Paul Weigel became Iron Dad tough for his daughter

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Paul Weigel’s life turned upside down after a colorectal cancer diagnosis when he was in his mid-40s. Yet, the experience ignited the warrior in him to battle the disease for one reason – his young daughter.

Paul didn’t want Natalie to grow up without a father, so he endured a long regiment of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and other treatments to shrink the fist-sized tumor which threatened his life.

Ten years later, Paul is cancer-free. He wrote a book about his experience in hopes of encouraging others to get the necessary screening early so they would not face the same challenge he did.

Natalie was just 3 years old when Paul received his diagnosis, which came as quite a surprise to him.

“I had been experiencing symptoms for several years and talked about them with my doctors. But, they ignored many of the issues,” Paul explained. “By the time the tumor was officially discovered, it had grown to the size of my fist and was lodged near the junction of my rectum and colon.”

He had chronicled his journey while it was underway, then set it aside after he recovered. It’s a good thing he wrote it down. When Natalie started asking questions after she turned 13, and the problem facing men and women was growing exponentially, Paul was ready with answers.

“Colorectal cancer is the No. 1 leading cause of cancer deaths for men over 50,” he explained. “For women, it is the No. 2 cause of death just behind breast cancer.

“That’s the horrifying thing which motivated me to share my story in hopes of encouraging others to get tested because it is a cancer that can be prevented,” he added. “If people just get screened by talking with their doctors, having colonoscopies or using Cologuard at home, then 90% of those cancers can be found before they become malignant.

“At that stage, they’ll just be small polyps which can be removed so people can go on to live longer, healthier lives,” said Paul.

It was a rather lonely experience for him. Although technically married at the time, Paul and his now-ex-wife were living separate lives. That meant, he went through the treatment by himself, and then got divorced a short time later.

‘Iron Dad: A Cancer Survivor’s Story’

Paul wrote his book, “Iron Dad: A Cancer Survivor’s Story of Discovering Strength, Life, and Love Through Fatherhood,” for two reasons. First, to inspire people to get screened for cancer. Second, to explain to men just how important fatherhood is, not only to them, but more so to their children.

“My daughter has always been my passion,” said Paul. “I hope other parents have the same level of love and desire for their kids.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t get much of that from my own parents, which was typical for that generation,” he added

“Natalie was born shortly after I turned 40. We were living in Seattle at the time, about a block from Puget Sound,” he explained. “After a rather rough upbringing, it felt like my life was finally coming together. My world was everything I had dreamed about.”

To receive a diagnosis of colorectal cancer truly shattered Paul’s dream world. After all, according to the Center for Disease Control, there will be an estimated 152,810 new cases of the illness diagnosed in 2024 alone, and 53,010 people will succumb to it.

“This was the first time in my life that I really had something to live for and a passion for living,” he explained. “Then, to have this terrible fear that it might be taken away from me and I might now make it, was horrifying.

“My tumor was big, so I was diagnosed as being in Stage Three. It had already infiltrated seven of my 21 lymph nodes. So, it was a flip of the coin as to whether I was going to make it another five years, let alone 10.

“To still be around and able to witness all those milestones of Natalie’s life that I dreamed about as I was going through treatment has been a wonderful joy and brought excitement every single day,” said Paul.

Despite getting treatment, doctors would not declare Paul to be cancer-free with no evidence of disease for nine years.

“If you are religious, then I was blessed. If you’re not, then I was incredibly lucky,” he explained.

Trust your instincts

Now that Paul has been cured and there is little chance colorectal cancer will come back, he is on a mission to build awareness of the illness.

“I’d like to think I have half my life still ahead of me,” said Paul. “That’s why I am so passionate today about making people aware of colorectal cancer and why it is so important to get screened regularly for it.

“Although I had symptoms of a problem and knew something was wrong with my body, I was afraid to have that rough conversation with my doctor,” he explained.

He noted it is often hard to have those discussions due to scheduling limitations that means patients are rushed in and out every three to four minutes.

“That’s hardly enough time to address everything that might be going on,” said Paul. “For me, my doctor kind of brushed past what could have been a really big issue.

“Our generation is often afraid to confront a doctor to stress the need for additional testing because something doesn’t feel right,” he explained. “But, we need to stop and say, ‘Hold on. We need to talk about this some more.’“

Paul’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract was exhibiting warning signs for five years before he was formally diagnosed. For example, even though pizza had been one of his favorite foods, suddenly Paul couldn’t consume dairy products without experiencing a horrible case of irritable bowel syndrome. Then, a few years later, blood started appearing in his stool upon occasion.

