Moving Forward as a Cancer Survivor
- Rich Fields was given two cancer diagnoses between the ages of 18 and 21. Today, the survivor says his cancer experience gave him the “tunnel vision” he needed to achieve his dreams.
- Fields was “hand-picked” by Bob Barker as his new announcer and side-kick on “The Price Is Right” in 2004. He was on the show until 2010 and has since been featured on nine different game shows and even had a successful career in meteorology.
- Cancer can change your world as you know it. But that doesn’t have to necessarily be a bad thing.
- After surviving breast cancer and the partial amputation of her leg after being struck by a car, Sharon Spencer found a higher purpose in life by helping others who’ve faced hardship.
- Similarly, breast cancer survivor Fernanda Savino says her experience with the disease led to a whole new appreciation for her body and loved ones post-cancer.
When Fields was in college at the University of Florida in Gainesville, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and then later lymphoma, which a cancer of the immune system that affects infection-fighting cells called lymphocytes. Fields describes his disease as “lower lymphatic cancer” on his website.
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Life After Cancer
"I was lying in the hallway on a gurney getting ready to go into the operating room. It was 5:30 in the morning. My toes were freezing. My hands were freezing. And I remember thinking, I'm not wasting another moment in my life,” he recalled in 2010.
“If there is something I want to do, if there is something I want to say to somebody, I'm going to do it. I'm not going to waste another minute. And you know what? I believe now at age 49 I didn't waste any time from then to now. I had tunnel vision from then on. I sunk myself into achieving the goals that I wanted to achieve."
For expert resources on lymphoma, visit our portal on Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the most common type of lymphoma.
A Dream Come True on ‘The Price Is Right’
Now, at age 62, Rich Fields can say he has accomplished quite a lot. One of the dreams he fulfilled was working on “The Price Is Right” when “Bob Barker hand-picked [him] to be his new announcer and side-kick on the long-running CBS game show,” according to his website.
At the time in 2004, Fields had been working as an on-air meteorologist in Southern California. He had been preparing for “The Price Is Right” his whole life.
"It was a lifelong dream come true," Rich said. "My mom has videotapes of me at ten years old standing in front of the TV holding her black hairbrush like a microphone saying, 'It's a new car!' I wanted to do it all my life."
Fields was an announcer for “The Price Is Right” from 2004 to 2010. In that tenure, he worked on 1144 episodes, according to IMBD.
“I would end up not only working with Bob until his retirement, but would stay on to work with Drew Carey as well, the only announcer in the show’s history to have worked with both hosts,” his personal website reads.
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Since his gig on “The Price Is Right,” Fields’ voice has been everywhere. He’s been featured on nine different game shows and even had a successful career in television meteorology.
Now, however, he has his sights set on a different passion: motivational speaking.
“So, how does a career like that happen? Well, it doesn’t just ‘happen.’ It’s a self-manifestation of destiny. And you can do it for yourself too,” his website says.
When Cancer Brings a New Perspective
Cancer can change your world as you know it. But that doesn’t have to necessarily be a bad thing, as we saw in the case of Rich Fields.
Sharon Spencer’s story is yet another example. After surviving breast cancer and the partial amputation of her leg after being struck by a car, she found a higher purpose in life by helping others who’ve faced hardship.
Anything That Comes, I'm Ready for It: How Faith Carried Sharon Spencer Through Cancer
"I just think that there's a purpose for each of us and God has a plan for each of our lives," she said. "And I was just designated to give the encouragement and the support that women need.
"I've gotten so much stronger. My faith has grown so much since all of these things have happened to me. And I have a lot of work to do and a lot of people to help."
Similarly, breast cancer survivor Fernanda Savino says her experience with the disease led to a whole new appreciation for her body and loved ones post-cancer.
"I'm a lawyer, and I used to be such a workaholic," Savino said. "I would work for long hours, and I would never make room for doctor appointments or anything like that.
"I started to take care of my health and be more respectful to my body, to me. I started to exercise more."
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