Rarity Life Magazine Featuring Rick Davis
Rarity Life Magazine Feature: Rick Davis
AnCan’s ambitious CEO and Founder, Rick Davis, recently sat down with Rarity Life, the magazine published by Same But Different Creative, to share the deeply personal journey that led to the creation of AnCan.
In the interview, Rick reflects on his early days navigating a prostate cancer diagnosis — a moment that reshaped his life & his understanding of what true support should look like. Like so many survivors and thrivers, he quickly discovered that information alone isn’t enough. What people often need most is connection — the chance to speak openly with others who truly understand the lived experience of cancer.
That realization became the foundation of AnCan.
Rick shares how traditional support models don’t always meet people where they are. Geographic limitations, physical health challenges, financial strain, rare diagnoses, and even the emotional weight of walking into an in-person group can all create barriers. For many, simply showing up can feel overwhelming.
AnCan was built to remove as many of those barriers as possible.
Rick’s full interview in Rarity Life offers an inspiring look at leadership shaped by lived experience, and a reminder that meaningful change often begins with one person asking: How can we do this better?
Read more stories & Rick’s article here:
https://www.samebutdifferentcic.org.uk/raritylife
AnCan GU ASCO26 survivorship poster: participants strongly endorse our Groups
AnCan GU ASCO26 survivorship poster: participants strongly endorse our Groups
For release on Monday, Feb 23, 2026
AnCan Foundation strongly believes we run the best support groups available!! We can now release the first results of our 2024 AnCan Participant Survey that confirms that our participants think so too. This first batch of results is taken from almost 300 prostate cancer responses at all levels of disease.
- 99% of respondents would recommend AnCan Groups
- 66% improved Quality of Life – 83% noted reduced stress; 62% improved nutrition; 56% increased exercise
- 88% advocated better for themselves and AnCan influenced over half (54%) the treatment paths
- 47% made new friendships – AnCan’s personal favorite since this extends support well beyond our Groups
If you’re attending GU ASCO26 , please stop by our poster on Friday, Feb 27 to meet Dr. John Antonucci, discuss these astonishing results and the AnCan method, and pick up a flyer of the poster.
CONTACT
- Dr. John Antonucci dr.john@ancan.org 262 264 8011
- Rick Davis rd@ancan.org 415 505 0924 (Press)
ABSTRACT
Evaluating the impact of virtual peer-led support groups on prostate cancer survivorship: the AnCan experience.
John Antonucci*, Boykin B. Jordan, Anita Oppong, Richard Davis
- Abstract Number: 265
- Poster Board Number: A23
- Session Title: Poster Session B: Prostate Cancer and Urothelial Carcinoma
- Date and Time: February 27, 2026, 11:30 AM-12:45 PM; 4:45 PM-5:45 PM (PST)
Background: Comprehensive prostate cancer (PCa) survivorship requires more than just clinical care, including education, psychosocial support, self-advocacy, and lifestyle guidance—needs often unmet by traditional oncology visits. Virtual peer-led support groups, such as those offered by the AnCan Foundation, offer accessible, real-time platforms for patients to share experiences, receive guidance, and foster community, regardless of geography. This study evaluates the impact of AnCan participation on factors known to be associated with a better quality of life (QOL) among PCa survivors.
Methods: A web-based survey was administered in 2024 to PCa survivors who attended or expressed interest in AnCan meetings. Respondents (N=294) provided demographic information and rated AnCan’s impact on QOL, peer support, self-advocacy, and satisfaction. Data were analyzed to assess the subjective influence of AnCan’s virtual support model on survivorship.
Results: (2021 results are in brackets for comparison.) Most respondents were in their 60s–70s (75%), highly educated (82%), and 55% had incomes over $100,000. Eighty-three percent had someone in their lives they could rely on and with whom they maintained regular contact.
Nearly all (97%) found AnCan meetings helpful for disease understanding, learning options, and well-being. Sixty-six percent reported improved QOL; 83% [50%] noted reduced stress; 62% [38%] improved nutrition; and 56% [58%] increased exercise. Satisfaction was high, with 99% recommending AnCan.
AnCan involvement enhanced self-advocacy (88%), improved patient-provider communication, and improved decision-making. Seventy percent brought information from AnCan to their providers, 49% added new providers, and 40% changed their lead provider. Over half (54%) reported that AnCan influenced their treatment path.
Socially, 55% [43%] connected with peers outside meetings, and 47% made new friendships.
Conclusions: Survey responses indicate that the AnCan virtual peer-led model, to be described in the poster, meaningfully increases patient knowledge, empowers self-advocacy, reduces stress, and fosters healthy behaviors, improving quality of life for PCa survivors. We advocate for integrating such peer support into NCCN, AUA, and ASCO survivorship guidelines.
POSTER
Telehealth gets extended through 2027!
Telehealth gets extended through 2027!
