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‘Are you the Cancer Guru who helped Geoffrey Boycott beat his cancer?’
Thus started an e mail from a Doctor to Chris in 2007. ‘Cancer Guru’ is not a distinction he takes lightly. His cousin Lindsey Fealey having seen him dedicate the last seven years of his life to helping people beat cancer says simply, ‘What Chris doesn’t know about cancer, just isn’t worth knowing. I’d love to see him on TV with a panel of oncologists – he’d run rings round them. His knowledge and understanding of cancer and his memory of research and facts are second to none’.
Chris receives over 120 e mails a day. Many ask for help – he does what he can. A number are from fans. Several, like Geoffrey, who are well down the line – full time survivors. Some simply say ‘I wouldn’t be here today without you’.
Chris is the driving force behind CANCERactive. Here is his ‘formal’ CV. If you want to know more about his work, click here. If you want to read an interview with him, click here.
After leaving Watford Grammar School, where he was head boy, Chris went to Oxford University and read Biochemistry, including a time in cancer research.
He then took a 22 year 'sabbatical' in the world of advertising, rising to MD of Publicis in London when he was just 31. He became the youngest ever Chairman of a multi-national communication group at Ted Bates 3 years later. He was promoted first to the European, then the worldwide boards - Ted Bates was the third largest Ad agency in the world.
In 1986 Saatchi bought Bates and asked Chris to run their company, but instead he set up his own. In 1995, with 9 companies and 74 clients (from Virgin to BMW, WH Smiths to Freemans, the L&G, RAC and Fedex) he put the company (now Incepta) onto the stock market and a year later retired claiming he was 'past his sell-by date'. He had helped launch new companies like Norwich Union Healthcare and Mercury One-to-One, even joining their boards.
From 1995 until 2001 he worked as a Management consultant with a diverse group of companies such as Norwich Union, Sony, BAT, Virgin Active Health Clubs and others. In parallel he pursued his personal interest in health, studying nutrition, health and fitness and body energy systems.
In 2001 his daughter Catherine (then 22) was diagnosed with a grade 4 malignant brain tumour and given just 6 months to live. Chris then devoted his life to trying to save hers and in so doing accidentally built a new life for himself!
 Chris now speaks all over the world on cancer and cancer prevention. For example, he has spoken in the USA, Australia, Germany, Russia, Israel and Japan (to 28,000 people, no less) in the past 3 years. He has toured extensively throughout the UK, speaking in hospitals and cancer clinics, to cancer care groups, at The National Brain Tumour Conference, at Primary Care 2006, at the National Cancer Prevention Conference (2005) and in schools to both children and Mums.
Chris is still involved in the business world and is listed in Debrett's People of Today and International business' Who's Who'. He plays sport, golf and chess when he has a free moment!
He has donated considerable sums of money to charity plus all the world-wide profit from his highly successful books to date. He has been made a Freeman of the City of London.
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