Roseville, California-based photographer Carl Costas has bravely shared a new and deeply personal video series documenting his recent experience with cancer. The project, as of now, has three installments exploring the impact of the cancer diagnosis, the surgery, the recovery period and return to daily life.
I’ve made a series of short videos documenting my journey with cancer. Good, bad, or otherwise, these are my unvarnished thoughts. The goal here is to get the attention of someone who may not have been thinking about this part of their health care, but might need to. The videos have already been the spark more than one of my friends have needed to get themselves taken care of.
This intimate self-portrait begins on the day of Carl’s prostatectomy surgery, eight weeks after his cancer diagnosis in late December 2023. Carl presents his case as a call to action for early cancer testing. He heartfeltly asks to be taken as an example — how a 56-year-old United States Marine Corps veteran, living a healthy and active life, was in no way immune to the impartiality of the disease.
The second video picks up ten days after the surgery. It features recap footage of Carl and his wife Stacy at the hospital, pre and post-surgery. Carl expresses immense gratitude for the outpouring of love and support from his community during this difficult time. He also shares a glimpse of how his cancer was discovered, his experience with the surgery and the early recovery period. Remarkably, ten days after the surgery, Carl began to feel well enough to spend a day in the park and fly his drone!
The third video installment takes place seven weeks into recovery, as Carl navigates his return to daily life. Two weeks post-surgery, he felt ready to return to work. Carl knew though he had to give his body time to heal. He made use of the downtime to spend time with friends and family. Carl recounts a surprise road trip to visit his Marine Corps buddies in Park City, Utah. He shared another story of a birthday party in Creswell, Oregon, with classic cars and a sunset flight on a WWII biplane. When he did return to work, Carl began a new stills and video project with El Dorado Beef and Cattle Co., a sustainable cattle farm located in Pacerville, California. The wholesale meat distributor is owned and operated by first-generation rancher Kevin Grudin and his family.
Carl knows he is deeply fortunate that his cancer was discovered at an early stage. And thankfully, he has since been able to return to his daily life, family, and profession. Carl leaves us with this takeaway:
If there is one thing that I’d like you to walk away with from this video, it’s that “today is a gift” is not a passive thought. It’s a fucking directive… and I am just getting started.
See more of Carl’s work on his website.
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