Our Story

Our son, Michael, was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon Cancer in 2016. He passed from complicatons associated with Colorectal Cancer on November 4, 2021, he was 38 years old. I was proud to have known him, and prouder to say he was my son.

We truly believed, during the early stages of his diagnosis, Michael would win the Colorectal Cancer batle. Because of Michael’s diagnosis, and the number of polyps that were in his colon; his colon was removed. We were concerned, but we were told that a person could live without their colon. We later found out that the polyps that were removed, tested positve for cancer. So began the fight. We knew the fight wouldn’t be easy, and the first 4 months were really tough. But, based on how he tolerated the chemo and radiaton treatment, things were looking good. Actually, things were looking great!! He looked physically beter than I had seen him look in years. He and I were working out every day, 5-mile hikes, running/walking on the beach, doing gummies to chill out. Aſter 7 months of treatment, Michael was NED (no evidence of disease). I would tell him how lucky he was, and how he had dodged a bullet. I expressed to him the need to share his story; so that other young people would know about this unspoken danger.

Thanks to Dr. Zuri Murrell (Cedars Sinai), (Michael’s surgeon)Michael appeared on a couple local news shows telling his story. Things were going so well, over the next 3 years, Michael returned to work, he and his girlfriend bought a house, and they eventually got married December 31, 2018. Early in 2019, the cancer returned, Michael survived an 8-hour surgery, that required the removal of other internal body parts. They couldn’t remove all of the cancer because of how it had metastasized to other vital organs. Over the next two years, we watched him slowly deteriorate from a vibrant young person, to someone who looked 99 years old.

My wife, Diane, and I were Michael’s primary care givers during the last year of his life. The discussions during that tme were insightul, direct, funny, tough, and sometmes sad. Through all of the pain, and embarrassment, he fought valiantly to stay alive. He was tough like his mother, I couldn’t have fought like that.

My promise to Michael, before he died, was that I would do my best to prevent young people under the age of 45, from dying of complicatons associated with Colorectal Cancer.