A 43-year-old with colon cancer used AI in 3 ways to help make treatment a little easier

Russ Read-Barrow has been surviving pinch incurable shape 4 colon crab for 5 years.

The 43-year-old erstwhile PR head and begetter of 2 from the UK was diagnosed pinch the illness successful 2021. After seeing blood successful his poop astir six times complete the people of a fewer weeks, he sewage a colonoscopy.

With aggregate rounds of chemotherapy and surgeries to region cancerous cells from his colon, liver, and later his lungs, Read-Barrow's doctors person stopped the crab from spreading further since 2022. He still needs regular chemotherapy, astir each 3 months, to slow compartment section and forestall further maturation successful his lungs and liver.

"The chemo I'm having now is doing a bully occupation of keeping it nether control, but astatine immoderate constituent that'll alteration and I'll person to person thing else," Read-Barrow told Business Insider.

Over the years, Read-Barrow has experimented pinch utilizing AI to thief manage the symptoms, medications, and affectional challenges that person go portion of his life. In 2025, he launched a broadside task called FcancerwithAI, a blog wherever he shares his communicative and the AI crab devices he's built.

"I'm not saying AI is going to cure cancer. I'm saying it's going to thief maine retrieve what my advisor said, spot patterns successful my broadside effects, and possibly springiness maine backmost immoderate power successful a business wherever power is fundamentally an illusion," he wrote successful a blog post.

He hopes that by sharing what has helped him, he tin thief others, arsenic rates of colon crab cases successful those nether 50 person risen since the mid-1990s, making it the deadliest crab successful this property group. However, if spotted early, the endurance complaint for colon crab is high, meaning, for illustration Read-Barrow, much and much group are surviving pinch crab arsenic a chronic illness.

Here are 3 ways Read-Barrow has utilized AI to negociate his ongoing cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy denotation tracker

Russ-Barrow will request chemo for the foreseeable future. Afterwards, he typically experiences broadside effects for illustration fatigue, nausea, and changes to his temper and slumber habits, which tin beryllium difficult to header with.

"The hardest portion day-to-day is trying to negociate the power windows I do have," he said.

He started signaling a 30-second sound statement chronicling his symptoms each time pursuing chemo, and wearing a WHOOP wellness tracker. He did this for 3 cycles of chemo and plugged his accusation into Claude to spot patterns successful really he felt and what exacerbated aliases eased symptoms. "I recovered it really useful," he said.

The information showed that by astir time 4 aft his treatment, he would spell from emotion comparatively normal to exhausted. "If you spot that complete clip happening again and again, you tin benignant of woody pinch it amended because you cognize it's going to travel and you don't think, 'Oh God, what's happening?'" he said.

Subsequently, he started asking the AI to prime retired 10 things he should retrieve earlier starting his adjacent information of chemo. One of the things it reminded him was that an anti-nausea medicine he tried had helped.

"You don't support a record, you won't remember. You deliberation you will, but springiness it 3 months and life will return complete and you won't," he said.

A aesculapian history investigation assistant

Read-Barrow uploaded each of his aesculapian records to Gemini Notebook (formerly Notebook LM). The AI is designed to reply questions, spot trends, and create contented specified arsenic position decks based only connected files the personification uploads.

He uses it arsenic a "centralized hub" for each of his aesculapian records, which intends he tin entree trial results, doctor's notes aliases immoderate different aesculapian information wrong seconds.

"It saves maine from the monolithic admin headache of digging done folders each clip I spot a specialist," he said.

Getting caller group up to speed

When signing up for a gym, getting a curen specified arsenic a massage, aliases seeing immoderate benignant of doctor, they typically inquire for your aesculapian history. However, erstwhile you person a analyzable chronic unwellness for illustration cancer, that history tin beryllium lengthy and achy to recount.

He recovered a solution by asking Gemini Notebook to summarize his wellness history successful 500 words, which he tin walk on.

Read-Barrow is alert that not everyone would consciousness comfortable sharing truthful overmuch individual accusation pinch AI platforms, but for him, the benefits outweigh the risks. "I've sewage terminal cancer. What's the worst that tin bloody happen?" he said.

This article is not a substitute for master aesculapian advice, diagnosis, aliases treatment. Always consult your qualified expert aliases healthcare provider.