Opinion: How farming theory has helped me live beyond my original cancer prognosis

In 2018, I waited until after Christmas to inform my 10- and 12-year-old children that I had metastatic male breast cancer and was expected to die in 32 to 42 months. Because the disease is rare in men, there were no clinical trials available for me. The emotions were overwhelming, but in those dark moments, my oncologist, Saundra Buys of the University of Utah, offered critical insight. She said the field needed to focus on “using the medicines we have in better ways.”

This key piece of advice started me on a new path. I worked with a group of pioneering scientists — Bob Gatenby, Joel Brown, Sandy Anderson, Dawn Lemanne, and Carlo Maley — to adapt my cancer care to incorporate principles that farmers use to stave off pests. Six-and-a-half years later, I’m still alive. The disease has grown in me, just not in the ways you might imagine. 

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