Man says shark attack saved his life: ‘I’ve gotten a second chance’

‘It was pretty jarring.

Finney was swimming off Huntington Beach when he felt something crash into his back, he told CBS Boston.

In a unusual turn of events, a New England man could very well owe his life to the shark that tried to eat him.Fitchburg, Massachusetts resident Eugene Finney was on vacation in California in July when a hungry shark took a run at him during a dip in the ocean.

Soon after, the beach was closed when two sharks were spotted.

He thought that he’d managed to escape the dramatic scenes with nothing other than a scar on his back.

Speaking to CBS Boston, Eugene added: “The shark was a real message to me”.

When he returned to Brighton, Massachusetts from the trip days later, the pain only got worse so he went to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. He went to the emergency room, and finally was given a diagnosis.

He went to a hospital, where doctors determined he had interior bruising caused by blunt-force trauma.

But it was what they told him next that hit him even harder than the shark, CBS Boston reports.

Eugene credited the shark with saving his life.

But doctors also discovered a tumor on his kidney, and it was likely malignant. Finney said if the shark attack hadn’t happened, he would never have known about the cancer.

Two weeks ago, Dr Ingolf Tuerk removed the cancerous growth using minimally invasive robotic surgery.

“That’s pretty fascinating when you think about it”.

Mr Finney is now cancer-free, and will not require chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

‘I feel fortunate. I really feel like I’ve gotten a second chance at life and I’m not going to blow it, ‘ he told WBZ.