New Hampshire police officer 'didn't expect' colon cancer diagnosis at 26

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Police officer diagnosed with cancer after joining force

Officer Shawn DePasquale was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer just weeks after joining the Rollinsford, New Hampshire police force.

A 26-year-old police officer in New Hampshire said he “didn’t expect” to be handed a stage-four cancer diagnosis at his age, which reportedly came soon after starting a new job.

Rollinsford Officer Shawn DePasquale joined the department in December shortly before he unexpectedly learned he had colon cancer, Boston 25 News reported.

“I mean I'm 26, didn’t expect to come down with this,” DePasquale said. “You hear you have stage four cancer and immediately everything just fades out.”

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In order to get the necessary treatments, the young officer has reportedly had to use unpaid time off since he hasn’t been with the department that long.

“Being the new guy on the force, his vacation time, his sick time was quite limited,” Chief Bob Ducharme told Boston 25 News, adding he is “so humbled” by the community support the 26-year-old has received in wake of his diagnosis.

Aside from cancer-fighting treatments, DePasquale told the news outlet “a positive attitude and some strong fighting music” is helping him rally, as the disease moves toward his liver.

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“It’s a combination of chemotherapy, I went through five weeks of radiation five days a week and then the chemotherapy the surgery, and now starting the chemotherapy for the liver,” DePasquale said. “A positive attitude and some strong fighting music seems to do the trick for me.”

A GoFundMe page was set up in order to help offset some of DePasquale’s medical bills, in addition to a fundraiser and silent auction, the report said. The GoFundMe page, which was activated in June, has since surpassed its $5,000 goal.