Ira Green, Contributor to Moving, for You: A Tribute to Empathy

I met my fiancé, Stacey Halprin, a 13-time Oprah guest, six years ago at a convention on obesity. She once weighed 585 pounds and myself 485 pounds.

She volunteered to work at my weight loss camp in Wilson, North Carolina, and that summer we fell in love. I was going through a separation at the time and eventually received a divorce.

This January, we planned to get married in Florida.

I had some pain in my side, which doctors thought was a hernia. They did a CT scan to find out the hernia was varicose veins, but they also saw some lesions in the background, on my liver.

After a CT scan at Duke, I was told I had Stage IV cancer of the liver and colon. Stacey and I got married two weeks ago because I did not want to get married after starting chemo.

She is my soulmate and cheerleader, and I am now at the Lineberger Cancer Center at UNC, where my surgeon has given me hope.

Note: Stacey passed away unexpectedly in October 2017. If you wish to support Ira and his cancer treatment, you may do so here.

Calligraphy by Amorosa5