FCRC Beyond Blue Fall 2021 - Flipbook - Page 21
PATIENT Story
PATIENT Story
A dreamer who has always been willing
to take risks and keep going, Weiss
never gave up. Today, he is in remission
and loves being a dad and running the
Elim Grove Cottages and bakery, which
sources organic, local ingredients and
welcomes visitors to enjoy the beauty of
the Redwoods.
FUELED BY
FOOD
“After treatment, being able to bake for
others and be a part of their celebration
of life was even more beautiful to me,”
he said. “Today I feel so happy and
grateful that I am able to be a part of
families’ everyday pleasures as well
as special times.”
During the start of the pandemic, he
baked thousands of loaves of bread for
any food pantry, shelter, or clinic that was
in need of food. Having survived cancer
against the odds, being able to make
the most of the gift of life became more
important than ever.
Figuring out how and what to eat
after a colorectal cancer diagnosis
can come with challenges, but food
can also introduce new passions and
bring healing. Meet three survivors
who have woven their love of food
into their lifestyles.
“I feel as though I want to
make the most of every
moment—making this world
a better place with the gift
of my extra time here.”
Years ago, shortly after
his father passed away,
Mark Weiss discovered
a 3-acre abandoned
property in California’s
coastal wine country. As
he toured the run-down
cottages and former
restaurant building, he
felt “a deep thrum in my
chest that it was waiting
for me.” This was his dream. A former lab
scientist for Amgen who later worked in
finance, he moved away from Silicon Valley
and began pouring everything he had into
renovating the property, which he named
Raymond’s Bakery after his late father.
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The bakery also reminded him of his first
memory: baking with his mom. “She had
me helping her braid challah. Every holiday
we would be in the kitchen for days.”
In 2004, Weiss assumed he felt so run
down because of the property renovations,
and then a subsequent car crash. But
thankfully he saw a doctor who requested
a colonoscopy—which happened to be
two days before his wife’s scheduled
c-section. He was diagnosed with stage III
rectal cancer at age 32. Everything in his
world changed—including his relationship
with food.
At first, food helped him cope. “I drove
to the store and picked up some rib-eye
steaks and veggies,” he said. “Then I
went home and cooked my family a
hearty dinner to help sustain us through
what was to come.” But when he went
on a clinical trial that involved three
types of chemotherapy and radiation,
everything changed.
“I could hardly consume food…it caused
such profound nausea that it was
impossible to even eat dry toast most
days. I couldn't even be in the bakery
some days because the smell of bread
baking was too much.”
Stage IV Survivor
Baltimore, Maryland
“I’m passionate about food! I love cooking. It is not just my
hobby, but my true calling!”
For Ule Alexander, his interest in food
began during his first job in the hospitality/
food service industry. As a dishwasher
serving the back of the house, he picked
up on how he could make good wages and
impact others’ lives by serving food. He also
saw how food was powerful and central to
any culture. As his career grew, he moved
from the back of the house to the front, and
from restaurant to restaurant. After getting
his culinary arts degree, he worked toward
the dream of managing his own restaurant
one day.
“This fits my personality, he said. “It lets
me interact with different people and
make different products—I love to see
how the ingredients come in, prepare and
plate a dish, serve it to customers, and see
their reaction and how much they enjoy it.
It’s nice.”
BREAD BAKER
MARK WEISS
Stage III Survivor • Cazadero, California
FOOD LOVER
ULE ALEXANDER
SCAN TO READ
LEARN MORE ABOUT MARK’S
STORY AT THE COLON CLUB
Unfortunately, the high from cooking for
others in Alexander’s life met a low after
he was diagnosed with CRC at age 36.
Five years prior, he had undergone gastric
bypass surgery and adopted a lifestyle of
measuring foods, preparing healthy meals
at home, and working out every day.
“I was shocked when I was diagnosed,” he
said. “I thought, ‘It’s impossible.’”
Although Alexander could look back on what
led up to his gastric bypass and identify
unhealthy eating habits and patterns, he
began combating many assumptions.
“People assume your diet was probably
terrible when you’re diagnosed—like you’re
eating a ton of red meat,” Alexander shared,
recounting some of the comments he faced
after diagnosis, as well as advice he got
from a CRC conference. “Doctors were on
stage and talking about food, telling people
to eat super healthy, buy organic, and to
make their own soups and gazpachos. I
was like, ‘but we still have cancer…what are
you talking about?’ Does it really matter if I
eat nothing but green vegetables all day? I
don’t think so—I ate super healthy and still
got cancer. I’ve been a little angry with the
blanket statement that food causes cancer.”
Cancer shifted his plans and threw
Alexander’s life for a loop. In addition to
facing grueling treatments and surgeries,
his marriage ended and the physical
demands of running a restaurant were
too much for his body, dashing his hopes
of becoming the general manager of an
upcoming restaurant opening. Going into
true survival mode, Alexander said he felt
depressed and lost his relationship with
food for a while—eating to live versus
living to eat. His appetite waned, as did
his interest in trying different restaurants
and the social aspects of food that he’d
fallen in love with. What brought it back?
Surprisingly: COVID-19.
“I moved in with my sister and had nothing
to do but sleep and rest, so I’d go to the
store to get something to cook that my
family hadn’t tried. I'd make it, plate it,
and take a picture to post on social media.
They’d say, ‘It’s amazing!’ With a new
audience to cook for, it reignited my passion
and brought life back to cooking for me.”
FOLLOW ULE’S FOOD ADVENTURES!
@teflondoncatering
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