The Chris Voss Show - The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Every Mile Matters: Turning Triathlon Training Into Cancer Triumph by Jeffrey L. Reynolds, Ph.D

Episode Date: October 26, 2025

Every Mile Matters: Turning Triathlon Training Into Cancer Triumph by Jeffrey L. Reynolds, Ph.D https://www.amazon.com/Every-Mile-Matters-Triathlon-Training/dp/B0FJQ2Q98P Everymilematters.com Three sports. Two cancer diagnoses. One unbreakable spirit. At age 55, Jeffrey L. Reynolds, Ph.D., crossed the finish line at Ironman Florida - a grueling triathlon and the crowning achievement of his endurance sports journey. Just weeks later, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He fought through treatment, recovered—and was hit again. This time, it was Stage 3B colorectal cancer. In Every Mile Matters, Dr. Reynolds shares how the physical fitness, mental fortitude, grit and resilience developed through triathlon and marathon training became his greatest weapons in the fight for his life. The Long Island resident didn’t just apply his athletic mindset—he relied on it. Each round of radiation became a daily workout. Each chemo session, a test of strategy and strength. And every setback, an opportunity to dig deeper, endure and win. This is a powerful story of transformation, of turning pain into purpose and struggle into strength. Reynolds explores the emotional and spiritual shifts that come with surviving cancer—alongside practical tools for mindset, wellness, and long-term recovery. Perfect for athletes, cancer survivors, caregivers, and anyone facing adversity, Every Mile Matters is an uplifting, unforgettable tribute to the grit that carries us through finish lines—and the fights that matter most. “Every Mile Matters is a triumph of heart and soul in battling the demons of cancer. Jeffrey Reynolds has captured each defining moment of his cancer journey with honesty, passion, and remarkable clarity. Through his story, he teaches us powerful life lessons - and more importantly, how to live them daily. His defining moments at the IRONMAN finish line gave him the strength to fight on. His resilience, vulnerability, and relentless spirit remind us that the human will is stronger than any diagnosis. This book isn’t just about surviving cancer - it’s about reclaiming life and helping others to do the same. A must-read for anyone facing adversity or seeking inspiration to rise above it.” - Mike Reilly, Voice of IRONMAN and author of Finding My Voice “Dr. Jeff Reynolds' book is an important one for everyone, but especially for those who have been given “the diagnosis” that changes your life forever. I feel strongly that we are given 3 choices when going through a period of challenge or suffering. Succumb, Adapt, or Evolve. Jeff took the Evolve route and it has changed his life for the “BEST-ER.” Taking charge of your life is a choice, and he represents that greatest choice in this book.” - Scott Hamilton, Olympic Gold Medalist and cancer survivor.

You wanted the best... You've got the best podcast. The hottest podcast in the world. The Chris Voss Show, the preeminent podcast with guests so smart you may experience serious brain bleed. The CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators. Get ready, get ready. Strap yourself in. Keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

Because you're about to go on a moment. monster education rollercoaster with your brain. Now, here's your host, Chris Voss. Hello, Voss here from thecris Foss Show.com. Ladies and on there, our latest thing that makes official, welcome to 16 years and 2,500 episodes of Chris Voss show, where we just keep bringing the most smartest, minds, the most brilliant messages, and all the things you need to make your life better. We don't even bring shit on here to make your life worse.

Those are other podcasts you described to. I think there's a big one of crazy conspirators. He says on Spotify. Go listen to that. But make your life better, because that's good. And the one way you can make your life better is to share. Sharing is caring. Have you ever heard that before?

Well, if not, share the Chris Foss show with your family, friends, and relatives. Go to YouTube.com, Forchus Christchisch, Chris Foss. Facebook. Facebook.com, Forchest, Chris Foss. LinkedIn.com, Fortress, Chris Foss. All those crazy places on the inner webs in the sky. Opinions expressed by guests on the podcast are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host or the Chris Foss show.

