Kevin "Racks" Gene Roster Jr. (March 9, 1983 – July 26, 2019) was an American with

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...

sarcoma A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcom ...

who moved to California to avail himself of the state's right-to-die legislation. He was an advocate for the legalization of medical aid in dying. He played in the

2019 World Series of Poker The 2019 World Series of Poker was the 50th annual tournament, and took place from May 28 – July 16, 2019 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There were 90 bracelet events. To celebrate the 50th WSOP there was a $50,000 ...

in the summer of 2019, and used the event as a platform to raise awareness about sarcoma and to encourage people to push for early detection and diagnosis.

Life

Roster was born in

College Point, Queens College Point is a working-middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Whitestone Expressway and Flushing; to the east by 138th Street and Malba/ Whitestone; to the north by the East River; and ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on March 9, 1983, to Debra Roster and Kevin Gene Roster, Sr. He built a successful family business specializing in collectible items. He was diagnosed with sarcoma in 2017. After he found a lump in his leg, his physician ordered an MRI, and initially told him that his tumor was benign. Consequently, his diagnosis was delayed about four months, during which time he progressed from early stage 2 to late stage 3. He received eight rounds of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

, 44

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

treatments, and three surgeries, including the amputation of his left leg. After his diagnosis, his wife took over the collectibles business, and Kevin dedicated the rest of his life to raising public awareness of sarcoma and early detection through his blog,

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videos, and playing poker. He played in the 2019 World Series of Poker. Roster died via medical aid in dying in

Rancho Cordova, California Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States which was incorporated in 2003. It is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 64,776 at the 2010 census. In 2010 and 2019, Rancho Cordova was named ...

on July 26, 2019. Roster chronicled the process and appeared at several charity events before formally announcing his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roster, Kevin 1983 births 2019 deaths People from Flushing, Queens American poker players Sportspeople from Queens, New York Activists from New York City Euthanasia activists American amputees