Dedicated to All Cancer Patients
And Their Loving Supporters
July of 2018 I was diagnosed with aggressive, metastatic, Stage IV Prostate Cancer.
I was told I had two years to live.
Over the course of several years, people have called my return to health a miracle. I call it owning cancer.
The truth is, you don't know how you'll react to a terminal prognosis until a doctor looks you in the eyes and says, "You have two years to live." Following the initial shock, and given the short time frame, I felt the question I faced couldn't be "Why me?." It had to be, "How me?."
I believe I’m still here because I chose to look at the prognosis as a challenge. And though I don’t know how long I’ll be here, neither does anyone else. What I do know is this: Love, traditional medicine, a renewed lifestyle which includes stress reduction, daily meditation and extensive, thoughtful changes in diet, have made it possible for me to regain my health and remain here.
Unexpectedly, a terminal prognosis came with a bonus: A calm mental focus that brings poignancy and gratitude to everyday moments; from the magnificent to the most mundane and everything in between.
While my latest scans -- October 2025 -- have come back negative, doctors continue to warn me it's likely I still have extremely unpredictable, aggressive, microscopic, metastatic cancer cells living deep in my bones. I've come to think of those cells as a hibernating grizzly that I dare not wake. And so I continue to manage my cancer on a daily basis. In the mean time, my hope is to alleviate other peoples' fears and maybe help them find solutions so they too may possibly own their cancer and perhaps extend their lives.
While all cancers are different, I’ll share with you here what I’ve learned, with an emphasis on prostate cancer.
- Dennis Maneri
The use of a Star Field here on my Home Page is inspired by the poet, David Whyte, who closes a poem with the words, "seeing at last the star you did not know you were following." He says the ancient metaphor of following a star is so true because when you're following a star, it disappears for half the day, missing in the daylight hours when you're overwhelmed by the priorities of the day, yet reappearing in the vulnerabilities of the night. I didn't know I would follow this star until someone told me I have cancer.
For many people, a diagnosis of cancer -- especially a terminal one -- means a decision that has to be both quick and binary: Traditional medicine or an alternative approach.
That's no longer the case.
For myself and thousands of other cancer patients, an integrative approach, combining traditional approaches like chemo and radiation with personal changes to affect body chemistry, is providing new, inspiring results.
Here you can learn how I made my body as inhospitable as possible to prostate cancer through standard medication and my Big Three: Diet, Meditation and a Low-Stress Lifestyle.
Dennis Maneri
In July of 2018, my Urologist brought me into his office and told me I had 2 years to live. Just like that. He added, "I've seen guys in your situation. Two years, maybe a little more, but I'm not optimistic."
Not optimistic? Wow! I had been one of the healthiest guys my age you could meet -- 66 at the time -- winner & record holder of NC State Senior Swimming competition; still self-employed and very active.
What happened? Prostate Cancer happened, that's what. After a couple of tough days I knew I wasn't going to fold my tent. Instead of living in fear of cancer, I was going to own my cancer.
To read more of my story and get an overview of my successful approach...
Rather than blogging here, I'll be posting on Substack. Just go to substack.com and search my name or my handle, Dead Man Chatting
If you're not in the know (like I wasn't in the know)
Substack is an online platform -- meaning you can find it on your web browser -- that allows creators/writers (like me) to reach an audience (like you) who want to follow specific creators (like journalists, economists, political commentators, artists and just plain old-fashioned famous people) without subscribing to the many outlets where their favorite creators are normally reached.
Substack is a place where you can curate your interests.
Though I will always offer posts for FREE, I may -- depending on demand -- in the future, offer extra posts to subscribers for a monthly fee of $5.00.
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