Some guests of the show, by advertising on the podcast, but it is not an endorsement or review of any kind. Today, an amazing young man with a wonderful story on the show. His book is out July 21st, 2025. It is called Every Mile Matters, Turning Triathlon Training into Cancer Triumph. Dr. Jeffrey L. Reynolds is going to be joining us on the show. We're going to talk to him about his insights, his experience, and some of the things that he's survived in life, and how he can give you an inspiring message of how to,

as well. He draws from three decades of public service with a dual battle of cancer. He transforms personal trials into powerful lessons on resilience, community, and the unexpected ways our challenges prepare us for what lies ahead. He's the president's CEO of Family and Children's Association, one of Long Island's largest health and human service organizations with a $28 million annual budget. He has dedicated his career to serving vulnerable population. His leadership spans addiction treatment, mental health advocacy, and social justice, including pioneer roles with the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependents, and 19 years with the Long Island Association for AIDS Care. Welcome the show. How are you, sir?

Thanks, Chris. I'm doing great. Thanks so much for having me on. It's a real pleasure. Thanks for coming. It's a pleasure to have you as well. Give us your dot coms. Where do you want people to find you on the interwebs? Sure. Every Mile Matters.com. And then Jeff reynolds.com. It's J-E-FF-F-R-E-Y Reynoldscommon Spelling. Lovely. So give us a 30,000 overview. What's in your book? Every mile matters. So, Chris, I had, it was, it was November 2021. I'm in the best shape of my life. I just completed Iron Man Florida, which for folks that don't know is a 2.4 mile open water swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and then a full 26.2 mile marathon. If you don't, complete it in under 17 hours you start all over again and none of it counts wow i finished that in

in 15 hours and nine minutes had had a rough night sleep that night but i got it done fast forward a couple months it's april fuls day in 2022 i'm driving down the highway on my way to a dentist appointment phone lights up with a notification stop at a at a red light log in scroll through pages of medical jargon I don't understand until I get to the punchline, April Fool's Day punchline, clinically significant prostate cancer likely. Oh. No symptoms, routine medical exam, feeling in the best shape of my life. And so I had to navigate it.

You know, two million Americans this year will hear the words, you have cancer. Their lives will never be the same. And to be frank, my life was pretty upended. And, you know, I had to wrestle with the fact that health and fitness aren't necessarily the same things. but as a young guy I'm like how do I have cancer already but quite frankly

it occurred to me and I'm like look I did Iron Man Florida with cancer I can deal with cancer I can do this I do hard things and I can get through it and so I get treated for

prostate cancer everything's good I'm back out there I'm racing in fact I ran the New York City marathon that year didn't break any course records might have peed a little blood

and lost a toenail but I was back out there we could have gone without maybe some of that. No, I'm just teasing. We need to have that data. We need to know that. We've got to add some edge. Suffrage. Yeah. So look, I get through that. I've now become an evangelist for routine screenings. I did a PSA for the prostate cancer Foundation of America saying get checked, get check, that kind of thing. Taking my own advice, I go in for routine colonoscopy. I have no symptoms, feeling good, that kind of thing. Wake up. Doctor says to me, hey, look,

I found a couple of polyps, but I also found a pretty significant mass. And so I'm off to the races, a series of diagnostic tests, and I find out I have stage 3B colorectal cancer. Oh, no. Pretty serious diagnosis. And look, two cancers in two years, this one more serious than the first. Yeah. And so, you know, Chris, I go through 27 rounds of radiation and chemo, take a short break,

then get chemo infusions over the course of six months. At the end of it, my doctors say the words that every cancer survived. wants to hear. I see no evidence of disease. You're good. So you know that, you know, you're never good, right? And so you're always looking over your shoulder. So I go for every three months or so. And, you know, but look, so far I am doing it. And so the book is really about how I took the principles I learned during triathlon training, those early morning grinds, the late night grinds, the 100 mile bike rides instead of spending time with my family. And I took that grit determination, resilience, and brought it into the cancer fight.

You know, a great example of that is, you know, going through chemo is no party. I was on chemo for the better part of a year. I would get up in a morning, feel sick as a dog, throw up. And, you know, I thought about it. And I'm like, during triathons, you throw up all the time, right? You wipe your face off and you keep going. And that's exactly what I did. And so triathlon training and endurance training just generally helped me get through what was

some pretty dark times, you know, if anyone out there and maybe haven't done an Iron Man, but maybe you run a marathon. And Miles 18 to 23 suck. There's no other word for it, Chris. It sucks. Yeah. And you go to some pretty dark places, including, why am I doing this? Like, nobody's chasing me. I don't have to do this. The cops aren't behind me. I'm getting the same thing that everybody else is in the same dump t-shirt and a metal. I can't even wear to work on Monday. And so- I'd wear it anyway. Well, I thought I'd take that flavor, flavor look, and go trekking into work. You earned that.

