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

When Doug Ruch received a terminal cancer diagnosis, he realized one of his greatest regrets in life is that he didn’t spend enough time helping other people. 

“I spent so much time, you know, working and trying to make a lot of money, that I didn’t do a lot of volunteering. I did not help a lot of fellow people,” Ruch, 55, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. 

“I can’t go back and change that. All I can do is move forward with whatever time I have left.”

That’s why the San Antonio, Texas, man is driving across the U.S. on a mission to volunteer in every state — a journey he’s dubbed “Dying to Serve.”

‘Nothing to lose’

Ruch, who spent most of his life working in sales, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021. He learned in January that it had spread, and his doctors estimated he has 12 to 18 months to live. That’s when he started to come up with the idea for his cross-country road trip.

Eddie Gallagher, Ruch’s best friend of 30 years, thought it was a great idea. 

“I said, ‘Why not, man? Go and do it. You got nothing to lose,'” Gallagher said. “I think it’s fantastic what he’s doing.”

So far, Ruch has volunteered with food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, old age homes, youth centres and community centres in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah.

He describes himself as a bit of a loner with a turbulent childhood who has suffered from lifelong anxiety, and says the whole endeavour has put him well outside his comfort zone. 

But volunteering, he quickly learned, feels good. 

“It’s actually become calming. On days where I have volunteer missions, I feel really good and I’m energized. The happy hormones are flowing,” he said.

Angie K. Smith, executive director of the meal delivery charity Kitchen Angels in Santa Fe, N.M., says volunteering is not just good for the community; it’s good for the volunteer, too.

In fact, several studies have found links between volunteering or altruism, and happiness and health. 

Ruch stopped by Kitchen Angels to help out on March 25, and Smith says they were happy to have him. 

“We absolutely rely [on] and appreciate our volunteers,” Smith said. “Doug is an inspiration and we support his message and we support him.”

Ruch, who is raising money for his trip on GoFundMe, says he’s been getting a lot of attention since his story started making national and international headlines. 

“It’s gotten really crazy this week. It has gotten nuts,” he said. “I get a lot of emails from media requests and stuff and they’re like, ‘Hey, can you pass this on to Doug?’ No, Doug is it. Doug responds to all the emails. Doug builds the website. Doug updates the website. Doug plans the stops… I’m a team of one.”

Asked if he would consider enlisting volunteers to help out, Ruch insisted that he doesn’t want to burden anyone. 

But when his buddy Quan Khuu learned about Ruch’s mission, he knew he had to pitch in. 

“I knew he was coming to California, but he wasn’t going to stop in San Francisco. So I kind of made him [feel] guilty to visit me,” Khuu said.

Khuu and a few pals then joined Ruch for a day of volunteering with Project Open Hand, an organization that provides meals to the sick and vulnerable.

Khuu says he’s proud of his friend.

“I’m glad that he’s doing what he’s been doing, and leaving a good legacy,” he said. 

Ruch, meanwhile, wants to make that legacy last. He says he plans to turn Dying To Serve into an official registered charity that connects people to volunteer work.

“The mission will be to inspire and educate people all over the country, if not the world, to, you know, micro-volunteer in their communities,” he said.

By “mico-volunteer,” he means volunteering a few hours at a time. Giving back, he says, doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment.

“If enough people volunteer … three, four hours a month, it will make a world of difference.”