Roy Community Rallies For High School Teacher With Cancer
Dec 7, 2020, 8:02 PM | Updated: 8:23 pm
ROY, Utah – When Chris Maag, a world history teacher at Roy High School, was diagnosed with cancer last month, students, faculty and parents organized immediately to help. Hundreds of donations have poured in since.
Maag broke the news to his students with a video message. “Oh, hey there guys. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a school video,” he said with a smile. “2020 continues to throw wrinkles into our family’s experiences.”
He was intentionally vague with the details of his cancer. “I can’t tell you, because this is going on the school site. So, it’s the same one (cancer) Lance Armstrong had. Yeah, you can do that google search on your own, just don’t use your school account for that action.”
The good news for him and his family – the cancer was operable. His first surgery happened around the same time he made the announcement.
“They had him do a full-body CT scan and after that, they found more cancer in his lymph nodes,” his wife Angie Maag said.
Chris Maag returned to Huntsman Cancer institute Monday for a second surgery on his teratoma, a rare cancer tumor.
With any luck, that could be the end of this. It has not stopped the outpouring of support. It’s easy to see, Maag is loved at Roy High School.
“Most families, I think, would invite him to Thanksgiving dinner. He is amazing. He loves his students as much as he loves his three kids,” Angie Maag said.
T-shirts, designed by art teacher Mindi Silva, are being sold in his honor, pretty much saying what they think of him.
“He is pretty magnificent, hence the ‘Maag-nificent’ on the shirt,” she said.
And then there are the dozens of messages his family has received.
“The support that we’ve seen from the Royals is really amazing,” Maag said.
She added, knowing that so many people are there for them is worth much more than any dollar amount or donation.
“Roy High is behind Chris Maag 100%, and we couldn’t be more grateful,” she said, holding back tears.
Organizers are also taking donations online.*
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
