Almost nine years ago, Larry, 74, and a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, woke up one Sunday morning with excruciating pain in his abdomen. The pain got worse throughout the day, so he went to his primary care doctor, who suggested he get a CT scan. The CT scan didn’t show any issues with Larry’s abdomen, but determined that he had nodules in his lower lungs.
Larry’s initial thought was, “God’s got this, whatever it is. I’m not worried about it.”
Larry went to a lung specialist and had a lung biopsy, which confirmed that he had a cancerous inner bump on his lung. The lung specialist recommended that he see Oncology Specialists of Charlotte’s (OSC) Dr. Justin Favaro. Larry’s cancer was not treatable until the specific type of cancer was established, so Dr. Favaro sent him to a thoracic surgeon. Larry met with the thoracic surgeon and underwent surgery the following day to remove two nodules from the right side of his lung. The nodules were examined and he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma as his secondary cancer, which had spread to his lungs and developed into lung cancer. Larry’s cancer was growing rapidly, so he was unable to have surgery on his left lung. About six years prior, Larry had melanoma that started on his back, which he had removed.
Larry asked Dr. Favaro, “How long do I have to live if I don’t undergo any treatment at all?” Dr. Favaro estimated six months without treatment. Larry decided to receive treatment, which consisted of Opdivo + Yervoy, both immunotherapy medications given intravenously and considered the “golden globe” of treatment therapy.
Larry was prescribed 18 treatments. “I made it through the first treatment like a breeze, no problem,” Larry said. He thought, “I got this.” Larry’s first treatment caused his liver enzymes to go out of range, so he was unable to receive his second treatment until they returned to normal levels. Four weeks later, Larry received his second treatment. “When I got home from my second treatment, I was itching from the top of my knees to the top of my head. I itched 24/7,” he said. He met with Dr. Favaro immediately and had his steroids increased to fight the side effects. Larry is a diabetic, so the steroids increased his blood sugar levels. Larry worked hard to decrease his blood sugar levels. “I lost 38 pounds in three months,” he said.
Larry is very active. He enjoyed being outdoors, working in the yard, hunting, and fishing, and his side effects inhibited him from continuing his active lifestyle. This led to him making the decision not to take any more treatments. “What happens, happens. This is not living for me. I’m not eating, I can’t do anything. I was discouraged,” he recounted. Dr. Favaro encouraged Larry to get a second opinion.
Larry and his wife flew to Houston, Texas, to get a second opinion. Larry met with a doctor in Houston. “I told him everything. I told him I don’t have any pigment in my forearms,” Larry said. The doctor assured Larry that before Larry left, he would know what was going on and scheduled Larry to get a blood test, PET scan, and MRI.
The facility in Houston provided transportation for patients to run errands, so after Larry’s appointment with the doctor, he and his wife got on a shuttle bus to go get groceries. “We were the only people on this shuttle bus,” Larry says. The bus driver asked Larry if he could pray for him. “He had a very nice prayer for me and my wife, and told me I would have a miracle,” Larry said.
The following Tuesday, Larry had his tests done and was told he would receive his results the next day. The following day, Larry received a call and was told he could come off all of his cancer medications. “I was told I was cancer-free and didn’t have a sign of cancer anywhere. I was so elated. I was on cloud 9,” Larry said. The PET scan showed scars on Larry’s lungs from the cancer, but no signs of cancer on his lungs. Larry had only received two of the 18 treatments he was prescribed before it was determined that he was cancer-free.
Before Larry left Houston, he found the bus driver who prayed for him and said, “You were my driver when I first arrived here, and you prayed for me. I got my miracle.” The driver responded, “I knew you would have a miracle.”
“I have three rocks in my life: God, my wife, and Dr. Favaro, but I want to give Dr. Favaro all the credit,” Larry said. “I have been cancer-free now for almost nine years. Dr. Favaro knows how to treat. He cured me,” he said.
“I give God praise because he took the cancer away, but I give Dr. Favaro praise because he knew what to do. He was honest with me the whole time,” Larry said. “I can’t wait to go see him. I think the world of him. I cannot say enough praise for Dr. Favaro’s staff. From day one, his staff has been absolutely great. They are the best people I’ve ever met and have treated me with the utmost respect. Dr. Favaro is top-notch. He’s a very smart person, and I admire the ground he walks on.”
Larry previously worked for 30 years at Duke Power and became a paramedic at age 55. “I enjoy helping people, and that’s why I got involved in the field of EMS,” he said. Larry is also very active in his church. “I'm retired, but I stay busier now than when I was working. I love doing what I do, I love being able to help people. I enjoy life because I got a second chance at it,” Larry said.
“Don’t give up. I live my life each and every day, and I thank the Lord that I’m able to get out of bed and still move around. I give all the credit to the good Lord and Dr. Favaro,” Larry said.
published: April 18, 2024, 6:02 p.m.