The healthiest patient
The healthiest patient
Function member: Sam, Function member since 2025
Function Focus: Ezra Scans, Cancer
Discovery: Stage 3 kidney cancer (19 tumors) detected before Stage 4 progression
Sam wasn't just fit for 72.
His doctor said he was the healthiest patient he had ever seen at any age.
The marathons proved it. He’d run nearly 200 of them in his lifetime.
At the beginning, it was achievement oriented.
Over time, running transitioned to self-care.
A daily commitment to staying strong, capable, and vibrant.
At his last checkup, everything looked perfect.
Three months later, a single scan would rewrite his story.
A proactive decision
Sam came across a suggestion from a doctor to look inside and see if there was anything hiding in the body.
"I thought that made perfect sense," Sam said.
He wasn't feeling sick. He had no symptoms. He was simply being proactive.
So he got an MRI scan.
And that’s when the truth surfaced. The kind no standard physical could have seen.
Sam had kidney cancer.
Not early. Not borderline.
Stage 3 kidney cancer heading toward Stage 4.
A fighting chance
For Sam, the diagnosis brought mixed feelings.
I was like, oh my God, I have Stage 3 cancer. But then, I was glad I didn't have Stage 4. I have a fighting chance.
He saw it as another challenge in life and was determined to do his best.
But the emotional weight was real.
I had a profound sense of loss. It's very visceral. It's very internal.
Living with gratitude
For Sam, cancer detection at this stage meant more options.
It meant medical experts, a treatment plan, and a window of opportunity.
And time.
After the scan, surgeons removed 9 tumors from his left kidney.
A follow-up surgery will remove 10 more from his right.
It's made me a more conscious person about having gratitude for what I currently have in life. Life is for the living and I want to keep living as long as I can.
The race that mattered most
Sam spent decades conquering miles, mastering hard things, and refusing to let limits define him.
But catching cancer right before Stage 4 was the race that mattered most.
"So what's that worth?" Sam asks. "That's worth the world, right?"
Kudos to technology. Kudos to science.
I'm very grateful.