CHARLOTTE — At just 37, Darryl Bigelow never imagined the words, “cancer survivor,” being attached to his name.
“I would never think about having cancer,” he told Channel 9’s Damany Lewis. “It really changed my life, it took me through a roller coaster of ups and downs.”
Two years ago, Bigelow was at the Essence Festival in New Orleans promoting his health lifestyle company, A Walking Vibe.
“We host health and wellness events for community organizations, collegiate schools, and we host things for financial freedom and making sure that the community has a health lifestyle,” he said.
While he was speaking at the event, an audience member noticed something he had no idea was there.
“There was an angel in the crowd, and she pointed out that I had a little large bump on my neck, and she could see it in the crowd,” Bigelow said. “As soon as I get off the stage, she said, you might want to go get that checked out.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
“Whenever someone gets a biopsy of cancer, whatever that cancer is, there’s a shock moment, disbelief moment, and then most people transition from that moment into ‘ok, let’s get this done,’” Dr. Zvonimir Milas said.
Milas is a surgeon at Levine Cancer Institute. He says Bigelow’s thyroid cancer was Stage 2. The cancer was the size of an orange and growing.
Milas says the woman in the crowd that day in New Orleans saved Bigelow’s life.
“She identified something earlier,” he said. “The earlier you identify most cancers, certainly thyroid cancer, the more easily it is treated.”
Today, Bigelow is cancer-free and spreading his message to anyone who will listen, especially Black men. He says to take your health into your own hands.
“It’s ok to be selfish with your health,” Bigelow said. “I think it’s a way to create community, it’s making sure you have a support system around you and not going through it by yourself.”
Hear more from Bigelow on Eyewitness News starting at 5 p.m.
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