Sadly, I believe that our healthcare system is somewhat backwards. Rather than focusing on proactive, preventative care, I see it as being primarily reactive. With good reason I know, as our healthcare system is painfully overloaded. However, other than an annual physical, most people only see their doctor when they actually get sick or symptomatic.

But what if our health care system was designed so that all people are required to visit the doctor at least twice per year? During each visit, there would be extensive blood work and extensive diagnostic testing. These tests could be used to discover high probable future illnesses and health challenges. Patients would be provided with a comprehensive plan with suggested lifestyle changes and ongoing counseling/coaching. The goal would be purely to keep us healthy, rather than only going to cure an illness. This is a revolutionary healthcare approach I would love to see happen in my lifetime.

Ten years ago I met the brilliant Dr. Elaine Chin, who follows this system and I would go so far as to say that I am alive today because of her proactive care. Dr. Elaine Chin is the founder and Chief medical officer of the Executive Health Centre in Toronto. After about 5 years of using her services, she was concerned with a couple of my blood markers and sent me for an array of tests.

At 49 years old, I found out that I had prostate cancer. She wanted a specialised doctor to look further into the results and so she sent me to Boston to meet with the head of urology at Massachusetts General Hospital. They also confirmed the diagnosis. While meeting with the Boston doctor, he mentioned how surprised he was that I found the cancer so early. He said many people go years before discovering prostate cancer because there are few visible symptoms until later stages. He couldn’t believe Dr. Chin found it at such an early stage because I also had no symptoms at the time. Thank you Dr. Chin!

Today, five years later, I feel as good as I’ve ever felt and I’m 100% cancer free thanks to Dr. Chin and her proactive health approach.

I am writing about this today because Dr. Chin has just written a book called Lifelines, Unlocking the secrets of your telomeres for a longer, healthier life. Dr. Chin has no idea I’m writing this article but I wanted to thank her for her trailblazing work in our health care system. If you too are interested in a longer and healthier life, I strongly recommend you give it a read. You won’t be disappointed.

To your health,

Rich