Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer Survivor Beats 6-Month Prognosis

When Mark Ruegg heard he had four to six months to live, he walked to his car and called all nine of his siblings. The Marina del Rey resident had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had already spread to his lymph nodes and liver.

Less than 24 hours later, everything changed. Roger Magowitz, CEO of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, called with a message that rewrote Ruegg's story. "Your doctor doesn't know what he's talking about," Magowitz told him, offering to connect him with five-, ten-, even 25-year survivors.

"That changed everything for me," Ruegg said. "It went from me believing I was going to die to the possibility I could live."

Ruegg completely transformed his lifestyle alongside his medical treatment. The former meat-eating Ohioan who loved cocktails after work became whole-food plant-based, gave up alcohol and added sugar, and started exercising. He combined two types of chemotherapy and immunotherapy with a new way of living.

The youngest of 10 children and a former world-traveling dancer turned child wrangler, Ruegg also did something unexpected. He lit candles and had a conversation with his cancer, asking why it came. The answer surprised him: fear.

"Had you asked me 2 1/2 years ago if I was fearful about anything, I would have said I'm probably the least fearful person," he explained. But he recognized he'd been living in fear of not being enough, not having enough, not saving enough.

Today, Ruegg's latest scans show no detectable tumors in his pancreas or lymph nodes. His liver, doctors say, looks "almost as good as new." His oncologists can't fully explain it.

Why This Inspires

Ruegg believes one phone call saved his life. When his own belief wavered, Magowitz lent him his. "You got to have belief and, if you don't have enough, you got to find someone that you can lean on," Ruegg said.

Now he's paying it forward. Ruegg hosts support groups for the Seena Magowitz Foundation and helps cancer patients navigate a system that can feel overwhelming. He made a vow that if he ever got better, he'd spend the rest of his life helping others find their way.

"Cancer has been the greatest gift of my entire life," Ruegg said. "I got out of the should have, would have, could have of the past and the what ifs and maybes of the future, and I live in the present moment."

Every morning, Ruegg wakes up feeling guided, ready to pick up his breadcrumb and see where the day takes him.