What I Learned From Having Cancer

You're such a great person man. So glad that you're better

Love this Jake, good to hear you talk about this and i can relate 100%. From a fellow survivor currently in my 2nd year of remission!

Little story time here about cancer in my life. When I was 3 years old, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Wilmes Tumor kidney cancer. Even my parents didn't believed I'd survive, well spoilers but I did, and I'm still here 16 years later. I had it for 5 years, from 3 years old to 8 years old. I spent most of my childhood in hospitals, I have scars from innumerable surgeries across my entire chest, right down the middle and I only have one kidney. I'm still super short (4'8 or about 1.4 meters for anyone not American) and small and probably always will be. Now, here's what that taught me. Obviously I had a much different experience than someone who has it as an adult with me being so young when I had it. It taught me to always treat everyone with love and respect, that life is beautiful. It's made me consider my place in the world several times, why I survived and others haven't, I still haven't figured that one out. Most importantly, it's given me motivation to not waste the opportunity that I had been given by surviving. I've made the most of every day in my 19 years of life, or at least, I've tried to and will continue to try. Cancer, as much as it's taken has also given me the gift of purpose, it's given me a reason to always continue forward to always persevere no matter what. I don't wish hardships such as this on anyone, not even my worst enemy but I do think hardships can give us opportunities to grow. I also think hardships in life are unavoidable no matter how we fight, most of the things that happen in our life aren't in our control and never will be. It's not about what happens, it's about how you react to it.

Imagine disliking a video of a guy explaining his experiences and lessons learned with cancer.

"I'm going to be shaving this" _He was actually talking about his head, Jake is going full Michael._

Glad you came out a better person from all of that, great message as well ❤

Jake: "Let me address the elephant in the room.." Me: "The cancer." Jake: "..the beard." oh.

Jake, I think you underestimate the overwhelmingly positive impact you've already had on this world. Sure, you can always do more, but I know who you are and you've made my life a little bit better by being here, along with countless other people. That alone is pretty cool. Thanks for being you.

That _It's not a Goodbye, no it's never a Goodbye. It's See Ya Later_ at the end made me tear up. You're a lovely human being Jake.

I was diagnosed 4 years ago with breast cancer, officially healed since 2,5 years, and I remember back then, your videos on your journey really helped me not feeling alone. And today is no exception. There's not a day since the day of my diagnosis that I didn't think about all these things, how afraid of the end I am, and what I could potentially leave behind, what I want to experience. At that time, I had a 2yo daughter, who was not aware of what was happening. Today, she's 6, and has a little sister who's soon going to turn 2. I call her my sunshine baby, the first positive thing that came into my life after this 1+ year of living in fear and incertainty. Last march, my grandpa received medical help to die, as he was very sick with cancer. Seeing how peaceful and accepting he was about his life ending was very eye opening. I hope that when my day comes, as far from today as possible, I will be at peace with it too. Stay well Jake. You have no idea how big of an impact you have on us. Big hug!

I got you Jake, i'm not in the same situation as you, but, when i was 19, i was misdiagnosed with a brain tumor, and probably didn't have much time, this was only rectified about three to four months after that. I cried everyday, i stop going to college, i thought about my dreams, everything i wanted to do in my life, like having children, marrying my girlfriend, get a degree, etc, and knowing that those things wouldn't happen just crushed me. I was miserable, i just couldn't try to not think about death, it was on my mind 24/7, i couldn't sleep, i couldn't do anything, i was just that, miserable. It really made me love life, really.

Jake's starting to look like his father, Michael, day by day

STAY SAFE MY FRIENDS!

I had cancer the same time you did and it was so scary. I'm proud of you.

My own cancer experience was similar, and it did open my eyes to a few things. I think I'm more aware of my mortality, which means I'm less likely to take stupid risks but more likely to enjoy the things I do. I see how finite we all are, how small our lives are, and yet somehow still so much packed inside. There's a density to others we don't normally perceive. It's not just what someone else is going through that we don't know, it's how much they have in their minds that we can never know. Perceptions and thoughts and feelings, ideas and fantasies, beliefs and wisdom. When someone dies, there's entire worlds inside them that disappear forever. And the only way we have to discover those worlds, even a little bit, is words. So when someone talks, no matter what they talk about, listen. You're seeing a world inside them, and it shouldn't fall into darkness without being seen.

