survivor profile
Mike Raita
COLORECTAL CANCER SURVIVOR
By COURTNEY BISHOP
“ I literally felt miserable while covering the BCS National Championship, I knew something wasn’ t right,” explains Mike Raita, former sports anchor for ABC 33 / 40. It was in January 2010, in Pasadena, California that Raita realized he was very sick. He was in Pasadena covering the National Championship football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns. At this point, Raita hadn’ t felt well in a few months, he had lost significant weight but had been busy with work so he kept going.
Heartbreaking Diagnosis
When Raita returned from his eight-day trip to Pasadena, he went immediately to the doctor and asked for a colonoscopy. Confused, his doctor asked 51-year-old Raita why he thought he needed a colonoscopy.“ Because I believe I have colon cancer,” Raita recalls telling his doctor. The doctor then confirmed that Raita did in fact have stage 4 colorectal cancer. Raita was not shocked at receiving this news, it was something he had suspected for a few months.
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