Famous 87-Year-Old TV Show Judge Does Push-Ups To Prove He’s ‘Back’ and ‘Feeling Good’ After Beating Pancreatic Cancer

When asked by the person filming how his strength was, Caprio is seen saying, “How’s my strength? Let’s find out.”

After completing three push-ups, Caprio insisted “I can give you a lot more” before standing up and happily holding out his fit arms.

At the start of the footage, the judge is seen saying “I feel great,” wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, jeans, and black loafers.

He captioned the post, which sparked praised among dozens of his fans, “I’M BACK… @therealfrankcaprio #strength #recovery #87yearsold #feelinggood #beatingcancer #pushups #caughtinprovidence.”

One of his comments read, “OMG Mr Caprio…this is the best news I’ve had all year.x We love you Judge,” why another fan wrote, “Just a well respected man that understands the whole concept of love, forgiveness and being fair when it concerns people. I pray that God continues to be his guide.”

A third fan commented, “I’m so proud of you Frankie you’re so strong!!”

In another video shared on his Instagram page, featuring an image of Caprio using a workout machine, the former TV show judge offered some words of wisdom for his followers and recounted some advice he was told in his younger years to “keep your feet moving.”

He captioned the post, “DETERMINATION…What does it take to make it?? @therealfrankcaprio #caughtinprovidence #grit #nevergiveup #success #determination.”

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A post shared by Frank Caprio (@therealfrankcaprio)

Caprio explained, “It’s been my observation that there’s three types of people in the world. Those who succeed, those who fail, and those who settle. And if if you ask people what group they want to be in … right about 100% of those people will say they want to be in the group that succeeds. So, why is it that so many people end up settling or failing?

“I think the answer can be found in two important qualities. Grit and determination. It has been said that the difference between a successful person and others, is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will. Just like death and taxes, another guarantee in life is failure. We are all going to fail at one time or another.”

He continued, “But the key is … how do we handle our failures? Do we give up? Or do we display out true grit and push ahead.”

After a video clip of him ringing the bell after completing cancer treatment is shown, Caprio is heard saying, “I had a football coach who always yelled at me, ‘Keep your feet moving, Caprio.’

“It was and still is great advice. It’s tough to tackle someone who keeps their feet moving. Consistency and determination are keys to building momentum.”

Frank Caprio’s Cancer Battle

Caprio, a former traffic judge in Providence, Rhode Island, who is a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, went public with his cancer diagnosis in December 2023.

In a video clip shared on his Instagram, Caprio explained he’s been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, something he dubbed “an insidious form of cancer.”

Despite his diagnosis, the retired judge appeared to be in good spirits during his medical treatment and seven months after learning he had cancer, he “rang the bell” after his last radiation treatment.

He wrote in a commemorative Facebook post showing him ringing the bell, “ON MY WAY.. After my final radiation treatment Baptist Health Cancer Care Baptist Health.

“I rang the bell and am on my way to happy days!”

According to People, Caprio underwent six months of chemotherapy and five treatments of radiation after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November 2023.

Caprio told People in an interview last month, “You can’t give up hope because the treatment is a very trying experience. You have to dig down deep within your courage and make up your mind that you’re going to beat this.

“Fortunately for me, I was able to receive some excellent medical care. I know that it was a bleak prognosis but I never gave up hope,” he said. “And it’s been an uphill battle.”

Living a Healthy Lifestyle

We truly admire Frank Caprio for maintaining his physical fitness after battling cancer. It’s important to understand that the general recommendations for living a healthy lifestyle are the same whether you have cancer or not.

Staying Active After a Cancer Diagnosis

Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, has some guidelines for cancer survivors who are concerned about a recurrence:

1. Exercise at least two hours a weekend walking counts.

2. Eat a low-fat diet. The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study, which looked at early-stage breast cancer patients, found that a low-fat diet was associated with reduced risk for cancer recurrence, particularly in those with estrogen receptor-negative cancers. Other studies have found that foods with a high glycemic index that are digested quickly and cause a spike in blood sugar may lead to tumor growth in lung cancer patients.

3. Eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends aiming for two to three cups of vibrant vegetables and fruits each day.

4. Maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that being obese can increase your risk for several types of cancer.

Similarly, to a balanced and healthy diet, staying fit with regular exercise has a plethora of benefits for cancer warriors and their loved ones alike.

“The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the fewer side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life,” Dr. Sairah Ahmed, told SurvivorNet. Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Far from just physical fitness, Dr. Ahmed also emphasizes the importance of emotional strength both for patients and their loved ones.

“Stress control is often something that is not talked about and is not given much weight, but there is a lot of stress, both in terms of the patient who’s going through cancer, as well as the family who has to support that patient,” she says.

The Role of Diet and Exercise in Cancer Risk

Of course, there are health worries. But there are so many more challenging factors to tackle, too.

“There’s financial stress, there’s emotional stress, and being able to deal with that as well as talk to professionals when you need it, is very important,” she says.

“Staying on cancer treatment is the one thing that will help to cure your disease, and if you are so sad or so overwhelmed that that doesn’t happen, then you’re actually going to compromise your cancer treatment.”

She recommends preparing for stress and seeking professional support if needed as a key piece of preparing for cancer treatment.

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is known as one of the most difficult types of cancers to treat, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that early-stage diagnoses are extremely rare.

Symptoms often don’t present themselves until the disease has spread. Some of the main symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer may include jaundice, weight gain, back pain or diabetes.

This leads to more late-stage diagnoses, and therefore treatment options can be more limited.

Detecting Pancreatic Cancer Early Is Crucial

According to Dr. Anirban Maitra, 80% of diagnoses are caught in later stages since symptoms don’t present themselves until the disease has already spread.

One of the main reasons pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat is because of the stroma, a barrier around cancer cells which prevents medications, such as chemotherapy and radiation, from targeting and killing these cells. If these cells continue to grow, then the disease will continue to progress.

“Think of pancreatic cancer as an oatmeal raisin cookie and the raisins are actually the cancer cells, and the cookie part is actually all the stroma around it,” Dr. Allyson Ocean, a medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.

“And imagine having to navigate through all that stroma for a treatment to be able to get into a cell to kill it. So that’s why the treatments just really aren’t good enough to penetrate the cancer. But we’re improving, we’re getting better treatments.”

Dr. Allyson Ocean explains why pancreatic cancer is so hard to treat

Treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, vaccination, pain management, immunotherapy and dietary changes.

Immunotherapy, in particular, has been making waves in pancreatic cancer treatment, but other types of treatments are being studied all the time via clinical trials, research studies that compare the most effective known treatment for a specific type or stage of a disease with a new approach.

Clinical trials do not guarantee you will be given the most effective treatment, so it’s important to know they are not right for everyone. Before getting involved with one, talk with your doctor(s) and consider the following general risks of enrolling in a clinical trial:

• The risk of harm and/or side effects due to experimental treatments
• Researchers may be unaware of some potential side effects for experimental treatments
• The treatment may not work for you, even if it has worked for others

If you or a loved one has pancreatic cancer and you’re curious about clinical trial options, consider using the SurvivorNet Clinical Trial Finder: an A.I. driven tool for patients to find clinical trial options for treatment.

The tool is updated daily and built on top of clinicaltrials.gov, a database maintained by the U.S. government that compiles privately and publicly funded clinical trials conducted around the world, and gives users access to more than 100,000+ individual clinical trials.

“Clinical trials are critical to the development of new therapies, and as we live through this extraordinary revolution in genomics, immunotherapy and targeted therapy, it’s clear that one of the most pressing needs for patients, clinical trials sponsors, and researchers is simply a better way to find patients,” SurvivorNet CEO Steve Alperin said.

“Even one percent more people successfully enrolled in clinical trials can change the world.”

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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