A friend of the family had a heart attack a few years ago. What was amazing was how profound the change in his personality and behavior was. Before, he tended to be kind of cold and unforgiving. After the heart attack, he became much more agreeable and friendly to everyone. I remember my dad telling me that this sometimes happens after surviving something that was extremely life threatening. It puts things into perspective. You may have a epiphany of caring to much about the wrong things. Sometimes when I'm bored, or getting angry at someone or something insignificant, I pretent to zoom out like Google maps. Zoom out to the sky and look back down at myself in whatever situation. I get to almost a day dreamy state and snap back into my eyes looking out of my head. It calms me and I come to the realization that where I am, what I'm doing, and how I'm feeling is almost always inconsequential. In a good way. It's hard to explain. I wish more people would step back from the rat race and take a second to just enjoy the present moment. It's a beautiful thing. It shouldn't take a brush with death to enjoy life, no matter how good or bad your predicament is. I'm glad to see Jake has realized this in a way, even if it took a cancer to shake him. May he live a long cancer free life. No one deserves to have that happen to them, let alone multiple times.

As someone who has been struggling throughout this dumpster-fire of a year; this was the most motivating, inspiring, and heartfelt message I've heard anyone with a platform give. Thank you.

As a 20yo, it's been 6 years since I'm cancer free and it's weird, I feel like the friends I made, the live I have and who I am happened because of it and I'm grateful for it. It is a humbling experience going through it and seing things happening around you to people who don't deserve it at all. I'm glad you're okay Jake, I share the feeling you have about being happy for having it, thank you for sticking around with us. Sending love from the Azores.

You’re an inspiration to all of us dude.

You have made the world better than you entered, man. :) Even just for me, this was such a powerful message. Thank you.

Thanks so much Jake, I'm heading into a potentially hard time with my own health and there's a lot of unknowns in front of me but it's messages like this that give me the courage to believe in creativity and it's ability to as you say find ways around roadblocks. Also really happy to hear you're doing well!

Jake: Having serious discussion about life My brain: haha, Taco Bell shirt

I'm glad you got better Jake. Having lost my mom to cancer this past year I think I know what you mean. Stay healthy Jake. Lead a better life. This is your second chance.

I remember crying my eyes out when I saw your first video discussing the diagnosis. We love you very much. Couldn't be happier to see you doing well.

Jake is slowly turning into Michael

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw you. I know I'm just some stranger, but man am I glad to see that you're still around. And even better, still making amazing content! Really glad this channel of yours found it's way to my feed

Dammit. Those cuts when you were about to start crying jabbed me in the heart.

Much love from Brasil, Jake. Thanks so much for your kind words and experience shared, it just means a lot to me, cause you are an awesome human being, and an example to us all! Take care.

Man he’s just casually dropping such an amazing speech. Because he’s truly been through some shit he’s really speaking from experience.

Jake is like an older brother telling you the things you need to hear at the exact right time. Love u buddy keep up the good work.

Man you've described EXACTLY how I feel, thank you for this... Cancer at 22, seven years in the clear next month!

I really REALLY wanna give him a hug, he really spoke to me, thanks for the good vibes Jake, you´re awesome!

You've brought so much happiness and knowledge to so many in this world, thank you for all you've done already Jake. We love you.

This gave me chills... The honesty that can be felt through screen and voice perfectly... Wish you the best Jake and don't worry, You'll outlive us all :)

You are a living legend and you’re an inspiration!

Thing is that many ppl say the same thing but u can feel that this comes from heart

Haven't seen Jake for some time. And now he's a lumberjack

It's two years today since I got my diagnoses, your an inspiration fella, you're a fighter and you are worth every second, minute, hour, day, month and year you live, what I learned was live every second as if it is your last.

Jake, this has been my waking life after experiencing my first encounter with a police officer on my own at the age of 15. The waking fear that death is adjacent in any place a cop lurks, that everyone sees you like imminent threat the same. I empathize with this even past all of the other near death and tragedy I've experienced. Thank you for sharing your experience, and giving us all a chance to reflect on more patience with ourselves and open to engaging things harder than just the mundane things in the day.

i cant tell you enough how happy i am you're still here. the world needs more people like you

I have never been in a situation where my life hung on a thread like this, so I cannot say that I know how such a world could feel but this still connects with me. Around 2 years ago, I understood the weight of death for the first time, just a moment of clarity, and it began to shift the way I saw things. I'm thankful that you conveyed this message. A message of love, understanding, and hope from a place that seems to challenge all of those things. it is truly inspiring to me and it connects with me deeply. Well-said Jake Have a good one :)

It's really rare for me to feel this way about a person that I've only seen online.. but you seem to be a genuinely good person. You know that feeling when you see a person and it's like they are glowing. That's you! I love what you do and what message you spread. Hope I'll get to the place you are at someday... And to whoever is reading this, I hope you'll have a wonderful day!

