Men with advanced cancer aim to spend the rest of their time in every state in the United States

When Doug Ruch was diagnosed with advanced cancer, he realized that one of the biggest regrets of his life was that he didn’t spend enough time to help others.

Ruch, 55, told me that I spent a lot of time working and working hard to make a lot of money that I didn’t volunteer a lot. I didn't help many colleagues. ” happen Host nilk ʧksal.

“I can't go back and change that. All I can do is move forward with any time left.”

That's why San Antonio, Texas, drives a mission of volunteering across the United States – he's known as the “craving service” journey.

'Nothing to lose'

Ruch, who has worked in sales all his life, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021. He learned in January that it had spread and his doctors estimated that he had a lifespan of 12 to 18 months. That was when he started to come up with the idea of ​​cross-country travel.

Ruch's best friend, Eddie Gallagher, 30, thought it was a good idea.

“I said, 'Why not?” Gallagher said, “I think it's amazing what he's doing. ”

So far, Ruch has volunteered in food banks in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Idaho and Utah, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, senior families, youth centers and community centers.

He described himself as a lonely man with a turbulent childhood suffering from lifelong anxiety and said the whole effort took him far beyond his comfort zone.

But he quickly learned to volunteer and felt good.

“It actually became calm. On days when I had volunteer tasks, I felt really good, I was full of energy. Happy hormones were flowing.”

Angie K. Smith, executive director of the charity kitchen angel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said volunteering is not only good for the community. This is also good for volunteers.

In fact, some studies have found a link between volunteering or altruism and happiness and health.

Ruch was stopped by the Kitchen Angel on March 25 to help, and Smith said they were happy to have him.

“We definitely rely on it [on] “And thanks to our volunteers. Doug is an inspiration, we support his message, and we support him,” Smith said.

Ruch, who is raising funds for his trip to Gofundme, said he has been receiving attention since his story began to become national and international headlines.

“It's crazy this week. It's crazy,” he said. “I got a lot of emails from media requests and content, and they're like, 'Hey, can you pass it on to Doug?' No, Doug responded to all the emails.

When asked if he would consider inviting volunteers to help, Ruch insisted that he didn’t want to burden anyone.

But when his friend Quan Khuu learned about Ruch’s mission, he knew he had to get involved.

“I know he's coming to California, but he's not going to stop in San Francisco. So I kind of let him go [feel] Visit me for guilt.

Khuu then joined Ruch with a few good friends to volunteer with Project Open Hands, which serves meals for patients and vulnerable people.

Ku said he was proud of his friends.

“I’m glad he’s doing what he’s been doing and has a good legacy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ruch hopes to finally make this legacy a reality. He said he plans to be eager to become an official registered charity that connects people with the work of volunteers.

“The mission is to inspire and educate people across the country, if not the world, to microvolunteers in their communities,” he said.

By “Mico-volunteer”, he means volunteering for several hours at a time. He said giving back is not necessarily a huge commitment to time.

“If enough people volunteer…three or four hours a month, that would bring a different world.”