Welcome to All things TUBAC

Rick’s brilliant idea of online support has been recognized and utilized  all over the world to the benefit of many people since 2016.  Also, AnCan.org was recently recognized  as a '2024 Great non profit of the Year". Well deserved Rick !

Here is Rick Davis' story, told with his delightful English flair, on how he developed  AnCan.org into a  successful non profit..

- the Editor

In what town were you raised, and from that environment, what became your strongest influences or memories.

I was raised some 12 miles northwest of Central London in Southwest Hertfordshire.  Spent a lot of time in London, and also by the sea in N. Wales where my mother’s family lived - most school holidays. Also a short time in Birmingham, and Manchester as a kid and then at university.

All these places helped me become very independent. I never relied on parents for transportation. As early as 11 years old I was allowed to take the bus and tube alone to watch my favorite professional soccer team, Arsenal FC, standing in the Schoolboys Section.

What directed or inspired you to come to the US ?

Grad School! I had job offers in London and overseas to trade currency, based on an earlier internship. One day a professor walked into class and told us about scholarship opportunities at University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business (Booth today). I had always been totally enamoured by the USA so this appealed. I didn’t get a scholarship but was accepted and found an interest free loan allowing me to attend without any financial support from my family.

And once Stateside, I remained! I’ve been a Citizen since 1986.

What education vocation did you pursue, and why did it appeal to you?

I studied ‘business’ undergraduate and postgraduate, but my true love was economics and economic history, both of which I took at “high school”. A great combo of logic and creativity explaining everyday life, then see it in practice studying the history. 

My MBA had 17 of 20 courses in economics and finance. I was taught by 4 economics Nobel Prize winners; 3 of them made up an original research Honors Committee - and none of them had received the award at the time. When the last got his award in 2013, I was tempted to ask him for 10%!

What brought you to Tubac ?

I returned to Tubac in Summer 2017.

I had lived in Tucson from 1983-87 where I worked for the Gents who owned the Phoenix Suns - although I ran their other business interests. As many readers recognize, once you’re here a year or two, this part of the world permeates your soul. I’ve thought about it a lot, and suspect it has to do with the entrancing sunlight and the colors generated throughout the daylight hours. Once I left, I yearned to return ‘home’.

After leaving in 1987, I moved around a lot - back to Manhattan, Romania for 5 years, then 15+ years in Marin, N. California until I became an economic refugee. While there, I had a serious bike accident that stopped me running. I had been a competitive distance runner, 9 marathons, trophies… the works. I started rowing and fell in love with it. Moving to Tubac allows me access to two lakes within 40 minutes. You may have seen me driving with a 25’ long, 11” wide boat on my roof. 

Your experience with cancer must have affected you, can you go into some of what you experienced and how it changed you?

It was a blessing!  The treatment was tough rather than painful, although I felt my prior life experience prepared me well to handle 3 years of treatment. I was a sub-3 hr. marathoner after all. Lots of fatigue, loss of endurance, cognition deficit, muscle weakness all came with the hormone deprivation. 

I’m not so sure it changed me. Back in 1995, I’d made a decision to leave the commercial world to become a social entrepreneur. I’d already started a food bank and done a lot of advocacy to combat antisemitism on the progressive left. My Stage 3 cancer was a perfect segue into a new and incredibly rewarding project to create social profit.

What was your main motivation to create AnCan Foundation?

When first diagnosed I received invaluable support from a physical support group. Prostate cancer poses a somewhat unique problem in that you’re usually faced with treatment choices. Good doctors should present the options but YOU alone have to make the choice. That frustrates a lot of men. To make the right decision you must advocate for yourself - as we say at AnCan Foundation, “You are your own best advocate!”

Peer advice is invaluable - the best advice you can get. I recognized that for any condition or situation, physical support groups may not be easily accessible. Geographical, physical and social disabilities impair access. If you want to attend a cancer or MS group from Tubac, are you ready to drive 50 miles each way to Tucson at night? 

Virtual support groups seemed a viable solution and in 2010 there were none. I developed a telephone conference based, peer led prostate cancer group that grew and divided. We started using video chat technology in 2015, long before covid. In 2016 we became an official nonprofit (501c3); and in 2021 we shifted our incorporation to Arizona and changed our name to reflect that we not only supported cancers, but other conditions and situations. 

Today we run around 35 free and drop-in events monthly for various chronic diseases, plus advanced cancer care partners, condition agnostic mental health discussion groups, art and writing sessions, and a Veterans group to help navigate healthcare and benefits. We have participants from across the globe.

What feedback have you gotten from people who have been helped by Ancan ?

99% positive - as we all know, you can please all the people some of the time, some of the people …. etc etc.

We just repeated a survey first done in 2021, on the value of peer led support groups. Those results were presented at various medical conferences. The 2024 responses are not yet analysed. 

In 2021 we learnt that 83% of participants found the information gathered useful, and as many as 80% took it back to their health care providers. 30% improved diet; 40% increased exercise; and 50% reduced stress. Over half said the groups improved their Quality of Life. 

And my personal favorite -  43% reached out to other participants outside the group, and 30% developed friendships.

Is there anything you want us to know on how AnCan is used and how one can benefit from it ?

AnCan is a family! We are here to support you and make you your own best advocate when it comes to your &/or your loved ones’ healthcare. We also believe AnCan best practices create the best experience for a support group. 

All our programming is free and drop-in; our founding premise is to have the lowest barriers to participation so still today you can join any group by phone - although it may be a bit tough for the art class!

We do record some groups to make them more accessible (check our YouTube Channel) with over 30,000 views annually. We welcome everyone, even if you prefer to remain anonymous. AnCan is on most social media - Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, YouTube etc), so please follow us.

If we don’t have a group for you, if you can spread the word to your community and identify just 3 peer moderators, AnCan’s in. We’ll back you to set up your own group.

Talk to us (info@ancan.org) … onward & upwards!!