When Kaiser Permanente member Robin Marcucci received his cancer diagnosis, he was devastated.

Having already endured losing his home in the 2017 Tubbs fire, he had poured himself into the rebuild, personally handling much of the construction.

Marcucci visited KP Santa Rosa in 2022 for aches and pains that he had attributed to his construction work. However, prostate cancer was quickly identified as the cause.

Following the diagnosis, Marcucci described himself as a “zombie.” He was completely inconsolable and unable to get out of bed.

At his first cancer infusion treatment, Marcucci cried. Patty Engh, a social worker, pulled him aside to ask how he was doing. Engh soon connected Marcucci with KP Santa Rosa’s Cancer Peer Mentor program, which pairs those with new diagnoses with those living with cancer for a while.

A shared journey provides emotional support

The idea is that a mentor can provide an extra layer of support. The peer mentor program was created in response to feedback from the KP Santa Rosa Cancer Patient Advisory Council that there should be more emotional support for patients living with cancer.

Marcucci met his mentor, Kenny Rochford, who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019. He understood Marcucci’s experiences.

“I’d only talked to doctors and my friends, and none of them had lived with cancer,” Marcucci said. “Some of them would say, ‘Oh you’ll be fine.’ They didn’t understand what I was going through.”

But Rochford did. This shared journey helped Marcucci process the emotional side of cancer that well-meaning friends and even medical professionals couldn’t fully grasp.

“It doesn’t matter how great your friends and family are, there are some moments of extreme loneliness and uncertainty,” Rochford explained. “There’s a massive part of cancer that’s not related to medical work. The mental and emotional support side is huge.”

Kenny is somebody who saved my life. He almost knew what I was thinking many times.

— Robin Marucci

Drawing from his personal cancer journey, Rochford acknowledged the profound struggle his mentees face with straightforward honesty: “When I talk to my mentee, I say, ‘I know this sucks, and it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.’”

Having mentored two individuals living with cancer, Rochford forges connections through regular text messages, phone calls, and coffee meetups. He offers help as an advocate and counsel on both practical and emotional matters.

Rochford and other mentors spend much of their time processing the cancer diagnosis with their mentees.

Marcucci said Rochford helped him shift his perspective on cancer. He went from thinking of dying of cancer to living with cancer.

He recalled: “Kenny helped me ‘wake up’ from my diagnosis. I was in total shock. But, with time, I moved to acceptance and gratitude. I have a life to live regardless of this diagnosis.”

A few months after connecting with Rochford, Marcucci threw a party, what he called a celebration of living. “I didn’t want people to show up to my memorial. I wanted to be alive for that. I invited everybody that was important to me, including Kenny.” Rochford even helped plan the party.

Two years after his diagnosis, Marcucci is continuing with treatment and is doing well. He still meets Rochford for a walk or coffee every week.

“Kenny is somebody who saved my life. He almost knew what I was thinking many times,” he said. “Kenny, he was like an angel who came down and kept me safe and positive about waking up the next day. Thank goodness for this program.”