These blogs are getting some traction and people with genuine issues or similar circumstances have been in touch and said they’re benefiting from the content. I have so much more to tell about my journey and I will be doing that soon in future posts.
However, I thought it was important to tell you how I learnt this and why it isn’t more mainstream.
If you read the first blog about diagnosis I talk about a fork in the road — a decision to listen and follow the medical path only, or take the medical path and also look at other paths as well. Not everyone is built this way. In fact, most people aren’t — and that’s completely fair. But I have never been good at being told what to do and my wife often reminds me I have always lived by my own compass.
A friend described it well: I’m often “prepared to walk straight into the fire” and see what’s on the other side. That mindset can be reckless, but it can also be useful.
I had an illustrious career in the RAF that saw me have a couple of unexpected postings — launching a satellite in space in the US, making tea for the RAF Falcons, playing a lot of rugby and bobsleighing. Basically living my best life.
This culminated in my absolute favourite quote, at my dining out night at the end of my 6-year commission from RAF Locking, when my then boss started the speech with:
“The thing about Watkins is we don’t really need him in the Air Force until there is a war on.”
He could have sat down at that point and taken the applause.
So I took option 2
Don’t get me wrong — I’m lucky to be on private medical and have the best haematologist in the country. I also have an incredible oncology team at UCL Macmillan Cancer who are a delight. I’m not rejecting conventional treatment — I’m adding to it.
I found out I was one of the lucky ones in that my cancer is treatable and often manageable long-term. I found myself wondering: how long could it be?
This is the 1% protocol
By the “1% protocol” I mean the small, controllable daily choices — sleep, movement, metabolic strategy, stress, environment, recovery — that sit alongside treatment and might collectively shift the odds.
We are blessed today with technology beyond the understanding of many people. I took a paid subscription with ChatGPT. I watched a MasterClass on building GPTs. I then uploaded all my haematology letters, blood results, and a timeline of symptoms and treatment. My journey started with suspected colon cancer so there were gastroenterologist letters, then oncology letters, and many other threads.
Then, as part of my protocol was light exercise, I did the daily dog walk — and on that walk I’d enabled voice mode and we talked. For hours. This became my digital twin (DT): my pocket counsellor, my pocket medical team, and has grown into nutritionist, naturopath, and many more roles — including lecturer.
My parents came to stay, obviously concerned — a Stage 4 diagnosis never sounds good. So I sat them down and introduced them to Darren 2.0. I told my DT who they were and said: explain my diagnosis, prognosis, and likely outcomes to people in their role as concerned parents.
It talked for five minutes. Took questions. Both my parents breathed a physical sigh of relief. That was the light bulb moment.
I spent the next six weeks working with it to build a parallel complementary schedule with a primary objective: extend remission if not indefinitely, and reduce short- and long-term chemo side effects.
I spent so much time with it that by end of 2025 — like Spotify does your annual stats — it said I was in the top 3% of users on ChatGPT.
The protocol — a menu, not instructions
Important: Some of what follows can be unsafe for certain people or treatments. Please treat this as a menu of ideas, not instructions. Always discuss with your medical team.
- 65-hour water-only fasting — starting 45 hours before each chemo IV and ending 20 hours later.
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber — rented for £400/month. Research interest in oxygenation and tumour biology shows positive signs.
- Important supplements with multiple functions — a long list of what, when, and why. Try Turkey Tail mushroom powder once in your life.
- Heavy resistance training at certain times in the 21-day chemo cycle.
- Daily ice bath — even now at -2 outside. The effects are immediate and lasting.
- Breathwork — sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. In short: we have forgotten how to breathe.
- Lymphatic drainage exercise — something Asian cultures never forgot, seen in Tai Chi and Qigong.
- Gut microbiome — probiotics, prebiotics, fibre, fermented foods, diet, and my new hobby of fermenting my own foods.
How I used AI — and how to use it yourself
If you know about AI, you know it is not a database but a constant “hallucination” — and it makes mistakes. But the more it is trained, the better the answers become. It’s important to know how to interact with it so you get what you want.
Reverse roles. Say to AI: “You were diagnosed with XYZ cancer last week and have been considering your options. What would you do to give yourself the best outcome?”
Ask it to ask you questions. This can bring up things you were subconsciously avoiding — and that can be surprisingly helpful.
The conversation that shocked me
In my early meetings with my medical team, I suggested some of the above and was met with complete — almost — bewilderment.
“Why would you fast? We want you to eat and remain nourished to take the chemo.”
Now they aren’t wrong — much of prescribed medicine is a one-size-fits-all approach. But I was shocked by the lack of interest in anything outside the prescription.
I understand their perspective: they see how harsh chemo can be and they just want you to get through it and let the medicine do the rest. But that doesn’t work for me. If I can reduce side effects, protect healthy cells where possible, and improve recovery — I’m going to try. Carefully.
I am not medically trained in any way. I’m simply documenting the thinking, the learning, and the choices. I’ve always been a curious person who likes taking things apart to see how they work — even from a young age. Sorry about that family TV, mum and dad.