But look, those are some dark spaces. And as I meet the end of chemo and radiation, there's some dark spaces. And, you know, there were folks around me who gave up. You know, I sat in infusion rooms with folks that, you know, said, I just can't do this anymore. It's not worth it. And so for me, the endurance and the grit gave me the impetus to move forward, to move through treatment. And I'm back to racing. And, in fact, last week, I joined my medical team, and I ran all 86 flights up the Empire State Building as part of the week.

It was a fundraiser for NYU Langone. And I'm back out there. I'm doing my thing. I hope it lasts. But, you know, I felt like I went through this experience. The least I could do is share it with other folks who might grab some hope, some inspiration, or at least some practical tips in dealing with cancer or any other serious illness. That's what we do on the Chris Foss show. We get people to share their stories of survival and surviving cathartic moments and they help uplift other people, let people know that there's, you know, there's people either have a blueprint like your book to help people overcome, you know, there's light, there's people that live with light.

So be a lifter. And so I'm glad you share the story. I mean, it's definitely a personal story of, you know, what we go through and all that good stuff. You, you know, was the first, what was your, what was your age, what was your age with the first bad of cancer? Was that 55? Yeah, 55. Yeah.

So you're thinking, I'm still a young guy, right? Why is this happening to me? Do you go through kind of a persecution phase or a why me phase a little bit or did you already have some resiliency where you're like, well, I can do this? Yeah, I mean, look, you have those moments, but I think they're moments as opposed to phases. is I think the biggest thing was, you know, this feeling that my body had betrayed me. I'm like, you know what? I took care of you.

I'd want to have done some things in my youth that weren't smart, but by and large, look, I lived healthy. You know, I go running and dodge the cigarette smoke outside of office buildings and dodged the cars turning into McDonald's and I don't go there myself and, you know, all that kind of thing. And so I'm like, I don't understand. I'm this healthy, you know, there's this, there's an old adage about a Jim Fix the Marathoner who died of a heart attack. And I had folks that looked at me and they were like, dude, like, aren't you an Ironman or something? Like, how did this happen to you? And I'm like, yeah, health has nothing to do with fitness. But here's the kicker. You know, I think the emotional piece of it was made

better by my training and certainly the physical piece. So when I went to my doctors and I had this conversation, I mentioned that I'm on this clinical trial. And they said, look, the standard course of treatment for you have is two chemo drugs. And we have this clinical trial. And we have this clinical trial where we're trying out three drugs, it's pretty much as much of chemo as any human being can withstand. We think you can do it because you're in fantastic shape, and that's money in the bank. Wow.

And so I'm like, sign me up. I want that, right? Because I want to knock this out. I was not, you know, I had one doctor that started showing them meditation videos and here's how you're going to visualize your tumor. I'm like, hold up, wrong guy. I want like the light beams.

I want the heavy duty chemo. I want you to knock this thing out. And so my youth and my physical fitness allowed me to go down a treatment path that I might not have had available to me if I was into my 70s or not in good shape or not able to emotionally withstand it. Because look, chemo comes with side effects. I know that I've beat this thing, at least for the time being. But I also know that pouring a ton of toxic chemo into your body, there's no free ride. And so I deal with side effects now. I have neuropathy and that kind of thing.

It doesn't stop me from running. But I realize, you know, I beat the hell out of my body in Iron Man. Chemo beat the hell out of my body this time around. And so, you know, being in good shape, you know, invariably, you know, we're all going to get sick with something. And being in good shape kind of gave me that leg up when that time came. And I was better equipped to deal with it. Oh, the one thing I'm always getting beaten up by is stupidity.

I've been on that Twitter a couple times. That'll do it. That'll do it. Stay away, folks. Avoid all that, especially that Twitter. And I'm not going to call it what it is because it's still Twitter. It will always be Twitter. When it's in bankruptcy, it'll be renamed. Anyway, a little bit of callback bashing of the Twitter.

We do it every show, I think. So you tell this story of what you went through. Yeah, I mean, imagine, you know, there's kind of that bomb moment that everyone has when it first hit you, right? Yeah. where you first go, what the, what the heck? And sometimes that can be a pretty dark moment or, you know, just trying to maybe wrap your head around it. Like, how did I get cancer when I've eaten so much? And some people get stuck in that moment.

