Frank Marchand has been a plumber for over 47 years, most of those years spent self-employed. Following a diagnosis of Stage 4 colon cancer, Marchand has continued to work, with the exception of brief recoveries from surgery, throughout his whole treatment. Now 67 years old, people ask him why he doesn't take it easy, or retire. The answer is partially financial (He supports his wife and stepson who are both on a costly family insurance plan), but mostly he looks at work as a welcome distraction to ease his racing mind and prevents him from overthinking anything.

"I told myself from the very beginning that my immune system is going to have to work really hard to fight this disease that I can't control. So do I want to sit on the sofa, watch TV, eat chips, drink soda, and worry about what's growing inside of me"

He continued, "When I'm doing work, if that valve right there doesn't work, I need to know exactly where to go to the next one that will stop the water if this breaks off of my hand. So there’s control in being able to control your environment. And certainly knowing that anxiety is going to just cripple my immune system, why not just go to work?"

Read more of Marchand's story here.