The Most Dangerous Mistake Men Make With Their Health with guest Phil Nozaki

We talk with Phil Nozaki about growing up in a faith-centered home, serving his community, and facing a hereditary kidney cancer diagnosis that turns daily life into a long fight. He shares what it’s like to navigate surgery, monitoring, an NIH clinical trial, and the question of legacy while still showing up as a dad.
• Getting Phil’s last name right and why names carry stories 
• Phil’s Japanese American family background and World War II internment 
• Parents’ work ethic and church as the moral bedrock 
• School years, early adulthood, and taking the long road through college 
• Learning skilled trades through church connections and mentors 
• Volunteering on a CCTV security camera install for a Christian school 
• The first warning sign of kidney cancer and the near-canceled ultrasound 
• Second opinions and why genetic testing matters with family history 
• HLRCC hereditary kidney cancer and what “clear margins” really means 
• Recurrence risk, ongoing CT scans, and later growth in the lungs 
• Joining an NIH clinical trial and the realities of a 21-day treatment cycle 
• Immunotherapy basics and how it is explained to patients 
• Support systems through prayer, friends, and faith in Christ 
• Parenting through uncertainty and the message he wants his kids to carry 
• Choosing forgiveness, avoiding grudges, and valuing time over stuff 
• Why talking openly about illness can be therapeutic and rally real support 
I hope that anyone else listening to this out there help us out with the prayers.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. Today I'm going to be interviewing a guest who's a great friend of mine. He did not serve in the military, but he has served as a great community member. We actually had a big project hooking up CCTV security cameras for a Christian school. And he has a tremendous story, and I wanted to get an opportunity to introduce you to him today. His name is Phil Mazuki. How are you? Good, good. Nozaki. Mazaki. Nozaki. Nozaki? Yeah. With an N? Uh-huh. That's right. This whole time I've been spelling your name with an with an M. That's that's all right.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

You know, I had a buddy of mine who um for the for the longest time he um would call me Phil Norazaki. And um I thought, you know, he's he's kind of a humorist. He likes joke around a lot. So this one day, like after I'd known him for at least 10

Formation And A Name Mix-Up

SPEAKER_01 0:58

years, you know, he had to write me a check for something. So he writes me a check and it says Phil Norozaki on it. And so I kind of looked at him and I was like, haha, you know, it's very funny, but this is a check, so it's gonna have my real name on it. And no joke, this guy is like, isn't that your real name? Like after like 10 years of knowing him. So yeah, it's it's not an easy name, but you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Well, I apologize. I I dude, I thought it was Mazaki, M-I-Z-A-K-I. No? How do you spell it? Uh N-O-Z-A-K-I. Oh, I need to change that in my phone. Well, anyways, man, I just wanted to I just wanted to get you on the podcast today um to talk about your life. You've never been in the military before. No, did you have any family members serve in the military? Uh my dad was in the army. Really? Yeah. Uh what, so from when to when?

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Uh you know, I don't even know. I'm not even sure. He never um served during uh wartime, so he didn't see any action or anything like that. But um all I know is is he was in the army and um you know when he passed away, of course, um, you know, he he got a military burial stone and um you know they did the uh I forget what it's called, taps at his funeral. So the military burial. He never really talked about it much, so I I don't really know. In fact, um when when we were trying to get um you know the the military records for his for his headstone, um we ran into a a lot of problems because you know I guess his his records were I guess there was some sort of fire in St. Louis like in the forties or something like that, and a lot of people's records got burned up. So but he didn't talk about it much, and um I don't really know too much about it. I just know he was in the army.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

That's interesting. So what generation are you? Uh was your dad.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

My dad was uh second generation, so um his parents immigrated over from Japan. They were the they call him Iseis, and then my dad was the Sansei, and so I'm the the third generation, which is um oh I'm sorry. The first generation is Isei, second generation is Nisei, and then third is is Sansei, so I'm a Sansei. Hmm. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Interesting. So third generation, do you remember do you know when your family first came over? I don't.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Um, you know unfortunately, I never got to know my dad's parents because um his father passed away before I was even born, and then his mother passed away the year I was born, so I

Japanese American Roots And Internment

SPEAKER_01 3:45

never really knew my my dad's parents at all. Um all I know about them really is that they um, you know, when they came over here, they lived in um the state of Washington, and then um, of course, World War II happened, and they all got interned in um in an internment camp in Wyoming. And after everybody got released, they decided to to settle down in California. So that's how they ended up here, Southern California.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

That's interesting that you know that you know that much, at least. Um I mean, shoot, I don't know. Like I don't know anything about when when my grandmother came over or anything like that. So the fact that you know that they started out in Washington and then was actually in an intern camp during World War II, that's I mean, you know, you know more than me about my own family, which is which is amazing. Do you know how they ended up here in Southern California?