They get stuck in the victim moment where why me, poor is me. And they spiral. I remember Neil Peart had a, had a, Neil Peerreter, had his daughter, only daughter, between him and his wife. who was killed going off to college in a car accident and his wife spiraled into this darkness and got cancer like within three months or six months or something like that. I mean, it's kind of interesting how we can make ourselves sick and almost kill ourselves with depression and darkness. And then she got cancer and he just could not get her out of it and she just seemed to want to go.

And so there's some people they respond very differently to those moments where, where you know they just they can't find their way out of it or see their way out of it and so that's why books like yours and stories like yours is great because it shows people there's you know there's a thing out of it so you detail this all in the book talk to us about some of the things you do now I mentioned in your bio there's some things that you do seem like there's some charitable work if I get understand that straight and is that tied to your cancer or do the work you're doing with marathons and stuff like that or how's that work Yeah, so, you know, I've been in the health and human services field for 30 some odd years, you know, working for not-for-profits at this point. I'm an administrator, but I still do some client work out in the field with disadvantaged communities here on Long Island. You know, I'll tell you, it resonated with me as I started to tell this story about my own journey because I thought about the fact that for 30 years, people have told me their deepest darker secrets.

and entrusted me, whether it's, you know, somebody living with HIV, somebody with a substance use disorder, and I've been front and center on the fentanyl crisis here on Long Island, someone who's a victim of domestic violence, like people have entrusted me with their deepest, darkest secrets, and I've walked beside them as they've shared those secrets with me and told their stories. And I'm like, the least I can do is pay some of that back and tell my own story out there. And so I suppose there's a connection. And, you know, quite frankly, running marathons, I always did that for charity and raised money. That's not how I got into it. I would say if somebody says, how did you get into running? To be frank, probably a midlife crisis. Nothing to do with doing good. It was either I dye my hair, get skinny jeans and drive a Corvette around the local community college, or I take up running and triathons and that kind of thing. And so, you know, my running career started with 5Ks and then progressed to marathons. And then it wasn't bad enough to suck at one thing. I had to suck at three sports, swimming, biking, and running.

And so it was really, you know, a midlife crisis. But, you know, the charitable work, you know, I'll tell you, it's always figured prominently in my life. It figured prominently in telling the story. And the organization I'm with now, we're actually starting a cancer coaching program to work with folks like me who were newly diagnosed. Look, I had great access to resources. I'm a middle-class white guy who's well-insured. You know, my life is engineered for comfort, but there's a lot of folks that I saw in and out of the infusion rooms.

They didn't have the same privilege, didn't have the same access I did. There's folks that get diagnosed much later in their disease process and wind up, you know, two weeks from diagnosis to death. And so anything I can do to change that equation by raising awareness or, you know, matching people up with someone who has walked the road certainly would be a worthwhile contribution. So, you know, I talk a lot about my cancer journey. I talk a lot about overcoming life's obstacles and that kind of thing. And hopefully at the end of this life, I will have contributed something meaningful. What is that important that we have that feeling? I was

talking to somebody earlier today on the other podcast. And, you know, I have people asking, what's important to your life? Why are you here, Chris? You know, I'm an atheist. I'm not, you know, I'm pretty tolerant of everybody else. It's just, that's my thing. You know, you may like Mountain Dew. I like Coke or something, you know, whatever. And so people will be like, well, if you're an atheist, you know, what do you believe in?

I believe you should leave the world in a better place. I think you should contribute, give back, especially if you have those opportunities. And leave the world a better place, though, when you came. because the people who don't leave the world a better place that they came, they're not really regarded as better people. But, you know, that's what you want to do. You hope that you left some sort of impression on people. You left some sort of legacy.

I would hope that the Chris Vos show would somehow keep running in perpetuity, at least as a library. You know, we've got so many people on this show over 16 years that have passed on, and we have them as a time capsule in the show. A lot of friends who appeared in the earlier. years, they're still around. I'm like, did you go see how young you were? 16 years ago when you appeared on the show, episode five. But, you know, to make the world a better place, why do you feel that's important? Maybe, I don't know.

