A Middleborough police officer died after more than two years of battling stage 4 metastatic head and neck cancer, the police department said Sunday.
Lieutenant Angelo AJ Lapanna III, 48, joined the Middleborough Police Department in July 2001 as a patrol officer. In 2019, he was promoted to sergeant. And in 2023, he was promoted to lieutenant.
He served for 23 years in the Army National Guard, 10 years in the military police, and 13 years in the Army Special Forces. He served two combat tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. And he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal, the police department said.
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But in April 2021, Lapanna was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic head and neck cancer.
Doctors removed 38 Lymph nodes and he had chemo-radiation.
“The treatments left him unable to work until January of 2022,” a GoFundMe for the family stated. “In March of 2022, after his first 3-month CT scan, a nodule was discovered in his right lung.”
Doctors confirmed the cancer had spread to the right lower lobe of his lung and his right humerus, according to the GoFundMe.
“AJs cancer is likely related to exposures during military deployments. It is unknown if he will ever return to work,” the GoFundMe said at the time. “… AJ has spent over two decades serving his country and his community. Now he needs your help.”
The GoFundMe is continuing to raise money for his wife, Traci, and two children stating that “in addition to emotional support, AJs family will need financial assistance to get through this difficult time.”
It has raised more than $50,000 since it was started in 2022.
The police department remembered Lapanna’s more than 22 years to the department and his community.
“We thank him and his family for his dedication and sacrifice,” the police department said.
