MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — A Midlothian man is making waves against cancer after battling the disease himself last year.
George Sushkoff doesn’t mind the challenge of a 6 a.m. long distance freestyle in the pool.
“It keeps me in shape, gives me something to look forward to, to compete,” explained Sushkoff.
The 59-year-old lifelong swimmer prefers to spend his time in the water.
In fact, you couldn’t keep him out of the pool until his world changed in April of 2023.
“I went in for a routine colonoscopy, just was one of those things where my regular doctor said, you’re due for this,” he noted. “Well, they found something, and a couple days later they told me that it was, in fact, cancerous.”
Doctors immediately put Sushkoff on an aggressive treatment plan for stage two colon cancer, which involved chemo infusions and a port in his chest.
But he was determined to return to his regular swims.
WATCH: His swimming raised money for friends with cancer. Then the doctor called.
His swimming raised money for friends with cancer. Then the doctor called.