Becoming the CEO of Your Own Health
A patient advocate on facing a terminal diagnosis with research and self-advocacy, and why patients rarely tell clinicians what they are really doing.
Dale J. Atkinson
Show notes
Dale spent nearly 20 years in finance before a terminal cancer diagnosis in late 2024, which arrived alongside his partner's illness and his mother's death. Rather than accept the outlook he was given in a three-minute meeting, he brought his background in risk and research to his own care.
He describes reading thousands of research papers, getting genetic sequencing, and assembling a team of clinicians to build an evidence-based protocol alongside his standard treatment. He talks about becoming, in his own words, the CEO of his own health journey.
The conversation is honest about the gaps he found: patients who look up alternatives but never tell their clinician, the fear of being told no, and why people need to feel safe to speak openly. Jared and Dale reflect on where technology helps and where the human relationship still matters most.
Key takeaways
- Dale pushed for a prognosis the NHS no longer gives by default, wanting the full picture so he could make his own decisions.
- He approached his care like a complex project, coordinating clinicians worldwide and acting as the connective tissue between them.
- Genetic sequencing let him and his team focus on the specific pathways of his cancer rather than guess.
- He notes that most patients research alternatives yet very few tell a healthcare professional, often for fear of being dismissed.
- Patients feel safest, he argues, when a clinician invites that conversation rather than simply saying no.
- Both agree on keeping a human in the loop: technology should support the clinical relationship, not replace the thought and care behind it.
“Nobody is going to look after my health in the same way that I am. This is my ship to steer.”— Dale J. Atkinson