After surviving cancer and reaching his five-year remission milestone, Richard Kraus found the courage to pursue a lifelong question: Could he become an artist? His journey through treatment gave him more than just a second chance at life. It opened the door to creativity, self-discovery, and healing through art.
In the fall of 2021, shortly after completing his final cancer treatment, Richard Kraus paused to reflect on the journey he had just completed. He had endured two surgeries, two rounds of chemotherapy, and weeks of radiation. Physically and emotionally, it had been exhausting. But something within him remained steady. His spirit, after all he had been through, was still intact. That realization brought an unexpected question to the surface. If he had the strength and resilience to get through cancer, what else might be possible? What had he been putting off, avoiding, or simply telling himself was not for him?
Richard had always been a writer. He had spent years using words to express thoughts, ideas, and experiences. But there was another question that had lingered in the back of his mind for much of his life: Could he be an artist? He had never seriously pursued painting, telling himself he lacked the training or talent. But now, he began to feel something shift. Maybe he owed it to himself to try.
That moment of questioning met a moment of serendipity. One afternoon, as he read through a newsletter from his employer’s art department, a small advertisement caught his eye. It read, “Discover the artist in you.” The class was taught by Amit Romani, a talented painter based in Mumbai, India, who offered virtual art classes. The message was simple, but it stayed with him.
Taking up painting at 60 was not something Richard had ever imagined. It felt unfamiliar, even intimidating. But that hesitation was part of the old mindset, the one that made him second-guess himself, that kept him from pursuing the things he was curious about. He had just fought for his life. Wasn’t this the perfect time to stop holding back?
He thought back to the first days after his diagnosis. He remembered sitting in Dr. Thakkar’s office, trying to process the treatment plan: two surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. It was a lot to take in, and for days afterward, he kept replaying Dr. Thakkar’s words in his mind. “Mr. Kraus, the prognosis is good.” That phrase became a kind of mantra for him: “The prognosis is good. The prognosis is good. The prognosis is good.” He repeated it silently on the way to appointments, during treatment, through difficult nights, and while sitting in waiting rooms.
Now, another phrase had joined it. “Discover the artist in you.” Somehow, these two ideas began to blend together in his mind—healing and creating, surviving and beginning again.
To someone else, this connection between cancer and creativity might seem unlikely. Richard understood that. He had his doubts, too. But with time and reflection, he could see how they were linked. Surviving cancer had given him a kind of permission to reexamine how he had been living and to make room for things that once felt too uncertain.
He also questioned whether it really had to take cancer to push him into this new chapter. Would he have pursued art if he had not gotten sick? Perhaps. But the habit of second-guessing belonged to the person he used to be. That voice — the one that asked “what if” and said “maybe later” — had lost its power.
Richard decided to give his newfound confidence a job: to push back against the fear of the unknown. To reject the idea that it was too late to start something new. He committed to showing up for the art class, brush in hand, camera on. One stroke at a time, he began to learn.
About a year into his Zoom sessions with Amit, Richard completed a painting he titled Your Sunflower Will Come Out Tomorrow. The bright, optimistic piece was deeply personal, a reflection of his journey and hope. The response was overwhelming. Family members admired it. Friends complimented it. Even strangers were moved by it. Richard donated the painting to the GW Cancer Center, where it hangs in the ground-floor lobby. Every day, patients and clinicians pass by the sunny image, finding encouragement and hope in every brushstroke.
At first, he was unsure how to respond when people asked, “Did you paint this?” Part of him still wanted to deflect or minimize the compliment. But eventually, he began to answer with quiet pride and clarity.
“Yes,” he says. “I painted that.” And then, he often adds something else. “The prognosis is good, should you want to discover the artist in you.”
Five years in remission, Richard Kraus is living proof that surviving cancer can open new doors. Not just to health, but to creativity, to growth, and to parts of ourselves we never thought we would explore. He found his brush. And with it, he continues to paint a life of meaning, resilience, and possibility.
