Rizal Gilmore promised his wife that he would continue the fight against cancer that took her life two years ago.
The story he tells makes you want to cry.
Rizal and Latoshia A. Gilmore were high-school sweethearts in Newark. Five years into their marriage, she felt a lump in her breast, but thought nothing of it.
It, however, turned out to be something. At 30 years old, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer and it was aggressive. Doctors gave her two years. That gut punch in 2007 made them double over, but not for long.
"I said, no,'' says Gilmore, 41, of Newark. She did, too.
They fought the disease for six years until it spread to her brain in 2013. She died June 14th of that year.
Gilmore remains defiant, but he's incredibly upbeat in his quest to prick your conscious about cancer. So this is where you dry your tears, because he makes you want to join his crusade to find a cure.
"Even though she's tired and resting, I promised her I would finish the fight for her,'' Gilmore says.
Latoshia A. Gilmore died from cancer two years ago, but her husband, Rizal, continues the fight against the disease. Gilmore walks people who have cancer through the process. He encourages them, tells them what to expect. They could be strangers or friends, or patients at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, where his wife underwent treatment. His dad, Blakely Gilmore, had been there, too, before he died of prostate cancer in 2011.
Ashley Alequin, a receptionist in the hospital's cancer center, remembers Gilmore's visits to cheer up patients, calling him an inspiration.
"They always smiled when he talked to them,'' Alequin says. "He made them feel happy."
On one visit, he befriended Ron Alston, an Irvington community activist who has prostate cancer. The two hit it off and they learned, weeks later, at a funeral why they meshed. They're cousins.
"We've been together ever since,'' Alston says.
After Latoshia died, Gilmore regularly continued to visit patients at the hospital. He sees them now when he can, praising the staff for their care. In fact, he was just there recently to drop off fliers for a cancer awareness program that he's sponsoring Friday at Newark Symphony Hall.
He's doing it through the G.A.L. Foundation, which he started in 2013 in memory of his wife. The initials are her name in reverse - Gilmore Ann Latoshia - because that's the way it appeared on medical charts.
The Symphony Hall event - a dinner and entertainment - is the foundation's first fundraiser. Gilmore says funds that are raised will be used to assist families of cancer patients with their everyday expenses.
This is how Gilmore copes. A father of two daughters - Madison, 11, and Denisha, 20 - Gilmore stays busy with the foundation when he's not earning a living selling used motorcycle parts.
The foundation work helps him get through the times when he's emotional, something that happened this past Saturday as he was speaking at a cancer awareness luncheon in Newark.
"Take your time, baby,'' said one of the ladies.
He picked up a picture of a crucifix with the word "faith'' written underneath it. This sustains him, he says, and everyone needs it to win against cancer.
On Sunday, he drew strength from people he met during a cancer walk in Newark's Ironbound section. But they latched on to his energy when he told his story at East Side High School at an event following the walk.
"There are not many people who take the time to give back to those who are in the fight,'' says Elizabeth Lespier, a Newark resident diagnosed last year with breast cancer who attended Sunday's event.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the fight is year-round for Gilmore. "A lot of people are still in the dark, until it happens to them or their family,'' he says.
Gilmore doesn't want anyone to be alone dealing with the disease. That's why he's is a magnet of positive thinking, a sounding board for people to share their stories.
Rhonda Jackson, of Linden, met Gilmore last year through a friend who thought they should connect to talk about her ordeal.
She had her family, but Jackson, who is now cancer-free, says she wished she would have known Gilmore when she was diagnosed in 2009.
"He gives a lot of encouragement for you to move on,'' Jackson says. "When you talk to him you're uplifted.''
Gilmore doesn't turn down invitations to speak or collaborate with others to spread the word. There is a Maryland chapter of his foundation, which is headed by Kim Wilson, a cancer survivor and his good friend.
"I've always known him to be a go-getter,'' Wilson says. "If he has his mind set to do something, he's going to do it.''
He did what he could for Latoshia. He studied foods with antioxidants. He took pictures of her before the disease wore her down, so she would be reminded of her beauty.
On good days, they'd go on motorcycle rides."Survive to ride" is written on one side of her pink bike and "ride to survive'' is on the other side.
She did her part. Gilmore wants you to do yours. He wants you to fight and live.
Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL