“I would rather die.”

People asked, was I serious? Totally. When the surgeon told me I had a ruptured bowel and I needed a colostomy bag, I refused. The hospital staff said they would make me comfortable until the end. That’s when my family came over the top.

They took my hands, begging me to continue fighting. I thought, “What’s the point?” I had stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer with not long to live. Finally, …