Dr. Patrick Hanaway is a family physician and leader in functional medicine. He served as Chief Medical Education Officer at the Institute for Functional Medicine and as Founding Research Director at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. Following his recovery from Stage IV cancer through an integrative approach, he incorporates both modern and indigenous healing practices into his work, drawing on his initiation as a Mara’akame by the Huichol people of Mexico.
In this episode, Dr. Hanaway shares his transformative journey from doctor to healer, reflecting on the profound interplay between science and spirituality in medicine. We explore the importance of uncertainty as a source of aliveness, the evolving paradigms in Functional and Lifestyle Medicine, and the challenges and opportunities of building institutions for holistic health. Patrick delves into the metabolic theory of cancer, offering a deeply personal perspective on how imbalance manifests in the body and society, and emphasizes the need to reconnect with the sacred in medicine through practices like fire ceremonies and community rituals. This conversation invites us to reimagine healing—not as fixing, but as creating balance, insight, and connection in every aspect of life.