LOWELL, Mass. —

Brian Novak knows he probably shouldn't be alive.

"I may get a tad bit emotional because talking about the beginning is extremely rough," the Lowell native said as he fought back tears.

For Novak, the beginning was 2022. He came off a shift at work thinking he had a bout of indigestion. But things quickly went downhill.

"I was taking antacids for a wee and the pain was slowly getting worse and migrating to my back," he said. "I'm having a hard time swallowing. I can't sit up. I can't lay down."

Doctors ordered a battery of tests, including an endoscopy. The diagnosis was devastating: stage four esophageal cancer.

"Next thing I know, I'm on the fast track to death," Novak said. "I'm thinking, 'OK, the average lifespan for someone with my cancer is one year.'"

Novak di

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