Career
In 2009 he chose not to run the 2009 Yukon Quest but captured his third consecutive Iditarod. Mackey was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 but continued sled dog racing entering the 2002 Iditarod race. After scratching from that race, he took a full year off from racing to recover from the disease.
He is now considered cancer-free.
However, Mackey suffered nerve damage in his left index finger as a result of the operation to remove the cancerous tumor. The nerve damage caused such unbearable pain in the finger that Mackey chose to have the finger surgically removed.
The radiation from the treatments also destroyed his saliva glands, causing his teeth to disintegrate. He has had the infected teeth pulled, and is currently having his teeth rebuilt by dentists.