0:00:02.292,0:00:06.210
This back here was my brain cancer.

0:00:07.300,0:00:09.561
Isn't it nice?

0:00:09.561,0:00:11.685
(Laughter)

0:00:11.685,0:00:13.822
The key phrase is "was",

0:00:13.822,0:00:15.481
phew.

0:00:15.481,0:00:18.026
(Applause)

0:00:20.646,0:00:23.319
Having brain cancer was really,

0:00:23.319,0:00:24.719
as you can imagine,

0:00:24.719,0:00:26.827
shocking news for me.

0:00:26.827,0:00:30.367
I knew nothing about cancer.

0:00:30.367,0:00:34.174
In Western cultures, when you have cancer,

0:00:34.174,0:00:36.760
it's as if you disappear, in a way.

0:00:36.760,0:00:43.518
Your life as a complex human being[br]is replaced by medical data:

0:00:43.518,0:00:49.611
Your images, your exams, [br]your lab values,

0:00:49.611,0:00:52.007
a list of medicines.

0:00:52.007,0:00:54.581
And everyone changes as well.

0:00:54.581,0:00:57.797
You suddenly become a disease-on-legs.

0:00:57.797,0:01:02.565
Doctors start speaking a language[br]which you don't understand.

0:01:02.565,0:01:07.231
They start pointing their fingers[br]

0:01:07.231,0:01:12.351
onto your body and onto your images.

0:01:12.351,0:01:15.727
People start changing as well

0:01:15.727,0:01:19.352
because they start dealing [br]with the disease

0:01:19.352,0:01:21.739
instead of with the human being.

0:01:21.739,0:01:23.942
They say, "What did the doctor say?"

0:01:23.942,0:01:28.193
before even saying, "Hello."

0:01:28.193,0:01:30.396
And in the meanwhile,

0:01:30.396,0:01:35.452
you're left with questions to which[br]nobody gives an answer for.

0:01:35.452,0:01:38.112
These are the "Can I?" questions:

0:01:38.112,0:01:40.344
Can I work while I have cancer? [br]

0:01:40.344,0:01:45.988
Can I study, can I make love,[br]can I be creative?

0:01:45.988,0:01:49.562
And you wonder, "What have I done [br]to deserve this?"

0:01:49.562,0:01:53.727
You wonder, "Can I change something[br]in my lifestyle?"

0:01:53.727,0:01:56.607
You wonder, "Can I do something,[br]

0:01:56.607,0:02:00.545
are there any other options?"

0:02:00.545,0:02:06.469
And, obviously, doctors are [br]the good guys in all these scenarios

0:02:06.469,0:02:11.934
because they are very professional[br]and dedicated to curing you.

0:02:11.934,0:02:16.956
But they often are very used to [br]having to deal with patients,

0:02:16.956,0:02:22.228
so I'd say that they sometimes[br]loose the idea

0:02:22.228,0:02:25.108
that this is torture for you

0:02:25.108,0:02:29.399
and that you become, literally, a patient,

0:02:29.399,0:02:33.205
the patient means "the one who waits."

0:02:33.205,0:02:37.168
They tend to, you know, [br]things are changing, but classically,

0:02:37.168,0:02:40.684
they tend to not engage you in any way

0:02:40.684,0:02:43.340
about learning about your condition,

0:02:43.340,0:02:47.174
to getting also your friends[br]and family engaged,

0:02:47.174,0:02:50.866
or showing you ways in which[br]you can change your lifestyle

0:02:50.866,0:02:54.268
to minimize the risks of what[br]you're going through.

0:02:54.268,0:02:58.220
But instead, you're forced there to wait

0:02:58.220,0:03:04.648
in the hands of a series [br]of very professional strangers.

0:03:04.648,0:03:06.914
While I was in the hospital,

0:03:06.914,0:03:10.547
I asked for a printed-out picture[br]of my cancer

0:03:10.547,0:03:11.612
and I spoke with it.

0:03:11.612,0:03:12.439
I said --

0:03:12.439,0:03:16.238
it was really hard to obtain[br]because it's not common practice

0:03:16.238,0:03:20.092
to ask for a picture of your own cancer --

0:03:20.092,0:03:22.251
I talked to it and I said,

0:03:22.251,0:03:26.635
"Okay cancer, you're not [br]all there is to me.

