Man with terminal cancer aims to spend his remaining time volunteering in every U.S. state

Sheena Goodyear · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 5:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

When Doug Ruch received a terminal crab diagnosis, helium realized 1 of his top regrets successful beingness is that helium didn't walk capable clip helping different people. 

"I spent truthful overmuch time, you know, moving and trying to marque a batch of money, that I didn't bash a batch of volunteering. I did not assistance a batch of chap people," Ruch, 55, told As It Happens big Nil Kӧksal. 

"I can't spell backmost and alteration that. All I tin bash is determination guardant with immoderate clip I person left."

That's wherefore the San Antonio, Texas, antheral is driving crossed the U.S. connected a ngo to unpaid successful each authorities — a travel he's dubbed "Dying to Serve."

'Nothing to lose'

Ruch, who spent astir of his beingness moving successful sales, was diagnosed with prostate crab successful 2021. He learned successful January that it had spread, and his doctors estimated helium has 12 to 18 months to live. That's erstwhile helium started to travel up with the thought for his cross-country roadworthy trip.

Eddie Gallagher, Ruch's champion person of 30 years, thought it was a large idea. 

"I said, 'Why not, man? Go and bash it. You got thing to lose,'" Gallagher said. "I deliberation it's fantastic what he's doing."

So far, Ruch has volunteered with nutrient banks, stateless shelters, soup kitchens, aged property homes, younker centres and assemblage centres successful Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah.

He describes himself arsenic a spot of a loner with a turbulent puerility who has suffered from lifelong anxiety, and says the full endeavour has enactment him good extracurricular his comfortableness zone. 

But volunteering, helium rapidly learned, feels good. 

"It's really go calming. On days wherever I person unpaid missions, I consciousness truly bully and I'm energized. The blessed hormones are flowing," helium said.

Angie K. Smith, enforcement manager of the repast transportation foundation Kitchen Angels successful Santa Fe, N.M., says volunteering is not conscionable bully for the community; it's bully for the volunteer, too.

In fact, respective studies person recovered links between volunteering oregon altruism, and happiness and health. 

Ruch stopped by Kitchen Angels to assistance retired connected March 25, and Smith says they were blessed to person him. 

"We perfectly trust [on] and admit our volunteers," Smith said. "Doug is an inspiration and we enactment his connection and we enactment him."

Ruch, who is raising wealth for his travel connected GoFundMe, says he's been getting a batch of attraction since his communicative started making nationalist and planetary headlines. 

"It's gotten truly brainsick this week. It has gotten nuts," helium said. "I get a batch of emails from media requests and worldly and they're like, 'Hey, tin you walk this connected to Doug?' No, Doug is it. Doug responds to each the emails. Doug builds the website. Doug updates the website. Doug plans the stops... I'm a squad of one."

Asked if helium would consider enlisting volunteers to assistance out, Ruch insisted that helium doesn't privation to load anyone. 

But erstwhile his buddy Quan Khuu learned astir Ruch's mission, helium knew helium had to transportation in. 

"I knew helium was coming to California, but helium wasn't going to halt successful San Francisco. So I benignant of made him [feel] blameworthy to sojourn me," Khuu said.

Khuu and a fewer pals past joined Ruch for a time of volunteering with Project Open Hand, an enactment that provides meals to the sick and vulnerable.

Khuu says he's arrogant of his friend.

"I'm gladsome that he's doing what he's been doing, and leaving a bully legacy," helium said. 

Ruch, meanwhile, wants to marque that bequest last. He says helium plans to crook Dying To Serve into an authoritative registered foundation that connects radical to unpaid work.

"The ngo volition beryllium to animate and amended radical each implicit the country, if not the world, to, you know, micro-volunteer successful their communities," helium said.

By "mico-volunteer," helium means volunteering a fewer hours astatine a time. Giving back, helium says, doesn't person to beryllium a immense clip commitment.

"If capable radical unpaid … three, 4 hours a month, it volition marque a satellite of difference."