I straight up feel almost guilty for having suicidal thoughts. Jake makes a great point and this makes me wanna live a long happy life, no matter how painful it’ll be

2 years ago my sister passed away due to brain cancer. She fought it for 4 long years. I was only in 6th grade when she was diagnosed. I miss her so much and I know how hard it is to talk about this topic. I'm so happy for you and your strength. Thank you.

With all the madness in the world today it’s been very difficult to cope anxiety wise and I really needed this video right about now, thanks Jake.

“We never really spend a lot of time thinking about dying” *me: spends copious hours in an existential crisis about the end of my life and all life on earth*

I almost cried. Thank you jake. I am so happy you're doing better in the grand scheme of things. To me, you've always been an inspiration and continue to be

What you described is the same feeling i had after my stepmom passed. She began having seizures and aneurysms quite often last summer, and we lost her in august. Afterwards, i didnt mourn that well. I was mostly fucked up with existential dread. Though tragic, the experience made me think ab who i was and how my family would feel if i was gone overnight. I started making sure my family and friends felt loved, started thinking more ab my future, ab kids, ab life as a whole. I realized that we’re all just trying to live and love with what little time we have, and that make me more compassionate and changed everything from my outward actions to my political views. I wish she was still here, but im also glad she isnt suffering anymore. Whats more is, even in death, she continued to teach me the value of people and of caring, though indirectly. I realized that if I leave half as good of an impression on the people in my life as she did mine, id be content with my legacy and somewhat at peace with passing. I just want people to see me as pleasant and loving

I remember way back in 2016 when you were giving updates as you went through treatment, and it happened to coincide with a time in my life where classes and commitments were getting out of control. I was struggling to keep up and was at my whit's end, but then you uploaded the video about finally being able to stand on your own two feet again and did a little jig to celebrate. Seeing you be really happy about that choked me up and got me to take a step back and just breathe and reflect for a minute. That moment we "shared" is vividly burned into my memory, and I always go back to it whenever things seem bleak. That's at least my personal answer for how people will remember you, and I'm sure others have their own stories as well. Thanks for being awesome :)

2:55 end point of life and questions around it 3:15 openness to people, life, experiences and trying our best to find value 4:30 dealing with other people and compassion 6:10 kindness to self, while perusing your goals 7:55 acknowledging pain that we all go through, each one of us 8:38 the current state of existence, our heritage and change all these points were touching Jake

Thanks for sharing this, Jake! Wishing you and everyone reading this many good decades to come!

I cried so much when I found out you were diagnosed with sarcoma, as my uncle passed away from it in 2012. So glad and thankful to see you’re doing alright, much love Jake.

I really needed to hear words like these today, and I didn’t even know it. Thank you for just being you, jake!

You know, listening to other people that had cancer really helped me. I overthink a lot and hearing others really plants me back down to earth. You were able to vocalize a ramble that has gone through my head and feelings for 3 years now. I just haven't had a moment to express them yet.

Dear Jake... seeing this video put me into tears. Never feel like you haven’t had enough of an impact. I discovered your channel in 2014. You created an intrigue in my mind for science and film. So much so that this year I am going to Uni and majoring in astrophysics and also doing courses in film. I can’t thank you enough for introducing those two things into my life. Stay strong man. Much love ❤️

we value you , I'm sure you are going to be ok ,prayers and love for u and everyone reading this,

You’re like the only person on this platform who can say really motivating things without sounding cheesy and thats my favorite thing about you

You're an inspiration and someone all of us want to be like, never change, Jake.

Thank you for this video. After losing a loved one to cancer a few months ago I've been sinking uncontrollably in thoughts about death, existentialism, what i means to be human and mortal, and so on... Often to an obsessive intrusive degree. In a similar way to you I wasn't able to escape these thoughts or that reality of life anymore, but I forgot to try and learn from them nevertheless. Your video reminded me of that and in future I'm sure your words will help me deal with these thoughts better. Again, an honest thank you from the bottom of my heart for talking about this. I randomly found your video but I'm very glad I did.

I felt every word. My 5 month old daughter passed away on Memorial day this year. That day and everyday after has been life changing ever since. I had to relearn how to be strong, or just be stronger. #SpreadLove

Having also had cancer in 2016-2017, this was nice and refreshing to listen to. Thank you.

The part where you explain about listening to stuff you don't like, or trying stuff that other people like to learn more about it and find value in it is in my opinion one of the best life lessons. I feel like almost everything has worth too it, and its worth every second exploring why.

I missed Jake. Good to hear from him

Thank you Jake, I just woke up in the hospital and this is one of the first things I see. Really brightens things up

"Other people have pain. Other people have problems. And you need to be considerate and kind towards that." I'm not sure why, but personally this quote is really impactful. I like to think I do a pretty good job of adhering to that, but just earlier today I was reflecting on how a lot, and I mean a lot of people I know don't. You said exactly what was on my mind, thank you.