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Um Yeah, well, I guess when they were releasing all the Japanese Americans from the internment camps, they uh my dad had two older brothers, and uh their parents asked them, where do you you know, do you guys want to go back to Washington or where do you want to go? And my dad's brothers said they wanted to go to LA, Los Angeles, so they came to Los Angeles, and I think I want to say they lived in Pasadena for a while. Um, and I don't know where they really lived after that, but yeah I've as long as I've known my dad, he's he's lived in Monterey Park.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

So that's cool, man. I'm actually getting to know your last name. So you grew up in Monterey Park, Pasadena area, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Uh well my dad lived in Pasadena before. Um I I just grew up in Monterey Park. I went to Monterey Highlands, and um and after that I uh ended up leaving Monterey Highlands in the sixth grade, going to seventh grade, and um I started going to a different school. It's a parochial school in San Gabriel, it's still around. It's called San Gabriel Christian. It's right there on Las Tunis and um San Gabriel Boulevard. And then after that, I went to Marinata High School, which is in Pasadena now, but when I went there it was in Sierra Madre.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yeah. So growing up, um, what was it like with your parents? Were you like who had the biggest influence on you?

SPEAKER_01 6:13

I think they both uh had an influence on me. Um you know I came from uh uh two household um income.

Growing Up With Working Parents

SPEAKER_01 6:26

So both my parents worked full-time, and um, you know, looking back on it, um, I of course didn't appreciate it at the time, but um my mom, she really uh she really I want to say like me some sacrifices for our family because she didn't work a traditional schedule. So my dad worked during the day, and then my mom, she was uh RN and I think she she did it out of her own volition. She worked a graveyard shift because you know she wanted to be available during the day, um, you know, to to pick us up and drop us off from school and stuff like that. And then my dad just worked a traditional regular nine to five. So um they both had a influence on me, I think. Um, you know, they um I think the probably the biggest influence, they raised me in church. So um, you know, I think that instilled uh just a lot of um good moral values, you know, just um growing up in in that type of community.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

So I I mean I I usually have a pretty good sense of people when I meet them. You you have a good nature about you, and we'll get into it later, but talk about the project that we were involved in that took like a lot of weekends, a lot of climbing up and down inside attics and outside um, you know, and it was a dirty work, basically.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

But I had tried to get that project off the ground, you know, two years prior to, and I couldn't because I couldn't find any dads like you that were willing to do it. Um so your parents, you grew up pretty good, like your parents were hardworking, um, and did you have any brothers and sisters? One older brother, three years older. Yeah. Okay. Um did were you guys close or no?

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Oh no, we were we were not uh really close at all. Um we had a pretty uh adversarial relationship growing up. So um we didn't get uh kind of close till um probably he probably right before he passed away. So he passed away um around like twenty thirteen. Yeah. So um right before that we kind of uh came back together a little bit. So Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Well I'm glad to hear that. Well, I mean so you stayed here in the Monterey Park area. Did you ever leave or take a job somewhere else or any of that? You grew you were you were raised by a military veteran, but you probably didn't feel that very much because he didn't really talk about that all that much, right? Not at all. Yeah. That's interesting. Interesting that he never talked about it. Do you know how many years he did or anything like that? Do you have a D214?

SPEAKER_01 9:09

I don't know. I'm I'm not sure. That actually I probably should research that and look that up.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

I mean you really should. Like the DD two fourteen would show his entire service time, it would show any medals, it would show all that stuff, but that would be interesting to for to look at and kind of dissect to see what exactly he did, what his job was. I mean, that would be really cool. Because he that was probably in what the 1940s, 1950s, maybe. Yeah, uh let's see. Probably in the early 50s. Early 50s. Yeah, that'd be interesting. That was that was a whole different time then, man. Like, I mean, I I would be interested in seeing what your dad had done, his military service. That's a huge sacrifice, man, just to s especially serving back then, going through boot camp and stuff. I mean, that was no easy chore. And that did he serve he served after his time at an intern camp? Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Well, I mean, I think when he got interned, he was just like a little boy. Yeah, I don't think he even really remembers too much of what happened.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Yeah. Or he remembered, sorry. See, that's the kind of stuff that I'm talking about, man. Like, it would have been interesting to to find out like what was his motivation. I mean, being interned and and singled out like that, and then still wanting to serve the country and not being bitter about things, like that would be that would be an interesting conversation to have, but you know, we can't really go back and have those conversations now. And I I shared with you that I had a great uncle like that. He was a World War II guy. And I I regret like he used to sit at the table and just talk and talk and talk about his two years in, you know, over in Europe. And uh can't go back in time and capture that now. But yeah, I'll help you hunt down that DD two fourteen though, man, because I that would be interesting to just just to take a look at.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Um Yeah, I think at that at that time, um, I've heard people say, I don't know if this is true, but I've heard people say that there was a uh kind of a that um you know Japanese Americans at that time they they really wanted to to prove that um you know they were loyal to this country. So um I I've heard that that's why the 442nd kind of became a thing. And you know, it probably even continued after that. I always assumed that maybe um my dad did that for that reason, just to, you know, show patriotism and stuff like that. Because he he was a pretty I mean more than other people, but um, you know, he always made sure um when he was alive that you know uh we had our flag out on Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and um 4th of July, you know, he had a um a flag that he kept inside and he always put it out on those days just because um yeah, I think he was just a patriotic person inside.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Yeah. Wow, that's that's interesting to hear that um that your dad was paid patriotic towards the country, but he never really talked about his military time, maybe because no one asked him. Maybe because nobody like really knew and he just kind of kept it to himself and assumed that you know I mean that a lot of times I when I first got out of the military, I really didn't talk about my time in service all that much, and I I kind of wanted to just move on with my life when I got out. Um so you graduate high school and then what was what was in the cards for you after that?

