Bill Gillis has always been an athlete, running and lifting weights for most of his 71 years. His healthy lifestyle choices helped more than he could’ve imagined when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 abdominal cancer in 2015 and given an 11 percent chance to live.

“I never missed a workout and had no side effects through six rounds of chemo and 15 days of radiation,” said Bill, above with his wife, Isabelle, during a break from racing at the National Senior Games in Albuquerque. 

“My doctor says I’m wasting his time whenever I show up in his office,” said the business consultant, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is thriving in his fourth year of remission.

Inspiring Others to Exercise

Bill Gillis knows he’s setting a good example for others young and old to exercise.

Isabelle, 77, is proud, too, when people at their community gym ask her husband for fitness advice.

“He’s a role model for so many younger people,” she says. “Every morning, they’re constantly coming up to him, asking questions – How did you do it? And saying thanks for being the inspiration.”

Sources: Harvard Medical School, The American Cancer Society, The National Cancer Institute, WebMD