“When I told my doctor I have gastrointestinal issues and blood in my stool, he said it was because I was in my early 40s and eating a lot of bad foods, which was true,” Paul explained. “He also assumed I had hemorrhoids because I was a triathlete who was riding a bike a lot.

“Additionally, I kept having a light sensation that I need to go to the bathroom, and would often dream about that,” he added. “What was happening was the tumor was growing just below my belly button. Once it was removed, those sensations stopped.

“But rather than put all those things together and decide to investigate, he told me to take Tums for the GI issues and Preparation H for the blood problem,” said Paul. “It was only after I became nearly critically ill that we had those tough conversations.”

Paul stressed that if one doctor won’t listen to your gut instincts, then seek advice from another one.

“If I had taken time to list out all of my concerns at once, I may never have wound up in the position I did,” he explained. “But, like a lot of other people over 50, I was hesitant to become an advocate for myself.”

Changes to his diet

After undergoing treatment, Paul made several significant changes to his diet. He already knew he needed to eat less red meat and consume more salad and other fibrous foods.

“The biggest thing for me was to really start listening to what my body was telling me I could or could not eat,” he explained. “For example, I know I shouldn’t eat pizza and, if I do, it’s not going to be good for anybody in my life.”

In fact, Paul has such a negative reaction to dairy products that Natalie won’t even let him have a bite of her pizza unless he has Imodium with him.

“I also stopped eating processed meats and eliminated things like potato chips from my diet,” he explained. “I had 14 inches of my colon removed along with the tumor. That means I can’t have as many fibrous foods in volume.

“So, if I have a big salad or digest broccoli, it causes serious grumbling in my tummy,” said Paul. “I also had to switch from drinking beer to vodka because the heavy beers aren’t really good for my system any more. Vodka is clear, which doesn’t seem to bother me as much.

“It is a combination of following guidelines regarding what I can and cannot eat, and listening to my body as it tells me what it can work with,” he added.

Changes to his career

Prior to being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, Paul was leading internal communications programs for several large companies. After undergoing treatment, he shifted careers into more of a consulting role.

“That gave me the opportunity to watch my daughter grow up. I worked enough that it allowed me to see her,” said Paul. “Being a single, part-time dad allowed me to walk Natalie to the door of her school and even pick her up at the door.

“I was the dad who went on every field trip until she entered eighth grade. It always seemed to be me and all the other moms,” he explained. “Now that Natalie is 14, even though she is still my passion and purpose, she often doesn’t want anything to do with me, especially in public settings because she’s a teenager.”

The extra time enabled Paul to start working on his book about a year ago. Simply recalling his story and the challenges that came with it made Paul a passionate advocate for colorectal cancer screening.

“It is so important for people to be aware of what’s going on and to take charge of their own health by doing the right things,” he explained.

He joined the board of directors for Livestrong, a group founded by former bicycle racer, Lance Armstrong, to assist cancer survivors.

“Lance hasn’t been with the group for about 15 years, but the organization is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year,” said Paul. “I started wearing the Livestrong yellow band when a friend was getting treatment for cancer. I decided to keep wearing it even before I was diagnosed. We are all warriors and fighters who have gone on to do many crazy things.”

Becoming triathlon tough

After Paul’s body was ravaged by the tumor and subsequent chemotherapy, he knew he needed to help it recover. He opted to take part in an Ironman triathlon. That required him to stick to a nutritious diet and begin exercising to develop strength to get through the event.

A triathlon requires participants to complete three events on the same day, including:

  • Swimming 2.4 miles
  • Biking 112 miles
  • Running a full 26.2-mile marathon
  • …and doing it all in 14 to 17 hours, in Paul’s case.

“I wanted my daughter to have a memory of crossing the finish line so she knew her daddy wasn’t a quitter,” said Paul. “Today, Natalie helps me prepare for upcoming events by driving a golf cart next to me as I’m running through the neighborhood just to make sure I’m okay.

“I think my participation is inspirational to others who are battling cancer,” he added. “They can see me and know that I am thriving after a cancer diagnosis. Hopefully, it encourages them to keep battling cancer, too.”

Getting healthy

Some of Paul’s illness stemmed from the way he was living his life. He knew he was working way too hard, which was taking a toll on his health.

“I was living in downtown Seattle at the time and often worked on projects well past 1 a.m. I was miserable,” he explained.

“One day before I started training for triathlons, when I was in my early 30s, I weighed 225 pounds,” said Paul. “I was a big guy, but wasn’t exercising. A buddy of mine was having breakfast with me one morning, and we were both recovering from the night before.

