Steve Tellefsen is making the rounds at Memorial Health Care's chemo unit, visiting people who are fighting cancer as an understanding ear. 

He's not a doctor. He's a volunteer who survived cancer — and so much more. 

When Tellefsen was just 25, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. 

"I woke up with a horrible, horrible headache," he said. He barely had time to recover when he was facing his next medical challenge.

"They found the tumor in my brain," he said. That was followed by a debilitating stroke, seizures and more brain tumors. 

"The MRI person was like, you have a lot of tumors in your brain, so I was like...I can't believe it. I might as well die if that's gonna be my life," he said 

Tellefsen was a college football player and was once invited to the Minnesota Vikings rookie camp.

His life has changed a lot over the past seven years. The stroke he had left him with partial paralysis on one side of his body. 

Tellefsen had a tough fight ahead of him, but even at his darkest moments, he had that spark – the spark of hope. 

"I'm gonna be good, I'm going to be back to where I've always been soon. It may take a little longer than I expected," he said years ago from his hospital bed.

It took five brain surgeries, multiple rounds of cancer treatment and a tandem stem cell transplant; now he is five years cancer-free.  He said his medical team at Memorial Healthcare never gave up. 

"...I knew [Tellefsen] will never stop," said Dr. Atif Hussein, director of oncology and cancer research at Memorial Health Care. 

Tellefsen never stopped, thanks to those around him. 

"I don't think I would be here without my village, and they helped me so much," he said, breaking down in tears. 

Now he's making Miami Proud, paying it forward — doing what he can to help others who are giving it their all. 

"I been through a lot but my heart is still beating. I'm just focusing on the now," he said.