I think some of it is giving back. And my cancer experience was, it was like proof of that, quite frankly. You know, people complain about a health care system. And certainly there's holes. Don't get me wrong. For me, though, it was a great experience. And every night, nurse I encountered, every doctor I encountered, just the incredible kindness was just, it was amazing. I think about it a lot. And I think we all take that for granted until we're in the position. You know, for me, I went from literally overnight from being the helper, right? The guy people call it 3 a.m. when their teenager overdoses or their marriage implodes or their kids gambling too much to the guy who needed the help was frantically Googling every medical term in his

chart and pinging the nurses at 1 a.m. asking what this means. And so that role reversal was pretty eye-opening, and I think emphasized for me the need to do some good. The other thing that happens, and I think sometimes it happens just because of your age. For me, it didn't happen based on age. It happened based on, especially the second diagnosis, is you go from what do I want my legacy to be, to thinking more critically about what is my legacy been, right? So the changes a little bit. And for me, you know, that changed up pretty, pretty dramatically. And, you know, I started to do that inventory.

I'm like, I've always worked in the child of the world. I've helped thousands of people, tens of thousands of people. It's been great. You know, what's the unfinished business and what do I need to do in order to complete my life? And that's not, you know, it's not only kind of folks that come to organizations looking for help. I thought a lot about, you know, the time I spent with my kids.

the time I spend with my wife, you know, at the time of my first diagnosis, my now wife and I were still new into a relationship, not married yet, still knew into a relationship, we were maybe six months into it. And I remember saying to her, you didn't sign up for any of this. And if you need to tap out, I totally get it. This is going to be a ride. I didn't even know about the second time. She might have made a different decision. But, you know, it really forces you to revisit a lot of your relationships and how you review those relationships and how you spend your time. In fact, I started the book during chemo sessions because you sit in an infusion chair for six hours. And I finished on safari in South Africa.

I had always wanted to do a safari. And I'm like, you know what? I'm doing this because God knows what's going to happen down the bike. And so all those things in life that you wanted to do, go do them because you don't know when you're going to lose the opportunity or be in incapacitated by something or someone and unable to do it. Very true. Very true. You know, chase the light around the world where you can.

It's funny, you know, you'll have plenty of time when you get old age and your niece or came worn. Wait, that's me now. You don't have plenty of time to think about all the wonderful things you did in life or maybe contemplate what you wish you had done in life. I think that's how a lot of people end on their deathbed. I wish I'd done this. I wish I'd done that.

Yeah. I wish I spent more time with my kids and less time at the office. And, you know, but, you know, what can you say? But it's why it's really important to have these things. And I'm glad you were able to write it down and stuff. Tell us about some of the speaking and doing, how can people reach out to you for that and know what you're up to there? Yeah, so I've done a lot around men's mental health.

I'm actually doing a fair amount of women's conferences. In some cases, I'm like the token guy. And the good thing is there's no line at the men's room when I do those conferences. Oh, right. I've spoken a lot about empowerment and overcoming challenges and kind of choosing how to live your life and designing a life that you really want. And so folks can hit me up at Every Mile Matters.com. And I'm happy to talk to you about, you know, doing your conference or your workshop. I've done a lot of cancer support groups.

The number of people who have reached out to me, you know, in the wake of the book to say, you know, my brother got diagnosed, my husband just got diagnosed, can you talk to us? And, you know, honestly, there's folks that just kind of track my cell phone down online and call me to say, do you have 10 minutes just to talk to me? And I'm always happy to do that. And so that's been a real big, you know, fun part of this. I mentioned men's mental health at the outset. And one of the things I write about in the book is how my relationship with other guys really changed pretty dramatically. And one of the things I noticed is I got a few friends, and it was like really across the board, friends who would start just pouring their hearts out to me, and we'd have lunch together, and at the end of it,

they'd say, you know, I love you. And it wasn't like the drunken, slap you on the back. I love you, man. I mean, it was a truly heartfelt kind of thing. And, you know, the first couple of times it happened, I didn't know what to say. I'm like, oh, good, nice, thanks. See you, buddy. Cool, yeah. I'll see you on Grindr. Right. And so it was odd. And then my second thought was, crap, am I going to die? Do they think this was the last time we had lunch? And that's why they're doing this. Do they think it's time for me to check out? I mean, they say, I look good. So that was my second thought. And then I realized, you know, that really as guys, we don't really say that very often to each other. And I'm like, I don't want to say how the problem is God knows I've said it to thousands of women when I didn't even mean it. So why is this so damn hard now? And so it was a real challenge. And one of the things that came out of that is all my guy friends and women friends for that matter, too, would say, look, if there's anything I could do to help, let me know.

