Advertisement Army captain dying of cancer fights troop suicides By CHRIS BERGERON, The MetroWest Daily News Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Facing what's likely his last Thanksgiving, Captain Justin Fitch regards the cancer that's reduced his life expectancy to months as "a blessing," our news partners at the MetroWest Daily News reported "I'm on a shortened timeline. Every day is a gift," said the 32-year-old officer stationed at U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick Labs. Diagnosed with Stage Four colon cancer, Fitch has "lost count of (his) surgeries," had more than 50 chemotherapy treatments yet remains determined "to leave this world a better place." "My cancer has given me a different perspective that's turned a horrible thing into a positive thing," he said Thursday. "It's given me a mission and purpose much bigger than myself." A veteran of two tours in Iraq, Fitch is fighting to raise awareness and funds to end military suicides, now calculated at 22 a day or more than 8,000 a year. Despite mounting health problems, he volunteers when able with Carry The Fallen at events in which teams carry heavily loaded knapsacks for several hours to raise money for Active Heroes, a charity developing a military family retreat in Kentucky. While in Iraq and overwhelmed by comrades' deaths, Fitch put a rifle to his head and put pressure on the trigger. The voice of a fallen buddy came to him and told him to "Drive on." "I went and got help," he recalled. "I made the choice to live - to live positively." Since doctors told him in June he had "months" to go, Fitch lives "resiliently and resourcefully," devoting his remaining time and energy to his wife, Samantha, and efforts to reduce veteran suicides. Fitch recalled a recent trip to Wisconsin to visit his dying grandmother. After he told her, despite his diagnosis, every day was a blessing, she gripped his hand and urged him to be thankful "for every minute, every second." "When you're born, the only certainty is you'll die," he said. "Life is about what happens in the middle. How beautiful, how magical life can be." With Thanksgiving just a few days away, Fitch "finds it sad we reserve just one or a few days every year for a trip home to spend time with family and let them and friends know we care about them." "Kiss your wife or husband. Reach out and make connections," he said. "Help change a friend's tire. Give someone a ride. Visit a veteran." Regardless of how much time he has left, Fitch remains determined to do all he can to stop veteran suicides. "I'm just one guy but this mission has connected me to people in inexplicable ways," he said. "As long as my legs are moving and my heart is beating, I'm going to fight for this to my last day."