A Plantation Police officer is sharing his story of survival after a months-long battle with head and neck cancer.
When he wasn’t in uniform as an officer for Plantation, Adam Rigg enjoyed going fishing and spent a lot of his time outdoors in the sun.
“I started noticing a small bump on the side of my chin,” Rigg said.
He already had a history of skin cancer on his face, so when the bump didn’t go away, he went to get it checked out by a doctor.
“He did absolutely the right thing coming in once he noticed a neck mass that stuck around for a couple of weeks to get it checked out,” said Dr. Ryan Sobel, Rigg’s surgeon at Broward Health Medical Center. “In many cases, that’s the most common presenting symptom for head and neck cancer.”
After undergoing a biopsy, he discovered the cancer had spread to his salivary glands and 23 different lymph nodes.
“We performed a minimally-invasive surgery for him to remove the cancer, remove the lymph nodes and, ultimately, he did require radiation afterwards,” Sobel said.
Rigg then underwent nearly two months of radiation treatment.
“Radiation lasted exactly six weeks,” Rigg said.
Rigg will receive regular checkups and screenings for the next five years to ensure the cancer does not return.
According to Sobel, head and neck cancers are becoming more common, with cases on the rise in recent years.
“Over the past five years, we’ve seen a huge spike in the incidents of head and neck cancers,” Sobel said. “Up to 50,000 new cases over the past five years and projected up to maybe 60,000, 65,000 cases this year.”
Doctors said there are several risk factors that could increase the odds of developing head and neck cancer.
“There are various different risk factors for head and neck cancers and, based on the site that the cancer is located, these may include exposure to sun without wearing sunscreen or protective clothing, it can include tobacco use, such as smoking or even vaping in our literature,” said Sobel. “It can include a virus called the human papillomavirus, and that in particular causes a very common tonsil type of cancer.”
Following the health scare, Rigg has a word of advice for others to stay safe.
“What I would suggest to people is to wear protective clothing, wear hats, wear sunglasses and, of course, sunscreen,” Rigg said. “Try and enjoy every day you have, and be good to your family and be good to others.”