Faith, Family, Medicine Buoy Man Battling Cancer

INDIANAPOLIS -- At age 39, Don Foss' life story was already inspiring -- a happily married father of two devoted to his family, his job as a promotions photographer at RTV6 and, above all, his faith.

Foss' faith led him on a life-changing ministry mission to Mexico last spring with a group called the Celebration Puppeteers.

On that trip, Foss and a few others got sick, but in his case, the illness was serious. Doctors found that Foss had a tumor the size of a baseball -- colorectal cancer that doctors said was treatable.

But the cancer had spread to his liver, and the situation got serious very fast. Foss spent much of August at Community North Hospital.

"I can have an amazing day, and other days I feel like someone slammed me against a wall," Foss said.

Through Don's medical troubles, his wife, Susan, has been a constant companion.

"Don is a people person. He loves people," Susan Foss said. "Even when he went in for his liver biopsy, he turned around and shook the hand of every person in that room and told them, 'Thank you for doing this biopsy for me.'"

Don Foss said he wants the dramatic twist in his life to help others.

"Please get checked. I'm 39 years old. I'm not supposed to have a colonoscopy until I'm 50," Foss said. "If you have any inkling of any issue going on with your body, get into a doctor."

Foss said he now knows that he should have started screenings earlier, because his family has a history of colorectal cancer.

Dr. Sumeet Bhatia, Foss' oncologist, said his case is far from typical, but there are lessons to be learned from it.

"If you are less than 50 and you notice blood in your stools, make sure you mention it to your physician," Bhatia said.

Foss and his family have been flooded with cards, e-mails, visitors, helpers and plenty of prayers, many from strangers following his story through 6News' Trisha Shepherd's blog.

"It's an angle you can't explain. I see life differently now, in a great way," Foss said. "If it is God's choice that I am not supposed to be on this Earth … I have a lot of things I can take with me I can say I didn't have before."

Foss is confident he can overcome cancer's ravages.

"I have to beat this. I've got too much going on in my life -- a lovely wife, two beautiful little children, and I've got a story to tell," Foss said.