0:03:26.635,0:03:28.818
There's more to me.

0:03:28.818,0:03:35.338
A cure, whichever it is, will have[br]to deal with the whole of me."

0:03:35.338,0:03:38.918
And so, the next day, I left the hospital

0:03:38.918,0:03:41.260
against medical advice.

0:03:41.260,0:03:45.616
I was determined to change [br]my relationship with the cancer

0:03:45.616,0:03:49.071
and I was determined to learn [br]more about my cancer

0:03:49.071,0:03:54.343
before doing anything [br]as drastic as a surgery.

0:03:54.343,0:04:00.558
I'm an artist, I use several forms[br]of open-source technologies

0:04:00.558,0:04:03.781
and open information in my practice.

0:04:03.781,0:04:07.966
So my best bet was to get it all out there,

0:04:07.966,0:04:10.949
get the information out there,

0:04:10.949,0:04:16.443
and use it so that it could be accessed[br]by anyone.

0:04:16.443,0:04:20.637
So I created a website, which is called la cura,

0:04:20.637,0:04:23.718
which I put my medical data online,

0:04:23.718,0:04:25.295
I actually had to hack it

0:04:25.295,0:04:31.197
and that's a thing which we actually[br]talk about in another speech.

0:04:31.197,0:04:33.403
I choose this word, la cura,

0:04:33.403,0:04:35.762
la cura in Italian means, "The cure",

0:04:35.762,0:04:39.082
because in many different cultures,

0:04:39.082,0:04:43.578
the word "cure" can mean many different things.

0:04:43.578,0:04:44.749
In our Western cultures,

0:04:44.749,0:04:49.821
it means eradicating or reversing[br]a disease,

0:04:49.821,0:04:51.230
but in different cultures,

0:04:51.230,0:04:57.908
like, for example, a culture from Asia,[br]from the Mediterranean, from latin countries,

0:04:57.908,0:04:58.809
from Africa,

0:04:58.809,0:05:00.894
it can mean many more things.

0:05:00.894,0:05:06.475
Of course, I was interested [br]in the opinions of doctors

0:05:06.475,0:05:08.621
and healthcare providers,

0:05:08.621,0:05:15.100
but I was also interested in[br]the cure of the artist, the poet,

0:05:15.100,0:05:21.438
of the designer, of, who knows,[br]the musicians.

0:05:21.438,0:05:24.345
I was interested the social cure,

0:05:24.345,0:05:26.824
I was interested in the psychological cure,

0:05:26.824,0:05:29.327
I was interested in the spiritual cure,

0:05:29.327,0:05:32.441
I was interested in emotional cure,

0:05:32.441,0:05:37.207
I was interested in any form of cure.

0:05:37.207,0:05:40.872
And, it worked.

0:05:40.872,0:05:44.198
The La Cura website went viral.

0:05:44.198,0:05:49.043
I received lots of attention from Italy[br]and from abroad

0:05:49.043,0:05:54.671
and I quickly received more than[br]500,000 contacts, emails,

0:05:54.671,0:05:58.273
social networking -- most of them were[br]a suggestion on how

0:05:58.273,0:05:59.832
to cure my cancer,

0:05:59.832,0:06:03.004
but more of them were about[br]how to cure myself

0:06:03.004,0:06:06.576
as a full individual.

0:06:06.576,0:06:14.459
For example, many thousands of videos,[br]images, pictures, art performances

0:06:14.459,0:06:17.966
were produced for La Cura.

0:06:17.966,0:06:23.046
For example, here we see Francesca Fini[br]in her performance.

0:06:24.467,0:06:26.367
Or, as artist Patrick Litchy has done,

0:06:26.367,0:06:30.637
he produce a 3D sculpture of my tumor

0:06:30.637,0:06:33.196
and put it on sale on Thingiverse.

0:06:33.196,0:06:35.044
Now you can have my cancer, too,

0:06:35.044,0:06:37.814
(Laughter)

0:06:37.814,0:06:40.998
which is a nice thing, if you think about it,

0:06:40.998,0:06:44.563
we can share our cancer.

0:06:44.563,0:06:46.633
And this was going on --

0:06:46.633,0:06:50.018
scientists, the traditional medicine experts,

0:06:50.018,0:06:51.705
researchers, doctors--

0:06:51.705,0:06:54.055
all connected with me to give advice.