And there was no way I was going to ask for help. That's the reality. One friend in particular said to me, if you ever need me to drive you to chemo and just sit with you, I will. And I never took them up on that. And in a lot of regards, I regret that because very often when people offered to help in a situation like this, it's as much a bit. about them as it is about you. It's an attempt to connect in a way that you haven't connected before. It's not that you necessarily need help.

It's that they want to make that connection. And so for folks that are struggling with whatever out there, whether it's a mental health condition or some other life circumstance or a health condition, when people ask you if they can help, you know, let them in a little bit, let them help. What I always say to people who are on the other side of this who say, you know, I don't know what to say to somebody with cancer and that kind of thing. I always say, don't say if there's anything I could do to help, let me know because we will never let you know. If you want to do something to help, just do it. Ask for forgiveness later, but just do it. And so, you know, I've had a

number of people say to me, I don't really know what to say. And my response has been, yeah, that's fine. I don't either. We're good. We're in the same place because I don't know what to say about all this either. And sometimes just expressing to somebody, look, I care. It goes a long way, and that's all we need to hear. That's kind of what they're trying to do. They're trying to find a way. I used to have trouble bridging the gap when people had issues or their animals would die. I would have a hard time responding the same way the other people do that are really good at it.

Part of it was because I didn't have a lot of, I went for like 27 years without anyone dying around me. So I don't have a good sort of like, what do you do with this now and how do you help people? but you know one thing is interesting is during COVID you know we're all guys guys my group you know we never said I love you and then COVID came and you know we were it was a dicey moment where you know no one knew it was going on no one knew how it was going to turn out and you didn't know if you're going to see your loved ones or your friends or anywhere again and you couldn't visit them in the hospital because that wasn't loud you can hold their hand or, you know, be there with them when they passed.

It was pretty fucking weird and Dicey. And me and my guy friends, we'd call each other, you know, because we're all sitting around at home. And we started just saying, I love you, man. And we still do to this day. And at first, yeah, it was kind of weird because you're like, you're not going on. You know, but now we do it. And I think we're just kind of connected better emotionally now. I think it was helpful in that sense.

Yeah, look, I think situations like COVID, personal health crises, they can either divide people and send you into a corner where you're rocked by yourself or you reach out a little bit and let people in in a whole different way that perhaps you hadn't before. And, you know, I chose the latter, but that's not necessarily the easiest thing in the world for most people to do. It really takes some work to be able to do it. There's days when you don't really feel like doing it, but you understand that it's the right thing to do that you're going to feel better as you make your way through this thing. There's a lot of folks out there who will say, look, cancer was a gift. Bullshit. Cancer is not a gift in any way, shape, or form. But I will say you can take some good out of the entire experience and get into something that enriches your life without it necessarily being a gift.

The purpose of how you respond to stuff in life is. all the difference so you can respond to it negatively and be like pose me and blah blah blah or you can respond and going i'm going to not only figure out how to do this but you know it was like uh during covid i mentioned this before a million times in the show but during covid one of my friends um very early on when everything was just kind of like whoa i mean it was just the boom of it all. And my friend said, he goes, here's what you do right now. This is the key. Number one, be a lifter. Go around and lift other people up. Or number two, find a lifter if you can't be a lifter. And that was a really important moment for me to see. It changed my perspective because

I was getting the shit kicked out of me financially by all the events that we used to do being closed down. It was just watching like hundreds of thousands of dollars of money fucking burn and shit that I built five or six years worth of building on and uh and and just and then your course you're dead in the water uh everything is dead in the water and you you sit and go okay well what i got to do i either be a lifter or i find a lifter and i'm not a good follower so i just figured a way to lift and we changed a lot of things of the show and made it open to everyone and more stories of uplifting stuff and so yeah i i love that you know i i i I think everyone in this world at this point has been touched by cancer, whether it's a loved one.

For me, it's a lot of dogs, leukemia cancer for my dogs, you know, or personally experiencing yourself. You know, we've all loved someone or known someone we love or ourselves that are experiencing this. So I think a lot of people are, you know, they understand this pain, agony, and struggle, and they're trying to see, you know, what they can do. because, you know, it's kind of interesting how we take each other for granted. And then when something happens, we're like, oh, we should think about this person. Well, and look, and we take our longevity for granted, right? I never seriously considered that, and maybe I should have at kind of my age, but I never really considered that something was going to happen to me, right?

