Paul Stavros is a multi-time cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with cancer for the first time at the age of 14. Thirty-five years later, he was again diagnosed. Today, Paul is using his experience as a patient to help people learn how to stay meaningfully engaged and helpful to someone with cancer.

  • 01:57: I wanted to see my new muscles and there was a substantial lump under my left arm.
  • 04:01: I feel like I missed a big part of my childhood.
  • 06:20: What was your brother's reaction?
  • 08:46: I had radiation as a child, and I had chemotherapy as an adult.
  • 10:18: How long were you out of school?
  • 14:12: There was a whole group of kids that would run with me around the playground.
  • 16:50: I spent a lot of years trying to pretend like it never happened.
  • 18:43: What symptoms did you have?
  • 20:14: Doctors only call when it's bad.
  • 22:39: Was there any discussion of clinical trials?
  • 24:57: His suggestion was to never have surgery again.
  • 26:47: What is one thing you wish you had known at the beginning of each cancer journey?
  • 30:50: I lost both my parents to cancer.
  • 31:31: What was your worst moment?
  • 32:56: I opened the closet door, and my wife was curled up on the floor sobbing.
  • 35:15: I always thought I would get cancer again.
  • 36:10: What was your best moment?
  • 38:37: If you could only do one thing to improve health care in the U.S., what would it be and why?
  • 40:58: I am grateful for my wife because she's a bulldog.
  • 41:48: Thriver Rapid Fire Questions
  • 45:37: Aside from Cancer U, what is one resource you would recommend for cancer patients and caregivers?

Resources