Mike Mora, photographer, father of three, and husband of seven years to Kelis, revealed that he’s been battling stage 4 stomach cancer for more than a year.
The news broke from a series of Instagram posts. Tuesday (Sept. 28) marked the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis. The 36-year-old stated a few weeks prior to him being hospitalized in September of 2020, their daughter, Galilee was born. While she was in the NICU, he thought his pain was just an ulcer that had developed from “new labor intensive farm work that [he] was doing in the blistering heat.”
He also experienced loss of appetite and back pain, which resulted in Mora “finally [deciding] to do something about it. It was a bit late, but just in time.” After a series of four exams, doctors realized it was stage 4 stomach cancer. It was spreading to the lymph nodes in his back, but they discharged him the next morning citing, “they could no longer help me there.”
While being transferred to the oncology section of UCLA Santa Monica from nearby Ronald Reagan hospital, a Latin gentleman told Mora, “I’ve seen people make it out of the craziest situations, be strong brotha, you got this.” Mora was also told that “people with [his] disease in this phase didn’t make it past 18 months,” which caused him to be “scared as F¥#%.”
He admitted that he’s opening up about his diagnosis to “be able to help those that might be experiencing something like this—a life altering disease full of questions and doubt—maybe, hopefully. By showing that it’s possible to make it through. You always see people post about how life is too short. How you should reach out to those you love no matter where life has taken you. It is the truth. Don’t take your time here, your time with friends, family, for granted. S**t can be over just like that!”
He closed out his posts with a hopeful tagline and message to his wife—”The story will continue.. Love you @kelis.” On Wednesday (Oct. 6), Mora provided an update, “it has been incredibly overwhelming […] I am so grateful. It’s been emotional. But overall I think it’s making me stronger…”
VIBE sends well wishes to Kelis, Mike, and the entire Mora family.