CHARLOTTE — At 47 years old, Don Noel is taking life one day at a time, cherishing every moment with his wife, Sherline, and their three children.
“He’s a fighter and I knew that he was ready to fight for us,” Sherline Noel told Channel 9’s Damany Lewis.
Sherline said the last year of their lives has been a roller coaster of emotions.
First came the high, spending time in Florida at Disney and creating family memories.
“We did two whole weeks at the parks and the cruise, and it was the best vacation we had with the kids. Memories were made, it was amazing,” Sherline said.
A week after returning, Don said he went for his annual doctor’s visit where doctors noticed something unusual.
“He came back and his cholesterol had spiked, and the doctor had sent him for a special CAT scan,” Sherline said.
That CAT scan and other tests gave them heart breaking news: stage 4 appendix cancer. Don’s doctor, Dr. Ed Levine with Atrium Health, said this cancer has no symptoms and is extremely rare.
“Appendiceal cancer – there are about 3,000 cases a year in the U.S. Now you can compare that to 300,000 breast cancers, 180,000 lung cancers, so this is a relatively rare tumor,” Dr. Levine said.
“Your mind goes crazy, so we cried a lot. We were terrified and very worried,” Sherline said.
Appendix cancer is the same disease that took the life of legendary ESPN Anchor Stuart Scott in 2015.
Don’s cancer spread from the appendix into other organs but Dr. Levine and his team at Atrium Health decided the best way to beat this cancer was to attack it head on.
“This is a major operation and so if you were in the military they would call it a search and destroy mission – take out anything that looks and feels like tumor,” Dr. Levine said.
“They take out the organs affected by the cancer, he lost quite a few organs. He lost his spleen, right colon, his omentum, he lost part of his stomach, and the appendix – the troublemaker,” Sherline said.
Doctors then poured hot chemo into his abdomen. The goal was to kill off any remaining cancer cells and after the 10-hour marathon surgery, Don made it out with flying colors.
“That was the best feeling being – reunited with him after I ran to his room,” Sherline said.
She added that through this journey, their family, neighbors, and entire community rallied around them. “They fed my kids, they called, they checked in on us constantly,” Sherline recalled.
Today, Don is back on the mend and his focus is to spread word about this little known cancer.
“We want to spread awareness, so more light is put on this. When things are new, there is not much research done on the area,” Sherline said.
“Every day, I feel a little better. I know it’s a long road but I will get there,” Don said.
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