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Oh, I went to uh Biola University for a few years.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Where's that?

SPEAKER_01 12:43

It's in La Marata. It's uh Christian University. Okay. Um and then um ended up leaving Biola and um you know I just I just didn't really know what I wanted to do at that time. And um what was your major in though? Oh psychology. I just why I had picked it just because um I thought it was an interesting subject. And um, you know, um yeah, I don't even know where really why I picked it, but I did think it was kind of interesting, and um I did at one point try and um do other things, but man, some some of those majors I just I don't think I was smart enough for like um doing like a bio

School, Work, And Church Mentors

SPEAKER_01 13:30

major, you know, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

I I did take an organic chemistry class and that was a huge Now did you did you have did you have traditional parents, like traditional Asian parents that wanted you to like be a doctor or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Um well they didn't necessarily want me to be a doctor or a lawyer, but um studies were extremely important. Um if yeah, if I came home with like a uh my parents weren't like super bad compared to other Asian parents. I think if I got like A's and B's, I was good, and I did get mostly mostly A's. But um if I brought home a C, like Oh yeah. You know, I mean a C is is technically a passing grade, but it's like why why do you have a C, you know?

SPEAKER_00 14:21

And if Yeah I mean it didn't happen very often, but there were a few times that was So you're naturally smart. I mean you're you're in a s a great school district. I mean, even back then this entire school district sounded like it was it was pretty decent. And even now the school district is great, but um I could understand where your parents would be hard on you because it sounds like they were just simply hardworking people, man. Like your mom was a registered nurse.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Right? And she worked midnight shift? Uh graveyard, so probably like ten to seven or something like that. Yeah. So what did you spend like most of your career doing, man? Like you didn't serve in the military, your dad was served in the military. Um, you dropped out of college or did you finish up? Um I finished up at UC Riverside. Okay. So Okay. And what was your degree in? Psychology. Oh, you finished up in psychology. You stuck with it.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, but I mean, it's kinda I don't know. I also felt like it was kind of a waste because uh, you know, if you want to work in that field, you have to do grad work. And I already knew I didn't want to do grad work, so um, I just wanted to get a degree and and move on. Yeah. So what'd you what'd you do? Um, you know, I was just kind of um what did I do?

SPEAKER_00 15:40

Took me a long time to graduate, so um you just kind of jumped around from different jobs and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Did you uh you know I worked for a contractor for a while doing residential construction, and that was hard work.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Um I worked for a data cabling company for a little while, and these are all people, um, these are guys uh who own these companies. They they um were members of the church I was attending. So they I feel like they really helped me out. They helped kind of mentor me a little bit and helped me um pointed me in you know uh a good direction. I actually learned a lot from them, so I was very appreciative.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Church has been a big part of your life. That's what I keep hearing over and over again. Your parents raised you in a church, you went to a a Christian school, um, and then you know, you it seems like that's like how how important is that for you?

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Oh man, uh Jesus is everything. Yeah, you know, um that that's that's what I live my life for. Yeah. Um Christ alone.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Has that kind of been like your your bedrock overall with all the decisions that you made in your life was Jesus Christ? Definitely. I think so. That's huge, man. And I guess that kind of explains like why you're so community oriented, why you're not selfish. Because I'm here to tell you, like, I I tried to get that project off the ground um just two years prior to you getting on it, and I I struggled getting any dads to help me out. Um and when Chris came along, and then you came along, and then we had a couple other guys join up too, man. Dick was there, another father, and then there was a uh a volunteer electrician who was like the uncle of one of the kids. Right, man, just like that whole team was was awesome, man. Like um freaking uh you were a big part of that as well. And at the time, I didn't know it, but you were not well. That's correct, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

I mean I'm still actually um going through treatments now, so and so at the time what did they diagnose you with? So back in um 2020, I got diagnosed with uh with renol, which is kidney cancer. And um, yeah, I always tell people it was by the grace of God that um that they found it. And um I had my my brother actually died from from kidney cancer, and he was like I think around forty. And um you know, I didn't think much of it at the time. And then of course, you know, about ten years, almost ten years later, um, you know, I just one day I started I started seeing blood in my urine. And um I didn't think too much of it. Uh I was of course I was concerned, but um, you know, I didn't think it was anything like that. Um but I went to go see my doctor,

