’m living in someone else’s body,’” Smulligan said. “Everything is different. Nothing is the same. You are relearning this body.”

His oncologist agreed with Smulligan’s explanation.

“It’s incredible. The things you took for granted … nothing is the same,” Smulligan said.

He’s thankful for the support of his wife, Stacy.

“She’s my rock,” he said.

And while he continues to work, he plans to close Smulligan Glass Shop at the end of May.

Part of the reason, he said, is his health.

“Just in case something bad would happen — and I don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” Smulligan said. “They don’t tell you that. Just in case it’s a poor outcome, I want to be able to do some things yet.”

The business was started in 1950 by his late grandfather and his namesake, Peter Smulligan.

“This is our 76th year,” he said. “It was my grandfather, my father, my uncle, my cousins — now there’s nobody left. It’s just me.”

He recalled his first shifts at the business were sweeping floors as a 10-year-old.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, though,” Smulligan said. “It’s a trade that I love.”