“I was sick. I went down to 110 pounds from 200 pounds within a month. . .they were feeding me through a tube. But don’t give up, don’t start stressing. I had no immune system and here I am.”

GERALD MADREN, 50, Thomasville, North Carolina, is a 19—year survivor of chronic myelogenous blast crisis leukemia. A press operator by profession, he’s also a fitness enthusiast. He is photographed playing with grandson, Ayden Dockery, during a family reunion.

Hear more from Gerald: dukecancerinstitute.org/gerald