SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — A top collector’s beloved comic book collection now means more to him than ever before.


What You Need To Know

  • Steven McCrary has amassed an incredible collection of "The Flash" merchandise

  • He has tens of thousands of memoribilia items he keeps in his basement mancave

  • The "hunt" for new pieces help him cope with cancer diagnosis

  • McCrary had a routine colon screening at 50 when the results came back with difficult news

Inside Steven McCrary’s basement, he has created a one-of-a-kind “Flash” superhero-focused man cave.

“There’s some stuff that’s hiding in closets that just, I don’t have room to display,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Flash memorabilia items, from Flash food to Flash fashion, are arranged as if they’re in a museum.

“And I never thought when I first started, like liking the Flash and buying a few pieces of collectible action figures and you know, 7-Eleven Slurpee cups from this 60s, 70s that would grow to things like this,” McCrary.

But the collection continued to grow. The fast high school and college sprinter even made a Flash-themed film with him starring as “The Flash,” where he ran on set.  

Throughout the years, the father-of-three stayed fit and healthy. It’s why at age 50, he decided to do a special screening for his age category.

“I didn’t even think about it. I said, let’s just do the colonoscopy,” McCrary said.

But then that routine test came back with a diagnosis of Stage 4 colon cancer.

“Got diagnosed just over two years ago. It was a shock. I hadn’t, I had no symptoms. I was fine,” he said.

He went through surgery, radiation and aggressive chemo plus check-ins with SSM Health Oncologist Dr. Ryan Porter.

“I don’t think we understand exactly, but we have seen an increase in younger patients, you know, patients younger than, you know, 50, younger than 45 that are being diagnosed with colon cancer,” Porter said.

In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force came out with new recommendations that said average risk people for colorectal cancer should start screening five years sooner at 45.

“So I think, you know, even for patients who are younger and not ignoring symptoms, if there’s changes in people’s bowel habits, if people have bleeding like even though you’re young, it could represent colon cancer,” Porter said.

McCrary continues to fight hard against his cancer. He wears his “Flash” mask and ring to receive his chemo. After his appointments, he heads to Madison’s Westfield Comics.

Co-manager of the shop, Bob Moreau, keeps McCrary well stocked with the latest Flash finds.

“It’s like something you’ve like your whole life and you look forward to it. It’s a distraction,” Moreau said.

Porter said he knows McCrary’s Flash fandom is more than a distraction. That’s why seeing the new Flash movie is a part of McCrary’s medical plan.

“I think you know, patients who have a positive outlook, they seem to have better outcomes and do better and I think, we try to balance the side effects of any treatments to allow them to continue to do those things,” Porter said about why he encourages McCrary to remain focused on what he loves.

“It’s the hunt. I don’t always know everything new that’s coming out,” McCrary said. “Yeah, I feel like I’m winning. I can still work on my collection. And when I get too sick with cancer, and cancer wins and I can’t do that, then, yeah, I’ll be crushed. I’ll be sad.”

For now, McCrary is continuing his brave battle with an optimistic “Flash”-forward future.  

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