Joy in giving: Mike Gibson's rare neuroendocrine cancer isn't slowing him down

If there’s any doubt that cancer is indiscriminate, take a look at Santa Maria community volunteer, advocate and philanthropist Mike Gibson.

For more than 30 years, he’s lived a life of service to his family and community with joy and enthusiasm, for no other reason than the pure enjoyment of service above self, giving for giving’s sake.

But no amount of positivity and giving staved off a rare neuroendocrine cancer discovered during a routine colonoscopy in the fall of 2024.

“How I got it, nobody knows. Dr. (April) Kennedy said it’s extraordinarily rare. I read somewhere there’s less than 20,000 cases a year of this kind of cancer in the U.S. out of 350 million. That’s a pretty small percentage,” Gibson said.

Perhaps a rare disease needs a rare host.

Fore more than 35 years, Gibson ha