I didn't go through any health scares but I did go through something traumatic recently, and I'm sort of coming through the same conclusion. And it's really inspiring to hear what I've been thinking in another voice. Almost made me tear up actually. So thank you Jake. I hope you make the best out of life. No matter how much time you have left.

Leave it to Jake Roper to somehow break the limit of humble, still coming out a greater person from a harrowing experience. Keep up the great work, my friend.

That's crazy how the start of your cancer happened around the same time I discovered to have a blood clot in my lung. Later to find out I had an immune disease that attacks my blood cells making me more prone to clotting. Anyways, I just love how you took something positive out of your situation just like I did while being an inspiration to so many people. Glad to see you're doing good!

you're an inspiration. stay strong man.

Watching this is so inspiring. I remember when you uploaded the video saying that you had been diagnosed with cancer, I remember you still trying to be optimistic despite the situation. I haven't watched your videos in years, but it's impressive and recomforting to see that you haven't lost your optimism, thank you for being such a nice person Jake, you rock

my mom just died from cancer about a month ago. i‘m still struggling to understand and accept the fact that i‘ll never see her again but your video made me feel slightly better. she had a great impact on me for sure, i‘ve always looked up to her strength and endless positivity and i‘m glad that i was able to spend 18 years of my life with her. thanks jake for sharing your experience with us, i can assure you that you‘ve at least made my world a little better.

I feel like he was speaking directly to me. It's almost exactly the advice that I needed.

I learned that you are strong and determined, even more than I knew before.

I just joined the 4 year remission club myself, this video really expressed a lot of the lessons and experiences that cancer gave me, it’s nice to know others are out with the same thoughts.

My dad was diagnosed early last year with stage 4 liver and lung cancer, 16 sessions of chemo and 2 surgeries later he’s as strong as ever, he’s 57 btw, what a madlad, stay safe people, and be kind.

Not only do you inspire thought and motivation, but empathy and love. You are a beautiful person

This is truly a blessing. In an age where people no longer fear God, no longer afraid of the consequences of their life choices, having these thoughts makes you grateful for everything, and not take anything in life for granted.

I love how he addresses us 😊.. after all these years I'm convinced that I'm really awesome.

You genuinely seem like one of the nicest people on earth

I don't want you to leave this world. But if for some reason your time comes, as all of our will as well, I just want you to know that you've left an impact on many MANY people, and you will always be remembered for the fantastic person you are. One of the most charismatic people I've ever seen, even if the person in the video isn't EXACTLY the same as the person in real life, just know that you are fantastic, and you've helped a lot of people. Much love

Really Happy that you're doing okay man. I've been watching you for many upon many years now.

He talks about wanting to make an impact on people when he already has. Keep inspiring. Love you jake❤️

This is exactly what we need. Thank you Jake.

WOAH That was 4 years ago!? That's unreal. I love you man, I'm glad you're well

Can't believe it's been 4 years. Wow. We're all like.. Old now, right?

Love ya Jake

I’ve been following you for years and years and I’ve never found you any less than heart felt, mindful, and passionate. I can hear that the topic is still a bit sensitive to you when you mention how your experience with cancer was. You’re so strong to still be open about it. I think I actually cried when you first talked it and I’m so happy to see you doing awesome today. Much love 💕

We love you dude. You're an inspiration to us all.

You've definitely achieved some personal enlightenment from these challenging experiences. Excellent work on how you interpreted these events

4:40 "you can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”-Malcolm S. Forbes

jake we missed u hope you’re staying well❤️

Thank you so much for this. You are an inspiration.

Thank you for being real Jake. Everybody needs to hear words like these. While I have never had cancer, perhaps its my asthma that helps me realize how fragile life can be. We need to realize this and to really and truly, Stay Humble.

Am I the only one that automatically like Jake's videos before I even start watching them? He's just such a wonderful guy

It's really hard to see your loved ones go through that pain. I hope you have a happy and healthy life.

We need more of this, thank you Jake. I feel honored that I am one of the relatively few that watched and learned from this video (and from you as a whole). I'm happy to listen anytime you have something to share.

Sees the beard My mind: *Jake* = *Michael*

Keep fighting the good fight man I’m glad you’re still with us, the insight you provide the world with is valuable to everyone.

Such a powerful message that it reached all of Hyrule. Thank you for this. May the Triforce be with you. ❤

I haven’t watched your videos in a long time. I came across this in my recommended videos and now at the end I’m in tears with a better understanding on my own pain and others around me. Thank you for the video jake !