Detective Atkinson Needs Assistance

Detective Jamie Atkinson is a highly decorated, 36 year old officer who has been employed with the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department for the past 15 years.  On his days off, he serves on the Board of Directors for his local volunteer EMS organization and works as a Safety Officer at Northwell Health.  Jamie has always answered calls for assistance with a selfless enthusiasm, whether it was responding to ground zero as a volunteer EMT after the September 11th Terrorist Attack to provide countless hours of search and recovery operations, responding to and investigating crime scenes or organizing a local charity event.  However on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Detective Jamie Atkinson answered the call that would change his life forever. 


When he answered the phone, Jamie immediately knew that this call was different than the thousands of calls that he had answered in the past.  This call was from his doctor who, after advising Jamie to acquire a CT scan of his abdomen after examining him for chronic pain and swelling, called to inform him that he needed to immediately respond to a specialist for further testing.  The CT scan the doctor explained, had revealed what appeared to be multiple masses in his abdomen.  Further testing would later reveal the diagnoses of a rare condition known as Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP).  PMP occurs when a cancerous tumor in the appendix creates a high grade cancerous Mucin (cells that create a cancerous mucus) that eventually ruptures through the appendix wall causing the Mucin to fill the abdominal cavity, where it continually produces cancerous mucus.  This cancerous mucus then spreads to other organs where it creates new tumors.  It is estimated that this condition occurs in only 1 per 1,000,000 persons a year.  Doctors believe that Jamie’s exposure to the many airborne carcinogens during his countless hours volunteering at ground zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks has contributed to this cancer.

At this time, Jamie is currently undergoing bi-weekly chemotherapy treatments in order to shrink the cancerous tumors in his abdomen prior to his upcoming scheduled surgery.  This invasive surgery, which could take up to 15 hours to complete, consists of the removal of several organs and the placement of “heated” chemotherapy directly into the abdomen during surgery in an attempt to destroy any remaining microscopic cancer cells.  The recovery from this surgery, which is referred to as the mother of all surgeries, could leave Jamie in the Intensive Care Unit for upwards of a month.  The surgery and recovery process will not only cause an incredible emotional burden on Jamie’s family, but it will also cause a steep financial burden on them as well.  Not only will the family have to take off numerous days from work to support Jamie throughout the surgery and month long recovery process, but the family will also have to travel or stay overnight near the hospital, which is located in New York City.



Jamie has always answered the call for anyone who was in need of assistance.  Now it is our time to answer his call and to provide the family with as much support as possible.  Please know that this fund is being handled by fellow MTA Police Lieutenant Chris Nutter, who has worked with Jamie for the past 15 years.  Lt. Nutter in no way intends to benefit financially from this fund and 100% of the donations raised will go directly to the Atkinson Family to assist with any financial expenses incurred during the surgery and recovery process.  Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.