The Symptom That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_01 18:45

of course, and um he asked me, he said, Well, you know, what's going on? And at the time, my son was about two years old, and you know, that might I just told my doctor, I was like, Oh, you know my son, he jumps up and down on me a lot. He really likes jumping up on dad. So he's like, Oh, is he is he jumping up and down like your your corin area? I was like, I was like, Yeah, sometimes he jumps all over me. So the doctor just he thought like maybe I, you know, I got some some trauma or damage, you know, in my um urine tract or something, right? And um he was aware of my family history, my brother. So he um he asked me if um, you know, he said, well, why don't you get an ultrasound? I think you know, you just have maybe some urinary tract issues, but um, I'm gonna order ultrasound just in case, just because of my family's history. So um as I was leaving his office, his office is in Pasadena, um I was trying to make an appointment to to get the ultrasound done because um, you know, I was hoping, well, maybe if you know the imaging center in Pasadena has some openings, I could get it done today, right? So I I made the appointment just as I was as I was leaving his office. And I couldn't get they couldn't see me till like the following week, but I was like, okay, whatever. So um I started driving home and all of a sudden on my way back from the doctor's office, my my back starts hurting, you know, and I start sweating. And um I was just debating at that point. I was like, well, I'm in Pasadena. Should I drive to Huntington or you know, Huntington Memorial, which is in Pasadena, or should I go back to Monterey Park? You know, and ultimately I just decided to drive to Huntington Memorial, because I was right there in Pasadena, and I I barely barely made it. You know, I was like ready to run some stoplights and stuff because it just like my back pain got worse. I started sweating more, and um they took me in, they checked me out the ER, they asked me a couple questions, and I told them what was going on, and um, so they they ran a CT scan on me, and they, you know, they checked everything out. They said, okay, you know what, everything is is clear. We think you just have a kidney stone. So my initial diagnosis from the ER was a kidney stone, and I felt totally I mean, I don't want to say relieved relief, but you know, I was like, oh, it's just a kidney stone, you know. I was like, so they gave me some medication, and um I was like, okay, I'll probably be better in like a week or a week or two weeks, and um I was ready to cancel the ultrasound appointment because I got diagnosed with a kidney stone. So um I just decided for some reason I just decided to keep it anyways, and um, I think that was maybe prompting from the Lord, but um I kept the appointment. I went in the following week, they did the ultrasound, and then my doctor called me like the very next day. He said, Oh, we found something in your kidney.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

So Wow. So man, you just I mean, you were getting ready to cancel the the the ultrasound because you had this but they didn't confirm you had a kidney stone, right? They like you were just gonna do that because you thought it was a kidney stone and it would pass.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

And then it got so bad where like you had back pain and everything. So you go back into the doc and how old are you at this time?

SPEAKER_01 22:24

That time? Um I was uh that was what six years ago?

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Sounds like around forty-five. Still young, man. Still young. And so how old were your kids?

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Two and Yeah, we only had um my son at the time, he was two. Um and then uh Oh, actually, I think we did have my daughter. She was just a baby though. She was like an in like less than a year ago.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Oh wow. So you got two kids, you're about 45 years old, and then you go back into the doctors again. And how how did like you walk into the office, or did he tell you over the phone, or how did he tell you? He he told me on the phone.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

I mean, he called me after the ultrasound the next day. He said they found something in your kidney, we we want you to go see a urologist. And um, you know, honestly, just the fact that he ordered the the ultrasound to begin with, um, because he didn't really think much of it either, you know, and and it was just the grace of God he ordered the ultrasound and that I kept the appointment. Um, I think he only ordered it as a precautionary measure because, you know, my my family had a history of of um kidney cancer. My brother passed away from kidney cancer, I think I told you earlier. Yeah. So that I think I really believe that was the only reason that he he ordered the test, just like a like a attack on, you know, he added it on, but I don't really think that they expected the results, right? But um he uh he told me on the phone, and then of course I made an appointment with um with the urologist at um Huntington, and um he gave me his opinion, which was you know uh this it's pretty standard that if they plant a tumor on your kidney, as long as you have both kidneys, they're gonna remove the entire kidney. So he said, you know, we're gonna remove the entire kidney. And um, of course that's a a huge decision, right? Oh yeah. Removing an uh organ like that. So I went and I got a couple other opinions. I went to the City of Hope in Monrovia, and um I also went to UCLA, and um this UCLA doctor um was recommended by a friend, and he was probably I felt like he was the most thorough one because um these other two doctors they were talking about ordering like testing, like genetic testing and stuff like that, but they were saying, well, we're gonna do the surgery, and then well, we're gonna we're gonna do some genetic testing, right? But the um UCLA

Surgery Choices And Genetic Answers

SPEAKER_01 25:05

surgeon, he was the only one that wanted to do the testing before the surgery because he wouldn't know what he was dealing with. And um they ran the tests, and they what I didn't know when I found out, I guess there's like hundreds of different types, variations of kidney cancer, and um it just so happens that the specific type of kidney cancer I have, which is HLRCC, is uh it's a hereditary cancer, and it was this area this doctor, it was his um area of expertise in his area of research. So um I I think he's like at the time he was one of only two or three doctors in the entire nation that was that was doing research on this type of cancer. So um it was pretty pretty fortunate that um he was local. And of course, I went with that doctor and he did my surgery, both of my surgeries.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

So if they had done it, if they had done that test afterwards, what would would have been the outcome basically? They he just they just wouldn't have understood what they were dealing with?