As some of you may know, the liberal telehealth rules to conduct medical appointments remotely that were enabled during Covid, sunsetted late last year. AnCan was upset and vocal that many of our patient advocacy organizations active on The Hill did not campaign more widely to extend it. Organizations like ZERO (prostate cancer) have significant and expensive government relations groups precisely to address such issues on behalf of us patients. AnCan had to bring it to ZERO’s attention to move the ball at a time when ZERO’s high paid CEO was self-admittedly sleeping on the switch.
Telehealth was temporarily extended for those living in rural areas. Then one of our newly minted prostate cancer Moderators, David Sharpe, brought it to AnCan’s attention that legislation was passed on Feb 3, 2026 that has extended comprehensive telehealth through the end of 2027. We asked David to blog its welcome return to wider availability and tell his story around telehealth – thank you Mr. Sharpe!
Medicare Telehealth Coverage Is Extended
The federal government has restored Medicare coverage for telehealth until the end of 2027. That means you can now possibly consult with your doctors online rather than having to meet with them in-person.
Why did I say possibly? Because state medical licensing laws still apply. Often, they can undermine your doctor’s ability to join you on the call. Here’s why: (Don’t construe the following comments as legal or medical advice. This is general information only.)
Telehealth consultations are easiest to arrange when a patient and doctor are in the same state. For instance, if you live in Springfield, Illinois, and want to have a virtual chat with an oncologist in Chicago, no legal impediments are likely to stand in your way.
Things can get tougher if the doctor practices in another state. Physicians are typically required to be licensed in the state where the patient is physically located during the consult. Therein lies a common problem: the doctor is licensed in one state, and you’re in another.
But loopholes exist. According to the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP), “A few states have licenses or telehealth-specific exceptions that allow an out-of-state provider to render services via telemedicine in a state where they are not located, or allow a clinician to provide services via telehealth in a state if certain conditions are met (such as agreeing that they will not open an office in that state). Still other states have laws that don’t specifically address telehealth and/or telemedicine licensing, but make allowances for practicing in contiguous states. . . .” For specifics about your state’s rules, explore CCHP’s handy state-by-state guide: https://www.cchpca.org/topic/cross-state-licensing-professional-requirements/.
Despite those exceptions, many physicians and medical centers require patients to be in the same state as the doctor during telehealth appointments. I wish I’d known that last year, before trying to set up virtual consultations from my home in Portland, Oregon, with Fred Hutch (Washington), UCSF, City of Hope (both California), and MD Anderson (Texas0—all of whom turned me down. Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU, Oregon)) would have refused, too, if I had been in any other state.
But some physicians and hospitals were more relaxed about it. Despite remaining in Portland, I wrangled a telehealth visit with a UCLA specialist. Two AnCan buddies of mine in Oregon and Arizona did so as well. I had even better luck with out-of-state doctors in community practices. Two agreed to confer with me online, and one declined.
If you live near—but not in—the state where your doctor practices, perhaps the easiest option is to make a run for the border. One AnCan member has adopted that strategy as a convenient means of communicating with his faraway medical team in an adjacent state while also satisfying the legal requirements. To have that meeting, he travels a few miles from home to a casino just across the state line; the casino lets him conduct telehealth consultations there. That approach shaves hours off what would otherwise be a protracted road trip to talk with his doctors face-to-face. # # #
David Sharp davidsharp1@me.com
Empowered Patient Podcast featuring Rick Davis
Empowered Patient Podcast: Virtual Support Groups Remove Barriers Encourage Sharing Honest Experiences to Fight Misinformation with Rick Davis, AnCan
AnCan founder, Rick Davis, was recently featured in the Empowered Patient Podcast with Karen Jagoda. This show explores the cutting edge of healthcare, highlighting innovations in generative AI and the latest breakthroughs in therapeutics and vaccines, and explores a shifting landscape where providers, pharma, and payers are prioritizing patient empowerment.
Rick explains, “The mission is to make each person and each patient a better advocate for themselves. That’s really what we try to do, and we do that through empowering patients with peer knowledge. We introduce patients to other peers who have been through what these people are facing right now, not only patients, but also their care partners, and through their experience, we hope that these patients and care partners will become more expert in managing their own situation.”
If you have 20 minutes, click here to listen to the podcast. If you’d like to read the conversation, click here for the transcript.
AnCan Founder Rick Davis Discovers He Has VSS in Video Support Group
AnCan Founder Rick Davis Discovers He Has VSS in Video Support Group
Here’s an interview with AnCan founder, Rick Davis. Watch Rick talk about the moment he realized he ALSO has visual snow syndrome – AFTER the group’s formation. In Rick’s own words, “It’s crazy how these things come together!”
Davis believes he has lived with Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS) since childhood, but learned to accommodate. His personal symptoms – seeing a “veil” of small dots, floaters, and light sensitivity – have given him deeper insight into the VSS support group. Davis strongly advocates for the medical community to formally recognize VSS and research a cure, while affirming AnCan’s role in providing a crucial, judgment-free virtual community where VSS sufferers realize they are not alone.