About a month prior to celebrating my 30th birthday, I received a call diagnosing me with appendix cancer. This call came on the day after Christmas, and it was the biggest shock. There was a tumor discovered by my surgeon after what we thought was a very routine appendectomy (appendix removal surgery) due to some pain I was experiencing in my side. Not only was this a shock because of how young I am, but we also had a 6 month old daughter at home. “It was unfathomable that a brand new dad, as loving, young, and full of life as Matt is, was diagnosed with cancer,” said Matt’s wife, Lisa. As if we weren’t stressed and sleep deprived enough from having a new baby at home, this diagnosis certainly did not help.
The months since then have been filled with countless doctor’s appointments, multiple opinions on what my treatment plan should be, another surgery to remove affected parts of my colon, many CT scans, and lots of tears. I was then officially diagnosed with stage 3B appendix cancer, also referred to as adenocarcinoma of the appendix. This is a very rare form of cancer that only affects about 1 in every million people. I started chemotherapy at the end of February and we still have many more months of treatment ahead of us.
Matt’s LifeList:
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A New Set of Golf Clubs
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PS5