Written by Mr. Michael Andrade, Partner at Mitigate Partners, LLC

“Ms. Walker, it appears the cancer has metastasized in your pancreas and liver.”

Words that forever changed our lives. You’re overcome with emotion, disbelief, and uncertainty. Is this curable? How long do I have? You don’t know what to do, don’t know where to turn, and don’t even comprehend your reality until many, many months later.

Through her journey, Tracy had some unpleasant experiences, and along her journey, something changed. She changed. Tracy became empowered by respectfully telling her doctor NO. She became the CEO of her health. Her role was to find the best team of doctors possible and be her advisors on her journey. Through research, she was able to find five of the foremost authorities on her cancer in the US. We talked with three. Each of these three was consistent in the treatment, but each doctor had a different interpretation of where she is with the progression of her disease. The most important lesson we learned was that Tracy had to advocate for herself.

We found that telling a doctor “no”, “no thank you”, “what else do you have?”
empowered these experts to be even more resourceful.

We believe her life has been extended because of finding the right doctors. If we had listened to her first and second doctors, her health might have been worse. If she hadn’t changed her approach and coached her doctors to be her advisors, she may not be with us today.

As traumatic as the diagnosis is, Tracy and I are both grateful for the impact we’ve been able to create. Her diagnosis absolutely transformed both of us personally and professionally. She empowers others and has started her own movement #wedefytheodds.

As a benefits advisor, I had to change everything I knew about purchasing healthcare and have become part of a transformational ecosystem of support. I now positively impact lives by helping people avoid many of the mistakes made early on. Helping patients find expert physicians using quality first saves lives, eliminates unnecessary suffering, and saves a lot of money.

If you’re a physician reading this, consider how you’re referring your patients now. My experience with physicians is that they refer the same way everyone else does, to people they know and like. If this is you, please consider whether or not you have enough quality information to truly know if you are sending to the best doctor for this person or just the best doctor you know. Your trust and guidance save lives and eliminate suffering, and are the foundation for solving healthcare.☤