One man’s journey from Stage IV cancer to an inspirational second act.
Invite Lee Rafkin to speak at your next event!
Lee Rafkin is a Stage IV colon cancer survivor who brings candor and honesty to the stage. Drawing from his own lived experience as a cancer survivor, Lee challenges audiences to rethink health, family, kids, relationships, work, fear, embarrassment, and the fragile gift of time.
Rafkin is a skilled presenter and an energetic and engaging speaker. His talks ignite perspective, introspection, and action.
Signature topics include:
Early Detection & Challenging Taboos: Colon cancer is treatable, yet embarrassment and avoidance cost lives. Lee challenges stigmas head-on, while sharing practical insights into why screening matters, how fear and embarrassment delay diagnoses, and how organizations can encourage life-saving conversations.
The Value of Second Opinions & Building an “A” Team: An 11% survival rate changes how you show up in life. Lee shares how second opinions, the right care team, medical advocates, cancer buddies, and trusted allies can successfully alter outcomes.
Life After Cancer: From Survival to Reinvention: What happens when you’re told to “get your affairs in order”? Lee reflects on how he faced mortality with courage and purpose, rather than fear and retreat. He shares the reality of navigating a Stage IV diagnosis not only as a patient but as a parent, a friend, a colleague, and a partner, determined to remain present, honest, and grounded through uncertainty.
Join me to celebrate the launch of my first book!
Save the date:
Tuesday, September 15 @ 7:30 pm
Virtual launch party | Google Meet
Saturday, September 19 @ 3:00 pm
Launch party | Lee & Keri’s Home | New Marlborough, MA
Saturday, September 26 @ 3:00 pm
Reading and ice cream social | New Marlborough Public Library | Mill River, MA
Thursday, October 8 @ 6:30 pm
NYC launch party | Museum of Ice Cream | 558 Broadway | New York, NY
Saturday, October 10 @ 1:00 pm
Book signing/Meet the author | Lakeville Books | Great Barrington, MA
Friday, November 20 @ 5:30 pm
Shabbat speaker & dinner conversation with Senior Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz
Temple B’nai Jeshurun | Short Hills, NJ
“Colon cancer is such a killer because we’re too embarrassed to talk about poop with our doctor. It’s time to bring colon cancer out of the shadows and into the sunlight.”