And so you don't really think about that kind of stuff. And you start thinking about, you know, what are people going to do with my stuff and what's going to happen. And, you know, you live in a way that's somewhat precarious. And it's, you know, this duality where, you know, you're worried about tomorrow, but also incredibly thankful for tomorrow. One of the things that came out of this for me really was, was gratitude. And in the height of my triathlon training, I have a triathlon coach, and she'd give me, you know, workouts. And my wife would say, what do you got today? And say, ah, I have to do 25 miles on the bike. It's not I have to now. It's, I get to. I can remember sitting in the infusion room, you know, like this with a blanket over me and looking out the window and seeing people running by on the sidewalk outside and saying, you know, I would give anything to be out there running right now. And now I am, right? I did a few miles before you and I jumped on, took a shower, of course, before I came on. But I did a couple miles. And, you know, now it just, it hits differently.

funerals you mentioned funerals funerals hit differently too by the way every funeral I go to now is like a dress rehearsal for my own I'm like where do they get the maroon and gold from stop they need to redecorate these places but you know there's there's more gratitude in saying

you know I don't have to run three miles today I get to run two miles today I don't have to go to work today I get to go to work today there's people sitting in an infusion room or in a hospice unit somewhere that would you know kill for another day to run a mile or go sit at a desk and do some good work.

That's very true. That is very true. I remember when I turned 50, you know, I do a lot of stuff for entertainment on Facebook and kind of almost a stand-up thing I do over there, but I remember I turned 50, and I was doing kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, boo-hoo, I'm old now, old balls,

I'm 50, and, oh, the suffrage, or whatever crap I was making, everything hurts, I don't know. And I do a lot of performing of entertaining. And someone wrote me and they just cut right through it all and they go you know, Chris, there's

a lot of people who wanted to get to 50 and never did. So maybe you should just sit down and shut up. Something to that effect. Yeah. Yeah. And I went yeah, you got a point, man. Like I should have some gratitude. Gratitude's really

important. Why is gratitude so important in moments like these to find recovery, to find renewal, to survive. Look, I think it's uplifting, right? If you sit around and say, I'm thankful for the following five things that I had nothing to do with. Gratitude is getting something you didn't actually earn. And so, you know, you're grateful for another day.

You're grateful for a negative test result. You know, I went for another test today. I'll get the result tomorrow. I'm not laying awake worrying about it anymore. but when that test result comes in and I remain all clear, I'll put with a sigh relief. I didn't do anything to earn that negative test result. You know, it's a gift that you've been given

and how you use that gift, I think, is really important. You know, one of the things I mentioned, you know, you don't do anything to earn some of this stuff. Well, I was going through treatment. You know, there's this notion as you're going through treatment that you're a cancer warrior, right? You're doing chemo. I had all the F-cancer shirts and that kind of thing.

I was one of those militant cancer patients. And, you know, they call you a warrior. And there's a lot that's really attractive to me about that metaphor, right? You're going to go into battle. You're going to fight this thing. You're going to win it. You're going to kill it. You're going to come out on top.

There's another part of me who's sitting in the infusion chair saying, how am I a warrior? What the hell am I doing? Like, unless I'm ready to cash in my chips, chemo's doing all the work. My doctors are doing all the work. I'm sitting my ass here in a chair, you know, while the chemo is doing the job. How am I really a warrior unless, you know, being a warrior is not giving up and there's zero chance that that's going to happen. And so I really struggled with some of the terminology. And, you know, once you kind of make it through treatment and you're on the other side, they call you a survivor, which, you know, look, if that's the bare minimum, right? The bare minimum is surviving. So the terminology around cancer, you know, is something that I've given a lot of thought to. And well, I think, you know, there's something to the power of positive thinking and there's something to the power of positive thinking and there's something.

something to be said for taking care of yourself. I asked my doctors, and I'm like, guys, how don't I get two cancers in two years? And they're like, well, we don't know. Let's do some genetic testing and see if there's some blood in DNA. Nothing showed up, which I was happy about because I have children, right? But I said to them, all right, so like, that's not it. What's the deal? And they're like, I don't know, bad luck.

I'm like, really? That one, 150 years worth of medicine, billions of dollars of research. And this is what you have for me. It's bad luck. I should go buy a lottery ticket. And so, you know, this whole notion of self-efficacy and how much do you really control. Like, I wrote about it a lot in the book, and I thought about it a lot during my encounters with cancer. And look, I could have, you know, stage 3B is a pretty serious kind of thing.

