David was facing a 13% chance of living past 5 years

When I opened Huemn, I pictured people like me. Busy, a little beat up, trying to stretch out the good years. I never pictured how many people would walk through our doors in the hardest season of their lives.

Without ever planning it, Huemn has become a place people come while they're going through cancer treatment, and after it. I want to tell you about two of them.

David

About a year ago, David was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer. His odds of living past five years were about 13%.

While he went through chemo and radiation, he started researching anything that might help his recovery, and he found us five minutes from his house in the Heights.

He sat down with Michael, our nurse practitioner, who you heard from last week. David says that conversation really opened his eyes. From there, alongside his treatment, David came in for hyperbaric oxygen and high-dose vitamin C.

He just finished his treatment. His oncology team led the way. When he talks about his time at Huemn, he says the best part was the care, and the way everyone here rallied around him.

Last month, ten months after his diagnosis, David got news he's still taking in. He sat down with Jay on our team and told the whole story himself. You should hear it from him.

▶ Watch David's story (1:33)

Martin

Martin was another. He's a good friend of mine. He became part of the Huemn family after doctors found cancer in his brain.

Every day after radiation, he came in. We'd put him in the light helmet, and depending on how he felt, he'd do cryo or PEMF or just take some time to recover. Whatever he was carrying that day, our team helped him carry it.

His oncology team treated the cancer. What we gave him was somewhere to go after the hardest part of his day, and a team in his corner.

I heard from him this week. He's doing very, very well, and his body has responded well to the radiation.

But Martin tells his story better than I ever could. Give him 36 seconds.

▶ Watch Martin's story (0:36)

Here's what stopped me. David and Martin said the same thing in different words. For David, the best part was the care. Martin calls our staff family. We built this place around tools: hyperbaric, cryo, red light, IVs. For the people going through cancer, what has mattered most is the people.

Where we fit

Our job is simple: help your body feel as good as it can along the way, and make sure you never go through it alone.

There's more than one way to get care here. Most of what we do, like light therapy, cryotherapy, PEMF and high-dose vitamin C, is cash pay, and some of it can be covered by insurance. We'll help you find the route that works for you.

More and more people in treatment are asking us about high-dose vitamin C. If that's you, decide it with your provider and your oncologist, because what's safe during chemo or radiation depends on your treatment. We'll help you have that conversation.

Two things we do can be covered by insurance for people in treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen is one. Alongside standard care, it's an established treatment for certain injuries radiation can leave behind, like tissue or bone that won't heal after radiation to the head, neck or pelvis. Medicare covers it for those conditions.

Our provider-supervised IV nutrient program is the other. If ongoing fatigue is wearing you down during treatment, it may be covered by your insurance. An evaluation with our nurse practitioner decides if it's right for you, and we'll want your oncology team in the loop.

For both, we'll check your benefits first. Coverage depends on your plan.

Why this matters to us

Last week you heard from Michael Blanco, MSN, APRN, who started his career as an oncology nurse. He watched people go home from treatment with no plan for rebuilding what it took out of them.

Without meaning to, we've become part of that plan for a lot of people. I'm proud of that. I just never saw it coming.

And if someone came to mind while you were reading this, forward it to them. Sometimes the most helpful thing is knowing there's a place to go.

Better humanity begins with better health.

Bill Hanks Founder · Huemn