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Well, you know, to begin with, his diagnosis um was actually a little bit, or his his course of treatment was a little bit different. So the other two doctors I saw, they immediately said, we're gonna just remove the right kidney. This other doctor, the one from UCLA, he left a partial um kidney removal or a partial nephrectomy on the table because I had been asking about it. I said, Well, if they take out the tumor, do they really have to take out the whole kidney? And um, this doctor was like, Well, it's a it's a more um it's a more difficult surgery, it takes longer. He's like, But if if you want to explore that option, um, you know, I'm not gonna take it off the table. Whereas the other two doctors just they said, oh no, we're just gonna remove the entire kidney. And um once this doctor found out that um, you know, the type of the type of cancer he tested and the type of cancer it was, he um that was when he he changed his mind about that course of action. He said, Oh no, this is this type of cancer is a little bit more aggressive, so we're gonna remove the entire kidney. Um the same prognosis as as or the course of you know treatment as the other two doctors. So um I don't think it would have changed at all because the other two doctors were already gonna remove the entire kidney, but just maybe the the follow-up may have been a little bit different, just knowing the the type of the type of cancer that they were dealing with.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

And you you knowing all this, um you had to continue your day-to-day life. And one of the things that you were doing uh besides your full-time job, you were part of this project.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Yeah, by that time I had already um stopped working. Um so the minute I got diagnosed, I went on um, you know, short-term disability, of course, and left work. And um and I think at that at that time I wasn't working, and um that was actually why I had more free time to help out with the problem.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

So you so so you knew at that time you were sick. Yeah. And you still went through with doing what we were doing, which was so basically we we set up so for this uh Christian school, daycare, and they also offer kindergarten, um we set up these CCTV security cameras, basically, uh, because at the time there was things going on in America where there was school shootings and things like that. And me coming from a law enforcement perspective, it's good to have cameras anyways, just as deterrence. If anyone's scoping um scoping out a school or something like that, you can, you know, a lot of times pick up people that are creating patterns where they're reconning and things like that before they kidnap kids. So that's what the project meant for me, like was just to help out the entire school and with any type of potential like crime, basically. Um why did what did it mean for you to actually be a part of that project? Because it took multiple weekends and it took up it was dirty, it was dirty work, basically. So what like what did it mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Um, you know, I was just glad to be able to have an opportunity to help the school. I know um they depend a lot on on volunteers and stuff like that. Um but just join the project, uh, you know, I I don't know if I would have uh necessar I didn't mind doing it, but I don't know if I would have like like volunteered for it necessarily. I I'm not like a um super uh aggressive or uh, you know, um like go-getter when it gets like a lot of people. In certain areas. So it was actually my wife that was like, hey, why don't you do this project? You know, you you look like you're doing okay, you know, you're you're kind of recovering from your surgery, but yeah, I think this is something you can do. So she kind of encouraged me at the time to to help out, and I was like, Oh yeah, that sounds like a good idea, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

So well, I I appreciate you helping out. I think my biggest motivator was Chris. Because he was he was just so all over it. Like he was wanting to put the money forward, and just he did a lot of the the like technical work when it came to the electricity and stuff, and like my dumbass was just over there like sweeping floors and nailing down boards, and that was about the extent of my help when it comes to electricity. But you were a huge, tremendous help with your background and and what you were doing as well, which at the time you were working for um Spectrum? I was working for ATT. ATT. Yeah. So you when it came to like when it came to like running wires and stuff like that, I mean, you're a master of that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

Uh yeah, well, I think more uh working for the cable company, I I learned how to pull cable and stuff like that. So um, but I gotta say, um, you know, that was probably the best part of the project was getting to work with you and Chris. Yeah. So I think you know, getting to know you guys it was uh it was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

So same on this end, dude. Like honestly, when you're when you're working with a great group of of guys, it makes it so much easier, man. It makes the time go by so much so much better, and it's it's it's enjoyable. So and Chris was like super motivated to to do it. So they he actually inspired me. It was difficult for me to even get that off the ground. So so you find out that you have um kidney cancer that's also a little bit more severe than that, and um they weren't able to take it all out. No, they were.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Um, so if you have ever talked to anybody that um had cancer or dealt with cancer, they use this term. Um they say your margins are clear. So when they do a surgery and they remove a tumor, they also remove some of the surrounding tissue to check it for for spread. Right. And if they don't detect any uh cancer spread in the surrounding tissue, they they tell you your margins are clear. So after the first surgery I got, they told me they said, okay, we got we took your kidney out, we we got the tumor, and your margins are clear. So I thought I was good, you know. But with a surgery like that, and just in the situation you're in, they just continue to monitor you. Um I think I was getting uh like a CT like like every three months. So um first quarter I was good, second quarter I was good, third quarter I was good, then like the fourth quarter, like almost a year later, they um they said, Hey, we we found an independent growth in your left in your left kidney. And we don't, you know, I don't think they thought it was a spread from the um from the original tumor, but because um HLRCC is uh is a genetic cancer, even though you know they may have gotten one tumor, that doesn't mean that you you already you already have a predisposition to um you know this type of cancer, so a growth could pop up somewhere else, and that's what happened, is that um a growth popped up in my left kidney. Fortunately, because they had monitoring me, they caught it pretty early, and um they did another surgery to remove part of my left kidney, and um it was a successful surgery. They also told me at that time too, they said your margins are clear. So uh of course, um you know I was happy about that, and then uh like a year later, it was like the same thing. They they um found some uh some spread or some growth on my on my lungs. So that was at the at that point, that was when um they recommended I enter a clinical trial. And like I said, I was real fortunate because his doctor at UCLA, this was his area of research. So he actually um had a very close relationship and he was affiliated with people at the National Institute Institutes, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where they were doing a lot of that's a research hospital. So they just do a lot of studies and and different trials there. And um, you know, he recommended that I apply for a clinical trial at at the NIH. So I did, and they accepted me, and that's what I've been doing the past two and a half years. So what's that what's that look

