Clanton man touched by support during cancer battle
Published 5:14 pm Thursday, September 3, 2015
Service day: Andy Scott, third from right, stands with his friends and colleagues at the Scott family home during the day of service. (Contributed photos)
The last several months have been a whirlwind for Clanton resident Andy Scott.
Scott, 35, was diagnosed in late May with Stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver.
He is currently halfway through 12 rounds of 45-hour chemotherapy treatments and thankful for a community of support helping him battle the disease.
Community support: Some of Scott’s colleagues from Regions Bank help unload equipment used during a service day Aug. 8 at Scott’s home in Clanton.
“I didn’t realize how large of an impact cancer had on our community until I was diagnosed,” Scott said. “I started receiving cards and letters from people in the community who have been affected by cancer.
Scott’s initial symptoms started about two years ago when he noticed blood in his stool.
“I sort of let it go because I had issues with internal hemorrhoids when I was 25-28, so I just thought this was a reoccurrence of that,” Scott said. “What eventually sent me to the doctor was discomfort I was having in my upper abdomen. I exercised regularly and ate healthy, so I was fairly in-tune with my body, and when these pains started, I could barely cross my arms and knew I needed to see a doctor.”
Initially, Scott’s doctor thought Scott was dealing with gallstones or an ulcer, but further testing revealed nodules on Scott’s liver.
“After some testing, they realized that the nodules were lesions on my liver, and I had a tumor on my colon,” Scott said. “There were so many tumors on my liver, that my liver was inoperable because it was saturated with cancer.”
Scott said he wanted to know what kind of cancer he was battling and asked the doctor for typical life expectancy.
“He told me the life expectancy even with treatment is between 2-5 years, but that he had several cases that have lived much longer than that,” Scott said. “Obviously, that was not exciting news to hear, but I have had an incredible amount of support from so many individuals.”
One of the outlets of support for Scott and his wife, Tonya, and two sons, is Regions Bank, where Scott has had a 15-year career.
Scott is the manager of the Management Information Systems team in consumer credit risk management.
Since his diagnosis, Scott’s work family helped him do things he’s currently too weak to do including a service day at Scott’s home in Clanton on Aug. 8.
“With the chemo treatments, Andy’s energy levels and abilities are not what he is accustomed to. Therefore, he can’t do many of the normal tasks at home as usual,” a member of Andy’s team Jacqueline Lewis said in a release. “A group of us got together to do something hands-on for Andy and his family.”
The group took care of limbs that were leaning on Scott’s house, cut down shrubbery and grass, and brought a pressure washer to clean his deck, a task Scott was planning to do before his diagnosis.
“Then we had fellowship time together; they brought sandwiches and fruit to eat,” Scott said. “It was a really great time. They all said they got a blessing from serving us, but we got a lot out of it, too.”
Scott has been working from home the last three months while he undergoes treatments.
Since undergoing treatments, Scott said there has been a 77-percent decrease in the tumors that are in his liver.
“The doctors have told me that they have not seen this type of remarkable movement,” Scott said. “It is encouraging to hear.”
Scott’s faith has allowed him to maintain a positive outlook toward the challenges he faces, and he hopes to encourage others to look out for the needs of others.
“I believe Christians needs to be actively pursuing God and his will and looking for ways to serve others,” Scott said.
Currently, a GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for Scott’s medical bills, and his church family has a rotation of individuals volunteering to bring meals to his home several nights each week.
“The level of support me and my family have received has just been incredible,” Scott said. “We are so thankful to all of the people who are lifting us up in prayer right now. It means so much to us.”
For more information about Scott’s journey, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/andyscottsfight. For those wishing to help Scott’s medical expenses, visit www.gofundme.com/andyscottfamily.