“We saw a group of runners come in who had just finished a 5-kilometer race,” he added. “They were jovial, happy and looking like they were living their best lives. But, we were not.

“So we made a $5 bet as to which of us could finish a 5K race in two months,” he explained. “We both accepted the challenge.”

The first time Paul went out to train, he put on his shoes and started running. He thought he was doing well, but then his body suddenly objected to the extra activity.

“It felt like my heart was exploding. When I looked at my watch, I had only been running for one minute and 12 seconds,” he admitted. “I knew I needed to make some incremental changes.

“But, when I finished that first 5K and crossed the line, I was so proud. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life at that point,” he added.

“Then a trainer came up and handed me a sheet of paper before telling me, ‘You can do better,’“ said Paul. “That comment inspired me to get better. I started running a lot of 5K events, and was having fun doing that.

“After a few 5K runs, I started doing marathons to build up my stamina,” he explained. “However, I soon had problems with my hip. So, I had surgery, but it didn’t help.

“My doctor said I probably should not be running very much, but I knew I had to continue exercising if I didn’t want to balloon back up to 225 pounds,” he added. “So my doctor encouraged me to take up swimming and riding a bike instead.

“All of a sudden, I was pulling together all the components to do a triathlon and building my body to become an Ironman triathlete.”

That type of training requires people to be a little bit crazy because they can be exercising a whole day to prepare for an event.

“But, there was an aspect to training for triathlons and being engaged in the events that became a passion for me,” said Paul. “One of the thoughts I developed while going through cancer treatment was that if I believed in the impossible, then the incredible can come true.”

Find the ember of passion

Paul stressed it is very important for people in their 50s and older to find a little ember of passion within them. Then, blow on it until it becomes a flaming purpose.

“Whether it helps you exercise, write a book, do a podcast or live your best life as a grandfather, it may start as a tiny little spark,” he explained. “But, it can start growing and growing and growing. Soon, it becomes a tremendous wildfire. Then you realize you are living a great life.

“If you have amazingly big, crazy, awesome goals, and you find a way to get them done, then it is beyond a powerful experience,” he explained. “When I close my eyes for the final time, and look back on my life, I will see growing up with my daughter and crossing those finish lines.”

Crossing that finish line is super-special for Ironman participants. When he reaches the end, an announcer loudly proclaims, “Paul Weigel, you are an Ironman.”

“That’s an amazing amount of validation,” he explained. “But, when I crossed the line the first time, the announcer mispronounced my name. That was a big drive for me to do a second triathlon just so I could hear my name pronounced correctly.”

Finding faith in the midst of doubt

Paul was not raised with any religious or spiritual upbringing. Yet, it was challenging for him to go through cancer treatment without reconciling being so sick and questioning his faith.

“Through Livestrong, I was introduced to a group called Imerman Angels. They paired me with a fellow cancer patient who had a similar experience to help walk me through the process,” said Paul.

“Fran Curry became a wonderful friend of mine,” he added. “Fran is a reborn man of faith. He and I would have some very in-depth conversations, usually at 2 a.m., about how I could make sense of all that was happening.

“For me, I am very comfortable with my relationship with God and my fate, whatever it may be,” he added. “My relationship with God continues to change. As we get older, many of us look for that spirituality a bit more and develop a level of groundedness. So, yes, I am a man of faith.”

Writing his “Iron Dad” book

Eleven years ago, while Paul was going through treatment, his numbers weren’t great in terms of the size of his tumor, lymph nodes affected and other concerning markers. Nor did he have a lot of support at home.

“I wanted to have a way I could share with people some of my story and experiences about what I was going through,” he explained. “I started writing, but really didn’t have a plan to publish a book.

“I talk about taking six flights of stairs down to the radiation room, and six flights of stairs back up when I was done just because I did not want to be a cancer patient,” said Paul. “I also described what it was like to go through chemotherapy, and falling asleep next to my daughter because we both needed a safe place.”

When Natalie turned 14, she tried to understand what happened to her father and what turned her life upside down through the divorce.

“I shared with her what I had written,” said Paul. “Then a friend of mine, Mary, who was undergoing her own battle with kidney cancer, encouraged me to turn what I had written into a book.

“When I started writing it in 2023, I did so just so Natalie would have something to look at later in her life,” he explained. “I knew she was not going to read the book at age 14. But I hoped Natalie would read it when she was 25 and again when she was 30, 40 and 70.

