Kevin

In 2016 at the age of 45 I was healthy with no issues, aches or pain. The last time I saw a Dr. was 5 years early only by request of my father and wife. In April a lump came up in my thigh/groin area. I threw up a few times and one day after being sick all day long I went to Urgent Care. I was told the lump was a fatty tumor, nothing to worry about, non cancerous. Probably had food poisoning which cause me to be sick. If the lump continues to grow and if it gets uncomfortable called your primary Dr. and they can remove it, It’s a simple procedure. At the time it was about the size of a grape. Between April and Nov. it grew to about the size of a golf ball. So I called my primary Dr. who kicked me out of the practice because I hadn’t been, so I found another one and casually went in to see how much the surgery would be, timing of the surgery, recovery time, etc… Thinking about doing surgery in Jan. so I wouldn’t have to pay 2 deductibles. Well that’s the day it started.

I was told he didn’t know what it was, except it wasn’t a fatty tumor. It could be a clogged lymph node, an infected lymph node, cat’s scratch fever, lymphoma, a list of possibilities. He told me will schedule blood work and an X Ray and I asked so how long it will take. He said you’re going around the corner doing an X Ray, and then doing blood work and I said WOW!!! So were going to move on this NOW? His response was Yes, cause I don’t know what it is and then you’ll see a surgeon probably in the next day or two. I did a biopsy surgery on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and that is when I was told it was Melanoma. I was relieved and Said great, Let’s remove it and we’re good. My wife looked at me and said GOOD!!! You still have cancer. It ain’t good. My response was it wasn’t Lymphoma. How many people die of Melanoma? Heck they don’t even do charity walks or even golf tournaments for it. It’s not like I’ll die from it.

Well HELLO, Boy was I WRONG!!! I have learned and had an education on it. The do have charity walks and golf tournaments, yet more scarier people do die from it. We met with an Oncologist and we had a plan. I talked with a friend of mine who has a family friend who is an Oncologist in another town and he introduced me to him. I called him and we talked. He didn’t know the one I had seen, but told me that if I didn’t go see Dr. Amin he couldn’t help me and I would be making the wrong choice by not seeing him even if it was for a 2nd opinion. So I told my wife I was scheduling an appointment with him. She became scared again cause we had a plan. We went to see Dr. Amin and what a blessing it was. I was up front and told him I was coming for a 2nd opinion. We spent 45 mins in his office, I had a question regarding which surgery I would have to remove the lymph node. He stopped called the surgeon. He actually answered the phone and answered his question. At the end of the visit Dr. Amin asked if I would like to send this to the surgeon and the other Oncologist to get things started. I thought for about 2 seconds and said NO! I’m here by the grace of God and He’s going to use you to heal me. He said but you came in for a 2nd opinion and I said YES and I’m extremely Thankful that I did. I want you to call your surgeon and let’s schedule surgery. I want you to take care of me.

We schedule surgery for Jan. of 2017. After recovery we started Immunotherapy in March. I did 4 treatments of the Ippy and Nivo drug. Waited 6 weeks to see if one spot would clear up. It didn’t so with continued with the Nivo only every 2 weeks. In Oct. of 2017 I became Cancer Free. Continued treatment for the full year under April of 2018. Now I’m doing Pet Scans every 3 months. My first year will be complete in April of this year and then we’ll space them out for the next 4 years.

When I began this journey I never blame God, Got mad at God. I remained positive and use it to be a blessing for someone. As a Christian I believe we should use our faith during these times and this is what I have done. May this help you and or be a blessing to you in your journey.

Last Name : Abbott