David deBronkart, or better known as “e-patient Dave” was diagnosed in January 2007 with kidney cancer at a very late stage. odds were stacked against him; with tumors in both lungs, several bones, and muscle tissue.

He received great treatment and after removing the extensive mess, and by means of therapy was able to fight through and win the battle over his cancer. His last treatment was July 23, 2007, and by September it was clear he’d beaten the disease.

Dave is now actively engaged in opening health care information directly to patients on an unprecedented level, thus creating a new dynamic in how information is delivered, accessed and used by the patient. This is revolutionizing the relationship between patient and health care providers, which in turn will impact insurance, careers/jobs, quality of life and the distribution of finances across the entire spectrum of health care.

“What’s an e-Patient?”

A year after the diagnosis Dave was invited by his primary physician to join the annual retreat of the e-Patient Scholars Working Group. Founded by the late Tom Ferguson MD, a true visionary, the group consists of pioneers, both medical and lay, who have been quietly (and not so quietly) altering the balance of power in healthcare, demonstrating that as the internet brings patients together with information and with each other, a new world of Participatory Medicine is evolving, in which patients become potent agents in creating and managing their own health, in partnership with physicians.

Tom Ferguson said e-patients are empowered, engaged, equipped and enabled. Dave immediately saw himself as a match, became an active blogger on e-patients.net, and took on educating himself as much as he could.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve felt I have a calling,” says Dave, “something I can’t get away from: it’s what I need to do. I’ve had plenty of fulfilling jobs in a great career, but not a calling. This is it.”

• X-ray for your mind