Lung Spread And Clinical Trial Turn

SPEAKER_01 34:50

like? Um well I'm on a a 21-day schedule, so every every 21 days I have to um go in for a treatment. So I'm I'm out on the East Coast every every three by every three weeks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

How's that been for you? Um the flying back and forth and how's the trials been going so far? Is it comfortable when you go, or is it are you looking forward to it, or are you like hoping that each time you go maybe you'll get like one percent better, or like where like where are you at on that? Um it's a grind.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

And um, you know, uh I don't want to say I I look forward to it. And I mean, it probably could be a lot worse. And I am I I try and count my blessings, so um, you know, I I consider myself fortunate that I get to participate in this in this trial and that it's you know it's paid for because it's a clinical trial from the National Institutes of Health, you know. And um Is it painful? Uh I mean when they put IVs in, yeah. You know, I've I've I've gotten more needles, you know, in even in that first year I was in the trial, I probably got more more needles in that first year than I've got in my entire first 40 years of my life.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

It was crazy. Man, it sounds I mean when I think of like clinical trials, man, I think of like hard chairs, wood, needles, uh hospital settings. That's why I asked to like, is it not look forward to, but is it like something that like you're like, okay, I gotta go back in and get this done? Like, is it at least comfortable for you to go get these trials done? And it sounds like with the the IVs and stuff, man, it's not something to look forward to, especially the travel all the way over there. You're flying from West Coast to East Coast.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Yeah, I never look forward to the to the IVs. But um, you know, the rest of it's pretty good. They they have like a hotel setting when you're not like in the actual clinic? Uh well the clinic itself, it's a nice facilly, and um, you know, for most of the treatment chairs, they're they're pretty comfortable. Um are even some of them are even heated, stuff like that. So it's you know, they give you a blanket, a pillow, whatever, and and I've actually gotten to know um, you know, a lot of the staff there really well.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

So we have a good rapport. And there's other people there too going through the same type of treatment, right? About how many is there?

SPEAKER_01 37:25

I mean, I think there's probably like they don't tell you the exact number because it's a clinical trial, and they always tell you, well, we can't talk about that stuff. But I'm guessing there's probably like at least around 40 people in the trial. But um there's only like maybe two people that I really talk to that I see on a regular basis. Because everyone's always on a different schedule, so uh, you know, some people might come in on the weeks that I'm not there.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

I mean, for for for mentality purposes and community purposes, I thought maybe they would try to get you guys together to sit and talk and they do encourage you uh if you can make friends in the trial to do that, but at the same time it's kind of weird.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

They uh they almost keep you isolated. Yeah. So um, I mean, they uh you know, when you go in for your clinical appointment, you don't typically I don't spend a lot of time in the waiting room. Um they put you in a room pretty quickly and you're just by yourself in there waiting. So um the the waiting room is usually the the time when you see p other people in the trial and you get to talk to them, but um I guess you know they figure the patients want their own space.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

So that's true. Not everybody is like social and and everything, but you've been doing this for two years now. What's your support system look like?

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Oh man, uh I just I've got a lot of people that are that I meet with and pray with. So um I've got like uh four different groups of people that that pray for me on a regular basis weekly, so I'll meet with them. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

Um Mom and Dad, your mom just recently passed away, right? Yeah, about about a year and a half ago. Your brother's been gone for a while now, your dad's been gone for a while now. Yeah. Um, so it's just you and your two kids? Yeah. Right? And you're split custody with them. What's that been like for you? What's that been like for you when you look at your two kids? What's it been like for you to know that you're going through all this and you just don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring? Yeah, it's it's uh

Prayer Groups And Daily Support

SPEAKER_00 39:41

it's a rough situation, you know. Um You're you're a su you're such a strong man. I mean, I don't know how I I I just don't know how Give me a second. No, I got you, man. What what kind of keeps you what keeps you grounded? Like for anyone else going through this sort of thing, what what like what is your what is the best thing that you found for yourself?

SPEAKER_01 40:19

Um I would say just faith in Christ. Keeps me really grounded. Um yeah, just uh I don't I don't know really where I'd be if I didn't have uh if I didn't have a belief that um you know that God is real and he is sovereign.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

So um I mean Phil, just just uh the the the time that I worked with you on this project, man, like I I I mean I just gotta tell you that I developed a lot of respect for you and I mean at the end of the day, I mean I I love you as a brother. Yeah. Like the fact is is that you are going through this very I didn't even know at the time you were going you had already been diagnosed with this. And um the fact that you still like stood there, had no excuses, and even to this day you've endured so much with just your personal life that I know about. What else would you want to share about this that that this journey that that you've gone through so far, man? I I appreciate you being here and being courageous to share this to share this with us. Um what else about this journey would you want to share with us that anyone else that that was going through something like this that you could uh give advice for or or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 41:40

Um I think you know, another thing that keeps me grounded is um just my family and and friends. Um fortunately I have a really uh good group of friends that I've known for a very, very long time and they're all like super supportive. And um just having my kids with me. I mean, uh, you know, I had we had our son in 2018 and our daughter in 2020. I I love being a dad. Yeah. I love, you know, um spending time with my kids, I love raising them, I love like trying to uh trying to teach them things and build character in them. So it's been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

What's just so everyone understands, like what so what is the diagnosis with you? Like what has the doctor said as far as timeline goes? They didn't really give me a specific timeline. All they told me was that will it ever be healed like completely, or we just don't know?

SPEAKER_01 42:34

Well, we don't know. Um all they told me was that there's no cure for this type of cancer. The only treatments they have are meant to um slow down the spread, you know, and um and the clinical trial consists of uh the existing treatment that they that they normally give to people with this type of cancer, plus one additional drug that they're testing out. Now, this additional drug is an FDA-approved drug, so it's not like it's a brand new drug. It is

Fatherhood, Legacy, And Perseverance

SPEAKER_01 43:10

FDA approved, and the reason why they're testing this drug is because they've had success using this drug treating other types of cancer, and they want to see if it's effective treating um the type of cancer that that you know I'm being treated for. And um the drug is an immunotherapy, and immunotherapies are I guess it's my understanding immunotherapies are relatively new like within the past 10 to to 15 years or so. And um they have you know doctors have had a lot of success using immunotherapy to treat different types of cancer.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

So it's sort of genetic, right? So they're they're the immunotherapies probably has something to do with the cells and trying to change the cells around.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

I guess in a nutshell, this is how it was explained to me that uh immunotherapies reprogram your cells to to fight the cancer cells.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

So yeah, that's the one thing is I guess cancer just kind of sets in your system and your body doesn't identify it as a bad thing until it's too late, right? I think so. Yeah. I mean I I wish I could talk shop with you on that one, but I I don't know anything about that stuff, man. It just it's just at the end of the day, um I just think you're such a strong person, and that's why I wanted to interview you. I couldn't imagine what what you must be going through these last two years. Um but I wanted to be able to capture your story and to get people to know who you are. And if if this is it, this is your opportunity for people to know who Phil is, what would you like for them to know about you? You're you're a fighter, I'll say that.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Yeah. Um Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

You're a humble dude, too. You're you don't you you really you don't I mean you have so much strength, man.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Um yeah, I mean all all my strength is is come comes from Christ.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

So dude. I mean that's that's incredible, man. Like your parents did such a good job with you. Like I wasn't raised religiously. Um I was kind of bounced around. My dad was just Baptist, my mom was Catholic, so I was like somewhere in between. Um but your strength in religion in Christ is so strong that like I man, like I I am completely I mean I I'm just I I look up to you. I mean, I really mean that man. Like I couldn't imagine what it would must be like to be in your shoes. What's what's what's some things that you would want your kids to know about you, your fight, and who you are?

SPEAKER_01 46:04

I guess you know, just to never give up. Um you know, keep keep fighting for um the people you love, right? You know, I mean my my kids are are two of the most important reasons why why I fight every day.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

So while you wake up every day and absolutely and have faith in Jesus, right? Yeah. This is by far the hardest interview I've ever done, man. Because I know you personally. Yeah. I love you as a brother, man. Like you people like you are are really hard to find. And I and I'm not just saying that because you're in front of me, man. I have a lot of respect for you and Chris. Um because of the because of the men that you are. You truly are leaders, and that's what this podcast is all about, man. It's about it's about the fight, it's about the struggle, it's about the resilience, it's about the perseverance. And I have been so blessed to know people like you. I've known people that are tactically sound, I've known people who are militarily sound, and I know people who are community sound and religiously sound to the point to where like they they are strong and they wake up every day, um, even though they know the odds are still against them. And so, Phil, it means the world to me, man, for you to sit here and just be courageous with me and and and talk about this.

SPEAKER_01 47:32

Yeah, fortunately, I'm I'm in a good spot at the moment. I mean, so far, over the past two and a half years, the the treatments have been pretty effective. And um so glad to hear that. Yeah, the the tumors have only either gotten smaller or stayed the same. They are not completely gone, but um, you know, I'm not in a in a horrible spot right now, you know, as far as like the progression of the cancer.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

So I'm so glad to hear that, man. I really am. Like I I worry about you. I do. Like I I worry about you. I I know you're kidding. Um and I just I just wanted to give you an opportunity to to talk about what type of legacy you would want to leave on this earth.

SPEAKER_01 48:24

Yeah, um just have a question. I think uh I think I just want to be remembered as someone who who um reflected Christ's love and um reflected good moral biblical principles and you know who just um lived their life to you and brought glory to to Christ. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

What what um what advice would you have for your kids when they're struggling? How did you how like how what advice would you tell them to help them pull through?

SPEAKER_01 49:05

Just remember um God's in control, uh He's sovereign and um God's gonna God's gonna watch watch out for you.

SPEAKER_00 49:14

Yeah. And how would you how would you want them to love?

SPEAKER_01 49:19

I think just unconditionally, as much as possible, you know? I think uh I think for forgiveness is always the best choice.

SPEAKER_00 49:28

And when life gets too hard, when life gets too hard and too heavy, what would you say to them to pull through?

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Keep going. Yeah don't give up. The Lord's with you. Um I think you know it's it's just so easy to get upset with people or to retaliate or to or to hold grudges. But I think it takes a stronger person to do exactly the opposite. Right. Yeah. That's always the harder thing to do, I think. And but it's it's it's the best thing to do, I think. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:03

Do you think a lot of people take things for granted? Yeah, I think I mean I take a lot of things for granted. Yeah. You know. Um until you're faced with something like this, and then you realize how precious time is, right?

