Pastor Soto’s Story of Hope Transcript:

The way I learned that I had cancer was because on Christmas day, we had supper, and after that, I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t go to the restroom.

On the 27th, I felt really bad. I told my wife, take me to the hospital. And when I got admitted there, I thought it was my stomach.

The doctor comes out, and my wife is there with me, and he came out and said, “Mr. Soto, the masses we found are malignant. You’re stage four cancer. It’s metastasized. It went from your colon to your liver and now it’s in your lungs, and you got six months to live.” He just bluntly said it like that.

Not being able to drive, not having that independence, it’s very difficult. Through everything I’ve been through, I actually have valued my wife. When I first got diagnosed, people told her, quit your job. You know, give him a hundred percent of your time.

She’s like, I can’t. Maybe family members or friends can come help me, but I need to maintain my income – this income that helps us.

Also, the hardest part for me, I think looking back, was when she’d go – when she’d go buy groceries I was always the one that took the bags. I was the one that went with her and never let her carry anything. Not because she couldn’t, but that was me.

This was why to see her struggling with the bags, and I couldn’t even help her; that was hard for me. To see her clean the house, and I couldn’t even get up to help her. To see her cook, and I couldn’t even get up that I was shaking so much. I was so cold. And to see them look at me like, ah, he might be gone. I was fighting inside going, this is not it. I’m not leaving like this.

It changes everything. Your perspective, your ego, you become more humble. You become more sensitive to other people.

Before I got cancer, I never knew who Cancer Care was. It was not just paying for my medications, but it was more about embracing you and saying,” Hey, you’re not alone. I’m not just here to provide services. We’re here to tell you if you need anything, we’re here for you.” I can actually say that when I most needed it, that’s when you all were there.

But it got to the point where I started feeling much better where I could now cook for myself. The neuropathy became less. The church people would come and bring us food. When I started feeling that instead of taking advantage of the services, somebody else might need it more than I do.

And when I would go to oncology, and I knew these people didn’t even have to pay for their colostomy bags, and they didn’t have the resources. They didn’t have any family; they didn’t have a church family or anything. I thought, nah, I can’t be selfish. I gotta let go of what has been good for me, but now somebody else might benefit more, so I would tell them about Cancer Care.

That made me feel bad, but now I was giving back somehow. That is my goal before I leave, and I could be here six months, I could be here a year, I could be here 10 years, but till my last breath, I will always be there to help somebody.

You all were the ones that made me realize you can’t be prideful. You cannot just be a giver. You sometimes gotta receive because the Bible says it’s better to give than to receive, but there’s times you’re gonna have to. And that humbled me. It really did.

Once I’m okay, maybe I could pay it back. That’s why I’m doing this video. This is my way of payback because I want everybody to know that they’re not alone.