0:06:54.055,0:06:56.320
With all this information and support,

0:06:56.320,0:07:05.615
I was able to form a team of several[br]neurosurgeons, traditional doctors,

0:07:05.615,0:07:11.458
oncologists, and several hundred volunteers [br]

0:07:11.458,0:07:16.698
with whom I was able to discuss [br]the information

0:07:16.698,0:07:20.026
I was receiving, it was very important.

0:07:20.026,0:07:26.362
And together, we were able to form[br]a strategy for my own cure

0:07:26.362,0:07:29.816
in many languages, according[br]to many cultures.

0:07:29.816,0:07:33.266
And the current strategy spanned the whole world

0:07:33.266,0:07:35.887
and thousands of years of human history,

0:07:35.887,0:07:39.614
which is quite remarkable for me.

0:07:39.614,0:07:42.729
The following MRIs, luckily, showed[br]little to no growth of the cancer.

0:07:42.729,0:07:48.111
So I was able to take my time and choose,

0:07:48.111,0:07:52.091
I choose the doctor I wanted[br]to work with,

0:07:52.091,0:07:54.613
I choose the hospital I wanted to stay in,

0:07:54.613,0:07:58.713
and in the meanwhile, I was supported[br]by thousands of people,

0:07:58.713,0:08:02.020
none of whom felt pity for me.

0:08:02.020,0:08:07.666
Everyone felt like they could[br]take an active role

0:08:07.666,0:08:09.807
in helping me to get well,

0:08:09.807,0:08:13.669
and this was the most important[br]part of La Cura.

0:08:13.841,0:08:16.364
What are the outcomes?

0:08:16.364,0:08:18.479
I'm fine, as you can see, very fine.

0:08:18.479,0:08:24.047
(Applause)

0:08:24.047,0:08:26.227
I have excellent news:

0:08:26.227,0:08:33.657
after the surgery, I had a very[br]low-grade Glioma,

0:08:33.657,0:08:36.002
which is good kind of cancer[br]which doesn't grow a lot.

0:08:36.002,0:08:42.472
I have completed changed[br]my life and my lifestyle,

0:08:42.472,0:08:48.258
everything I did was thoughtfully[br]designed to get me engaged.

0:08:48.258,0:08:52.443
Up until the very last few minutes[br]of the surgery,

0:08:52.443,0:08:54.657
which was very intense,

0:08:54.657,0:09:00.021
a matrix of electrodes[br]has been implanted in my brain

0:09:00.021,0:09:03.706
from the side to build a functional map

0:09:03.706,0:09:05.626
of what the brain controls.

0:09:05.626,0:09:08.976
And right before the operation,

0:09:08.976,0:09:15.777
we were able to discuss the map,[br]the functional map of my brain,

0:09:15.777,0:09:20.953
with the doctor to understand[br]which risks I was running into

0:09:20.953,0:09:24.949
and if there were any I wanted to avoid,

0:09:24.949,0:09:27.761
obviously, there were.

0:09:27.761,0:09:33.350
And this openness was really[br]the fundamental part of La Cura.

0:09:33.350,0:09:38.251
Thousands of people shared their stories,[br]their experiences.

0:09:38.251,0:09:43.217
Doctors got to talk to people[br]they don't usually consult

0:09:43.217,0:09:47.576
and they think about cancer.

0:09:47.576,0:09:52.043
I'm a self-founding, continuous state[br]of translation

0:09:52.043,0:09:55.263
among many different languages:

0:09:55.263,0:10:04.488
science meets emotion, conventional research [br]meets traditional research.

0:10:04.488,0:10:13.040
The mod important thing of La Cura[br]was to feel as part

0:10:13.040,0:10:18.346
of a really engaged and connected society,

0:10:19.133,0:10:21.077
whose wellness really depends [br]on the wellness

0:10:21.077,0:10:24.519
of all of its components.

0:10:24.519,0:10:26.031
This global performance,

0:10:26.031,0:10:30.426
my open-source cure for cancer,

0:10:30.426,0:10:31.679
and what I feel like,

0:10:31.679,0:10:32.803
it's a cure for me,

0:10:32.803,0:10:34.376
but for us all.

0:10:34.376,0:10:35.676
Thank you.

0:10:35.676,0:10:39.053
(Applause).