“I started working with Mary to develop chapters and various drafts,” he added. “Even though she was critically ill at the time, she and I would meet on Friday afternoons to go over what I had written.

“As a gift to Mary, I wanted to share an update with her every week that was hopeful in order to distract her from her own ordeal. In the end, my book was her gift to me. It wound up being pretty good.”

While Paul was contemplating whether his book would be of interest to anyone else or bring value to others going through cancer treatment, he read an alarming statistic. The American Cancer Society reported that colon cancer rates were rising, and predicted one in 20 people would come down with that illness.

“It became apparent that I needed to share my story so other people wouldn’t have to go through what I did,” he explained. “We don’t know why, but in the generation before me, one out of every 40 people contracted colon cancer.

“It is likely environmental factors as well as what we are eating,” he added. “Doctors expect the number of cases to impact one out of every 15 people within the next 20 years.

“In fact, they recently changed the screening guidelines because younger people are getting colorectal cancer,” he added. “Today, it is recommended that people first start to get screened at age 45.”

Unfortunately, many people, especially men, are afraid to get a colonoscopy because of the horror stories concerning the prep work needed before the test. Patients often drink a liquid that literally clears out all of their intestines the night before the procedure.

“It’s not great to think about it, but the screening is so vital to catching a problem early,” he said.

Developing mental resiliency

Paul convinced himself that if he believed in the impossible, then the incredible can come true. So, he started engaging in self-talk that labeled himself as a warrior and fighter, rather than a cancer patient.

“I did my best every day to pretend I was not a cancer patient,” he explained. “I tried to work every day, except when I couldn’t post-surgery.

“I reminded myself of my dream of being able to run a big race for my daughter,” he added. “It all worked to help me strengthen my internal drive and sharpen my internal focus on where I could ultimately wind up.

“As we get older, it is easy to become complacent,” said Paul. “For years we had a purpose and, if we worked for a long time, we got a paycheck that added value to our lives.

“Suddenly, one day, we don’t have a job and we wonder what we are supposed to do with our lives now,” he added. “We lose that sense of purpose.

“So, whether you are fighting cancer or dealing with the next stage of life or a career, it is important to have a strong mental attitude,” said Paul. “That drives us forward. I have known too many people who lacked that level of mental resiliency that just gave up on life. It is really sad.”

A love story between father and daughter

More than a story about surviving cancer, “Iron Dad: A Cancer Survivor’s Story of Discovering Strength, Life, and Love Through Fatherhood,” is a love story about a father and his relationship with his daughter.

“My book talks about cancer awareness, but it really talks about the power of love and power of perseverance,” said Paul. “After reading it, you walk away feeling inspired about family and the relationship you can have with your children at different ages. It also describes how that love can carry you through whatever you may be facing in life.”

People who are going through treatment, will get a lot of practical and tactical advice to help them through the ordeal.

“But, more than that, it is an inspirational love story to help people survive longer and live happier lives,” he explained. “I used participating in an Ironman triathlon as a metaphor for life. If I could get through that, then I could get through anything.”

After Paul was divorced, his ex-wife remarried and moved from Seattle to the Phoenix area. So, he moved as well just to remain in close contact with his daughter as she grew up.

“Being an Iron Dad means being committed to your children and dealing with all the trials and tribulations of the world,” said Paul. “It also means being fully committed and as mentally strong as you can be for your children. There is nothing stronger than iron.”

Gut Checks podcast

To take his story to a wider audience, Paul started the Gut Checks podcast and produced several YouTube videos by the same name.

“My goal is to share stories that offer hope and inspiration, but also to build men up to become better fathers,” said Paul. “Gut Checks can mean different things to people.

“It can mean a gut check to get through rough conversations you need with a doctor about something you feel is wrong with your body,” he explained. “It also means having to bear down and do something that is hard and incredible.”

Paul has been interviewing cancer survivors and other triathletes. He even interviewed the CEO of Livestrong about how the organization works to improve the lives of others.

“I am in the process of talking with Mike Eruzione, who was the gold medal captain of the 1980 USA hockey team made famous with the miracle win over the Soviet Union,” said Paul. “When Mike and I met a few years ago, I commended him for his amazing win.

“Mike told me they were just a bunch of kids who didn’t realize what the game meant or how big the win was for the people of America,” he explained. “He told me, ‘We just found a way to get it done.’

“That’s the kind of inner determination that I want to carry through in my book, podcast and videos,” said Paul. “I plan to bring in more people to talk about their own gut checks and what it takes to become better every day.”

For more information

People can connect with Paul in various ways: