Share Your Story: Randy Lopez

Randy Lopez is a featured spokesperson for the Colon Cancer Alliance and a stage four cancer survivor. He was featured in CNN’s Special Investigation Saving Your Life hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Randy appeared on CBS’ Health Watch Colorectal Cancer Digestive Health Awareness Webcast hosted by Dr. Travis Stork of The Doctors. He was previously a board member for the National Colon Cancer Coalition based in Minnesota.

• 00:25: Randy is a featured spokesperson for the Colon Cancer Alliance and a stage four cancer survivor.
• 02:16: She just did a digital exam and told me it was an internal hemorrhoid.
• 04:33: I remember just being so painful.
• 06:26: That went well and then went through chemo.
• 08:10: Did they take a portion of your colon out?
• 10:01: By that time, we had just moved back to California.
• 12:23: We’re not recommending you go through chemo again.
• 14:45: I was doing meditation to keep my mind going.
• 16:15: How long was this sort of second treatment?
• 18:33: We're grateful for the doctors.
• 20:15: But if I saw people that are going through cancer, they're in their 70's.
• 22:04: I found five or six people who had survived stage four liver cancer, exactly what my sister had.
• 24:43: What was your best moment during all of this?
• 26:41: I think you definitely find out who your friends are.
• 28:18: I remember sitting in the passenger seat and looking out the window and I just lost it.
• 30:25: I wanted to hear the word change and when we finally heard the words change, it was bad news.
• 32:10: I don't want to forget that there were days that I did not feel at all like I can't even cope.
• 35:28: I just went to have an endoscopy just this last week.
• 36:37: What is the one thing you wish you had known at the very beginning?
• 37:30: If you could only do one thing to improve health care in the US, what would it be and why I would change?
• 38:59: Thriver Rapid Fire Questions
• 40:12: And aside from Cancer U, what is one resource that you would recommend for cancer patients and caregivers?

Resources

• Tweet Randy @randylopez or @stage4survivor
• Randy’s Theatre company
• Faces of Blue: Check Your Colon
• Check Your Colon at Mount Kilimanjaro