1. Share Your Story: Paul Stavros Cancer U 48:04

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

Andrea Wilson Woods is a writer who loves to tell stories, and a patient advocate who founded the nonprofit Blue Faery: The Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association. Andrea is the CEO and co-founder of Cancer University, a for-profit, social-benefit, digital health company. With Cancer U, Andrea synergizes her talents of coaching, writing, teaching, and advocacy. For over ten years, Andrea worked in the education field as a teacher and professor for public and private schools as well as universities. Andrea obtained her master’s degree in professional writing from the University of Southern California; her nonfiction writing has won national awards. Her new book, a medical memoir titled Better Off Bald: A Life in 147 Days, is a #1 Bestseller on Amazon in multiple categories.