SPEAKER_01 50:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:18

Definitely. I always tell people time, you can never turn back the hands of time, you can never buy time. Time is precious in that sense, right? And sometimes my phone reminds me about that because it takes me back. It shows me a picture from like five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

And I'm like, holy crap, look how young my daughter looks. You know, and it just it in a sense, man, it it's kind of uh a wake-up call, you know, to spend more time and to love, right?

SPEAKER_01 50:48

I mean, you don't you never see people when they're on their deathbed saying like, oh man, I just wish I'd I made a little bit more money or stuff like that, or I had or I had this or I had this. It's all it's usually about relationships and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 51:02

Aaron Powell Or where's my iPhone? Right? Where's my iPhone? We spend so much time on our stupid iPhones and iPads and stuff, man, and we don't spend enough time looking at each other and talking like we're talking right now. That's me, man. I spend a lot of time on my iPhone. Well, I mean, you know, it's it's it's a great, it's a great time spender, but I mean at the end of the day, man, there's people that um probably should be doing like less time, you know, on their phone and and spending more time with family and whatnot. But yeah. No, this has been a heavy conversation, man. I don't even know what to ask you because I mean I'm just it's hard to talk about, man. Because we just don't know, even myself, man, like I don't I don't know what tomorrow brings for me. You know? And when you told me that your condition was just going to be kind of up in the air, man, like I was just like, I didn't like every time I every time I see you or I or I or I think about you, I'm just like, wow, like how does I I don't man, I'd be a wreck.

SPEAKER_01 51:58

You know, um one thing though is I I do feel like I'm truly fortunate and it's just by God's grace that um they even found the tumor in the first place. Because I didn't share this earlier, but um the the main reason I got checked out is because I was urinating blood. Right. And when they ran the ultrasounds and the scans on my um kidneys, they found that it just so happened that that tumor was in a specific spot in my kidney where it was pushing up against the vein or something like that. And that was the reason why it was bleeding, why I was getting blood in my urine. And um if the tumor was in a different spot, you know, I may have never known because with with kidney cancer, typically there's no early warning signs. Yeah. And that's why the survival rate is so low for kidney cancer, because by the time they catch it, it's usually at an advanced stage. So I just look at it as I was so fortunate, you know. Um, grace of God, just he just he was really with me.

SPEAKER_00 53:07

Yeah.

unknown 53:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:10

Man. Thank you, Phil, for being so so uh courageous and and sitting here, man, this whole time. I don't even I'm out of questions, man, but like do you is there anything that you want to just mention that I didn't talk about or ask during this interview?

SPEAKER_01 53:26

I can't think of anything.

SPEAKER_00 53:28

Yeah. Um any advice for anyone out there that's going through a hard time? Yeah, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 53:35

Just I found just talking to people is is the best thing, you know. I think a lot of people and and I get it, a lot of people want to keep, you know, when they get have illnesses, keep their diagnosis private, things like that. But um just sharing with people and being able to talk to people about it has been um incredibly therapeutic for me. And also it's uh it's given me an opportunity to just r rally people around and get different people to pray for me. So um, I mean, I personally feel like that's been invaluable.

SPEAKER_00 54:10

Dude, I I appreciate you and your willingness to talk to me about it. Because I mean, I know I'm gonna I'm gonna put this out there for anyone else that's going through a tough time right now and has

Talking Helps And Final Send-Off

SPEAKER_00 54:20

any type of like terminal illness going on. Like, you know, the the strength that you have that you've had over the span of the last two years is to me incredible. I I look at you and I'm like, I don't know if I would be as strong as you. I really don't. Everything I've ever done in my whole life, man, I don't when I look at you, man, like you you're an inspiration to me. And I really mean that from the bottom of my heart, man. Like, I don't know. I mean, if if I were to look at anyone that's mentally strong, you like I I see a picture of you. So God bless you. I'm praying for you as well, and I hope that anyone else listening to this out there help us out with the prayers. Um, you know, and and Phil, before we end this show, man, I want to give you a big hug. Is that okay? Yeah. All right, brother. Give me a big hug. Yeah. Come on over here. Uh dude, uh, thank you so much for sharing, man. Yeah. Means the world to me. So, anyways, Phil, you got anything else before we end it? We've been talking for about an hour, man. We know you gotta get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 55:26

No, but you you and I just want to say you and you and Chris, it's been a blessing getting to know you guys through the through doing the project. You guys uh that's probably the the the best part of doing a monary part.

SPEAKER_00 55:38

I believe everything happens for a reason, man. I really believe everything happens for a reason, dude. Like there's a reason why you know we were called to do that. Um you and Chris, we come from different worlds at the end of the day. I come from a different world than you and Chris. And um, you know, I had a great time doing it because of you. And and just to hear your story and who you and get to meet you and know who you are, I mean, you're an inspiration to me. And I'm not just saying that, man. Like you are so strong, and and I just want to say, you know, thank you for for giving me this opportunity to record you and interview you today, man. I I hope that someone out there listening can can hear your strength and it helps them out as well. Thank you. So thanks for doing this. No, it was actually an absolute honor. Thank you so much, Phil. And uh for everyone else out there, as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused, and stay motivated, warriors, fall out.