Five years ago, Kenny Rochford faced the fight of his life against cancer. Today, he’s not just a survivor—he’s a builder, both literally and figuratively, transforming his experience into hope for others.
Since beating cancer, Kenny has embarked on two meaningful projects that have redefined his life’s purpose. The first is constructing his own home on property he and his wife purchased during his illness—a task he admits he never would have considered before his diagnosis.
“We were like okay, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it together, and we’re going to build this together, and it will be our post-cancer project,” Kenny reflects. “Because we’ve come through this together and it’s not been that much fun.”
But as meaningful as his home-building journey has been, Kenny’s second post-cancer project may be even more profound. Three years ago, he met Robin Marcucci through Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa’s Cancer Peer Mentor Program—an initiative where cancer survivors provide guidance and emotional support to those currently battling the disease.
What began as a mentorship has blossomed into a deep friendship that exemplifies the program’s success.
“There are thousands of people newly diagnosed every single year,” Kenny explains. “And I can’t believe that the vast majority of those people don’t need some kind of non-medical guidance or emotional support. I know I did.”
Their relationship began during one of Robin’s darkest moments. After receiving a devastating stage four prostate cancer diagnosis, Robin was overwhelmed by fear and grief.
“I just lay there and I cried,” Robin recalls. “I thought about all the things I’m gonna miss in life. The miracle this world is, my family, my friends. I wasn’t ready to die, yet here I am looking at it.”
Kenny’s approach was simple but powerful: he listened. Their relationship started with brief phone calls that gradually evolved into conversations lasting hours.
“Just listened, you know, and answered questions as best I could,” Kenny says. “But mainly it was like, yeah, you know, this is overwhelming. It’s OK to be overwhelmed.”
For Robin, Kenny provided something invaluable—hope rooted in lived experience.
“What Kenny gave me was that there is hope. Live your life. Do what you can do,” Robin shares. “And these were ideas that I was coming up with that I thought were original, but Kenny was, you know, feeding all that to me. And I’m just seeing it through his life, through his experience.”
Today, Kenny and Robin continue to meet weekly, playing darts and going for walks. Their friendship has transcended the original mentor-mentee relationship, becoming a source of mutual support and joy.
Robin has outlived his original prognosis by two years—a victory he attributes to both his medical team and the emotional support Kenny provided during his most vulnerable moments.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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