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Good morning, 66.1ers.

The original title of this post was, “What makes a great patient?” but that’s a vague term that’s not helpful. 

Then it was, “What makes a healthy patient?”, but the reality is that not all patients get healthy, no matter how active a role they take in their own care. 

So now we’re at “What makes a successful patient?”. My hunch is I’ll come back to this and update it in a future issue. Here’s a start:

Doesn’t say anything about being perfect or the best/most/#1. Just about setting out to do something and getting it done. 

Kinda like a “successful” career doesn’t mean you’ve got more money than Elon Musk. A school teacher can have a more successful career, with fewer zeros in the bank account. Some patients might be successful when they go from walking 500 steps/day to walking 2,500 steps/day despite having a terminal cancer diagnosis. Others might say totally beating their cancer and achieving “NED” (No Evidence of Disease) status. 

Remember that bit about systematic disempowerment? We’re trying to do the opposite here at 66.1, I suppose you’d call that systematic empowerment. And I think it starts with equipping one patient at a time to play a more active role in their care so they can get to where they want to be (within reason) on their health journey.

So, success as a patient…

How can you make your own decisions, blaze your own trail, if you don’t have enough information to do so? And how do you get that information if you’re not curious? Raises the question, though…how does a person (patient) get/become curious?

I have a friend who's constantly listening to Andrew Huberman. He knows everything about everything when it comes to health hacks, turned me on to non-plastic mouth tape, the cleanest creatine, has read and listened to so much science despite being a finance guy that he's able to carry a dialogue if a doctor suggests a new medication or procedure. Exhausting? Not for him! He's curious, can't get enough. 

The courage to go after the truth, to have respectful yet challenging dialogue in an environment that tends to discourage it. Makes you a partner in your care rather than a recipient of care. Not puppet-puppet master but the #1 expert in you, your body. The 65-year-old patient whose LDL is a little high but everything else is groovy, doctor suggests a statin, patient isn’t sold, asks about alternatives, maybe a calcium score first? Doctor says that’s a reasonable idea, calcium score is zero (no risk), means no need for a stating.

Question, question, question your healthcare provider. A patient came to his first call with me, asked about red light therapy, methylation rates, how those affect cancer growth, can he maybe be referred to integrative oncology too, please? Not sure, no clue, probably, I’ll connect you to someone who knows more and get working on that referral. Ask and you shall receive?

A friend’s doctor once told him she wanted to put him on a statin before leaving her office. Friend asked a few questions, wanted to make sure he wasn’t in dangerous territory, then said thanks but let’s do some more learning first, please? Learning still in progress, in the meantime I can count on 1.5 hands the # of individuals who have shared a similar story and asked for help preparing for their next doctor’s appointment. Ask enough questions to understand if you’re in imminent danger, take a beat, talk it through with your spouse/coach/corner man, and make the decision that’s best for you.

A friend was telling me about another friend who's following the carnivore diet and not drinking any alcohol for all 365 days of 2026. Went to a cabin in the woods with a bunch of friends, lots of margaritas, none for him. Lots of potato chips, none for him. Ribeyes and water. Peer pressure isn’t too compelling when you’re on a mission. 

As always…

None of this is medical advice! Just stories to get you thinking. 

WDYT? 

Anything on the list you’d add/subtract?  
Tired of being a disempowered patient?
You know what to do!

Marcus

PS a reader replied to What’s your hourly rate? with this advice we should probably all be following (thank you!):

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