‘I’m still fighting’
Chief David Scott continues serving two years into cancer fight
PEPPERELL >> In more than four decades with the Police Department, Chief David Scott had never faced a threat quite like the one he found at the doctor’s office.
In 2021, Scott was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. By the time it was found, the disease had spread to his liver and lungs.
The prognosis was not good. But, in spite of that, Scott has continued to serve the community as best he can — in fact, it has largely been the community and that service, he said, that has kept him going.
“For me, it’s all about the community; I love my job, I love to serve, to give back to the people of Pepperell,” Scott said. “And I’m going to continue to do that as much as I can for as long as I can.”
“There have certainly been ups and downs, but I’m still here. I’m still fighting,” he said.
Pre-diagnosis, Scott chalked his sudden discomfort up to a stomach bug that had gone around the Police Department. But, after a visit with his doctor, he was whisked away to Ayer’s Nashoba Valley Medical Center for further testing.
In his mind, what Scott thought was a simple bug suddenly morphed into a scary unknown. Maybe a heart condition, he thought, or something worse; “the internet was certainly no help,” he said.
Those fears were realized to the extreme at NVMC; there, after a series of tests, doctors found cancer — worse, the tumors had spread significantly. It “wasn’t an easy conversation,” Scott said.
“I thought for sure that the worst-case scenario was going to be some kind of heart condition,” he said. “But, the doctor came to me and, suddenly, I had cancer — and it was bad.”
Beyond the initial shock, Scott said his thoughts concerned his family, his future quality of life and whatever time he might have left. But, through that concern also rose optimism, despite a bleak and blunt prognosis.
“They told me I was probably going to live ‘years, but not decades,’” he said. “That sounds kind of generic, but it’s better than six months — certainly better than what I expected them to say at the time.”
Scott almost immediately returned to work and, out of an abundance of care for the community, made it a point to spread the word and push those that might be at risk to visit their doctors. Soon after, the American Cancer Society also lowered the recommended age for regular colonoscopies from 50 years old to 45; Scott was 49 years old when he was diagnosed.
“I told people almost immediately,” Scott said. “The hope was that people would go, get checked themselves and sort of get ahead of anything they might be dealing with.”
“I know at least a few people that have gotten checked because of me. So, if I helped them even a little, I see that as a major positive,” he said.
In turn, the community has done what it can to repay his kindness. Whether through a simple gesture — a “how are you?” or a pickme-up on a bad day — or the support of Team 14, a Dana Farber Marathon Challenge and Jimmy Fund Walk team put together by fellow Officer Justin Zink and Scott’s son, Brian, that has raised more than $20,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, Scott described their support as “incredible,” but not surprising. “From the jump, everybody has been super supportive,” he said. “I can’t leave the building without somebody asking me how I’m feeling, how I’m doing.”
“But that’s the Pepperell community, that’s the way they’ve always been. They rally around each other, they’ve been there for me and I just can’t thank them enough,” he said.
Since his diagnosis, Scott’s care has largely remained the same aside from “altered doses here and there.” Every other Wednesday, he has undergone chemotherapy treatment; Wednesday, March 15 marked his 50th appointment, while the end of March will mark two years from his first treatment.
In the beginning, Scott’s tumors saw a reduction in size of “about 60%” and, since, have largely remained stable — “As far as I and everyone at Dana Farber are concerned, that’s good news,” he said. Scott continued to thank his family, friends and the community for that progress.
“The biggest thing for me has been my wife, Karen — she’s there with me at every treatment, she does a lot of research, she knows more about cancer than I do at this point,” Scott said. “I can’t thank her enough for the time and work she has put in, it’s what’s kept me going.”
“The community at large, friends, others at the Police Department, people around town, they’ve helped create a positive atmosphere — they’ve kept me positive and I truly believe that’s tied into how I’ve been, health-wise. I just can’t thank them enough for being so supportive,” he said.
To those that face their own serious illness, cancer or otherwise, Scott stressed that they need to keep their head high and cannot be afraid to lean on others for support. That sort of “positive atmosphere” can make a world of difference, he said, as they undergo treatment and continue to fight “the good fight.”
“Everybody’s cancer is different, every disease is different — and I know how difficult it can be sometimes, but you have to stay positive,” Scott said. “Stay upbeat, put some faith in your care team, lean on others when you need to and just keep fighting the good fight.”