You're only a hop, skip, and a jump away from stage four. And, you know, there's a group of us that were diagnosed around the same time. people I came to know and three of us are still kicking. Two of those folks died on the same day about two months ago. And so I look at it and I'm like we had a very similar diagnosis. We had very similar lifestyles and, you know, I survived and and they didn't. And I got some of that survivor's guilt the same way guys do when they come home from war and, you know, they made it and their buddy didn't make it out. So I've got a little bit of that. And I take that and say, All right, so then I have an obligation to do the very best I can with the gift I've been given.

And that's really what we need to do when we share our gifts, share our knowledge. You never know who you're going to help. You never knew whose lives you're going to touch. You never know who's going to hear your story. And for some people, it's not just about the people who have cancer. It's like we talked about here. It's the people that, you know, have the people that know, because that's a journey of itself. You know, I've had dogs that have cancer.

and it's affected me deeply, psychologically, and emotionally and probably created some trauma. But, you know, knowing how to deal with that and how other people dealt with it, so you can find a blueprint to get through the world is just awesome. Anything more we want to discuss or tease out before we go, Jeffrey? Yeah, no, look, you know, again, for folks out there who might be struggling with, you know, whether cancer or some other serious illness or some other life change, it gets better, right? you take it one step at a time. Every mile really does matter. If you find a way to get through a major life crisis or major life event, make sure you pass it along to somebody else. You know, if you're of an age to get screened for, look, there's screening for seven different cancers at this point in time. Get those screenings. Don't put them off. Look, if I had put off my

test, there's almost zero chance I'd be here talking to you today. And so for folks out there that are hold it off on doing their screenings because they're inconvenient, they're lucky, they're yucky, all that kind of stuff. Look, the reality is wind up with a cancer diagnosis and that's even more inconvenient. So get checked. Love the people around you. Take care of yourself. Make sure that every mile matters. Every mile matters as you talk about in the book. And, you know, that's really what it is. And every day, you know, and eat right and help take care of yourselves, folks. I recently had to go in for hernia repair. And it's the first time I had to go to the doctors for surgery or anything major in 35 years, something like that. I've lived an incredibly healthy life so far,

knock on wood. And just dealing with the hospitals and the doctors, I have a great doctor, but dealing with some of the hospitals and the billing and the, you got to go here to go there, to this, to that, to that. And I just said the simple thing. I can't imagine when you have cancer where you're diagnosed, how many different doctor visits you have to do and medical visits and this, that. I mean, that's probably a whole new level that I never want to see. But just the hell of the simple part of what that was for my hernia, I wish I'd kind of experienced it earlier because I would have taken better care of myself.

Just with the hospital. But, you know, some things genetically, you know, some of these things that are out there, that's the way it is. Always take care of yourself, folks. Please, don't be like me. Don't, you know, I don't know. Maybe it was all that vodka I drank for 20 years straight that nestatized the inside of me and act as a disinfectant or something.

I don't fucking know. There's a lot of booze. But I wasn't alcoholic, folks. I just really had a good time. So anyway, thank you very much, Jeffrey, for coming the show. Give us your dot coms as people go as we go out so people can find out more about you. Awesome. Every Mile Matters.com.

Jeffrey Reynolds.com, and you could find me on all the major socials. Except for maybe Twitter. Yeah, well, you know, you're not missing anything over there. It's mostly just, I think a bunch of racism being thrown about and xenophobia. And just, I don't know, it's like a toilet. I think it's the toilet. They should just rename it toilet. Twitter, Twitter, twatter, toilet.

Toilet, toilet with a TW. So, anyway, whatever, it doesn't help the guy running it. Anyway, guys, thanks for tuning in. order of the book where refined books are sold. Every Mile Matters. We have an X account, too, over there. I don't know why I'm shaming my own account. The entitlement of his book, Jeffrey Reynolds, is out July 21st, 2025, called Every Mile Matters, turning triathlon, training into cancer triumph. Thanks for tuning in. Go to Goodreads.com, Fortress, Chris Foss. LinkedIn.com, Fortress Chris Foss. Chris Foss, one,

the TikTokitie, and YouTube.com, Fortress, Chris Foss. All those crazy places in it. You go to each other. Stay safe. We'll see you next time. And that should have us out. Lots of fun there.