Chef Ryan Scott’s Cancer Story
You may have seen him compete on Top Chef or on network TV morning shows like The Today Show, but in this special clip, Chef Ryan Scott does more than share a recipe.
He shares his own personal colon cancer story, describing how he was just a kid when he was forced to undergo countless colonoscopies and eventually, go into treatment once he was diagnosed.
Explore below for both his incredible story of juvenile cancer, as well as his wonderful tip for a quick and easy healthy meal: on-the-go green frittata bites, a sneak peek from his upcoming cook book!
Full Video: Chef Ryan Scott
Today I wanted to do a really cool dish called Green Monster Frittatas. The whole basis of this today is to show you how you can sneak in the delicious greenness into something as simple as frittatas.
Chef Ryan Scott
Ryan’s Cancer Story
Background
When The Patient Story founder, Stephanie Chuang, reached out to her friend to see if he’d record a video to help cancer patients and families with a quick and healthy recipe, he did not hesitate.
Chef Ryan Scott, a celebrity chef who’s appeared on shows like Top Chef and a slew of network TV shows like The Today Show, immediately agreed. For him, the decision was driven in part by his own story.
“It’s an honor of mine because cancer runs very deep into my family. My father was diagnosed with colon cancer, also my grandfather, and myself,” said Ryan.
I was completely diagnosed with colon cancer. Given a time frame that we were going to start doing chemotherapy. By age eight or nine, I had six or seven colonoscopies.
It got to a point where my parents were told take him on a trip, take him anywhere he wants, his time is up.
Thankfully, Ryan made it through, thanks to “the will of God and loads of prayer and loads of medication.”
»MORE: Hear from colon cancer patients and survivors
Juvenile Cancer Experience
Having to experience cancer is tough enough as it is. Imagine dealing with it while your peers’ most difficult considerations are what to eat for lunch that day and what games to play during recess.
For Ryan, that was reality as early as elementary school. “The day I really understood at eight years old that there was something wrong was my appetite wasn’t the same as everybody else’s. I could only eat chicken and rice, and the things you’d have to take back in the day for a colonoscopy are not what you have to do today.”
A Plea to Others: Get Checked
By the way, grown men, I’m 41 years old. It needs to be like going to a gas station and filling up your car to get a colonoscopy. We need to not think of it as invading, but helping.
To me, it’s a five-hour nap and I can turn off my phone and nobody bothers me. And I get a little bit of apple juice or 7UP.
So I’d really encourage men and women who think, “It’s encroaching onto my space,” to rethink. I’d much rather it encroached than not be around to have that opportunity.
His hope is that the next generation of 30- and 40-year-olds take screening more seriously, especially when you see signs or if it runs in your family.
I was the first one who had colon cancer, Then it was my dad, then my grandfather. All three of us has lived through it.
It was important to make sure we went in, important that I got checked, it was important to make sure we listened to the doctors, important I stayed on the diet. How I got cured, that’s a story. But I made it through it.
Chef Scott’s Recipe: On-the-Go Green Monster Frittatas
This fast, easy, and healthful recipe shows how you can “sneak in greens” into delicious bites. It’s a sample from Ryan’s upcoming book, The No-Fuss Family Cookbook, out for pre-order and ready to ship May 25, 2021.
Recipe: On-the-Go Green Monster Frittata Bites
- 1 cup shredded russet potatoes (frozen or fresh)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 3 large handfuls finely chopped Swiss chard
- 7 large eggs
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 or 4 large fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Upcoming Book: The No-Fuss Family Cookbook
