Meet Michel DeQuevedo | Musician & Neuroendocrine Cancer Patient Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michel DeQuevedo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I had no choice! lol! One of my earliest memories is my mother saying to me: “you are going to be a drummer!”

I come from two very artistic families, musicians on my mother’s side, actors and writers on my father’s side.

From a very young age I was always involved in a number of artistic activities, including early childhood music education.
By the time I was 8, music was one of my favourite games to play. My father used to have a restaurant on a beach and there was a live band every day; I’d rather be sitting beside the stage jamming along with the band than on the beach playing with the other kids!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My story is divided in two, there is my musical career story which has allowed me to achieve one of the ultimate dreams, to make a living doing what I love.

Only a few things in life are better than going to work with a smile on your face and to know that no matter what, you’ll go to bed that night with that same smile (and another dollar in your pocket!) It is true that it’s an extremely difficult profession, filled with challenges so diverse, that sometimes it is hard to believe what you must face. From the extreme level of discipline and hard work required to get to a professional level, to the huge lack of respect you can get from people that believes that any kind of artistic career is easy and more of a “just for fun” or a hobby.

Making a living as a professional musician is challenging, in some cases even dangerous due to the inherent aspects of the night life, but it can also be extremely rewarding!

In my case, music has allowed me to travel and meet a lot of extraordinary people, I’ve been fortunate to work with some very talented peeps, Natalia Lafourcade, Julieta Venegas, Molotov, Walk Off the Earth to name a few.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from music is to be open to everything, to learn from everything and everyone and to not let my personal taste influence my professional opinions. I believe that liking or disliking something does not make it good or bad, it simply makes it appealing to me or not.

And that has given me an advantage!

By looking at the music styles that are not appealing to me as that, and not as some trash that I should not even look at, I have been able to learn from it. I’ve gotten curious about what makes that style, or that song, appealing to someone else and has made me able to analyze music unbiased.

At the end, this has made me very versatile, to the point that it is quite easy for me to musically fit in. I believe is this adaptability what gives me an edge and makes it easier for me to find work.

But it also helped me to live through and move forward from the worst nightmare of my life, my stage IV Cancer diagnosis…

Which is part two of my story…

I am the founder of NETs México, the only advocacy organization for Neuroendocrine Cancer patients in Latin America.

I was diagnosed with Stage IV Gastroinstestinal Neuroendocrine Cancer in 2021, at the time of my diagnosis I was told there was nothing else to do and that I was going into palliative care. This is the kind of news that can really shock your world, you feel defeated, with nothing else to live for.

But after a couple weeks of wanting to bury my head in the ground, I decided I was not going to live whatever time I had left feeling sorry for myself so, I started to search for options.

Turns out, Neuroendocrine Cancer is not a well-known disease and neither my family doctor nor the oncologist I was referred to, were familiar with it. I start discovering how little information there is about it and realizing I needed to find the right medical team. Long story short, I was able to find Dr. Julie Hallet and a specialized clinic in Toronto and a treatment plan was devised, including a major surgery and a long-term (aka for-the-rest-of-my-life) medication treatment.

While I was searching for answers, I was also discovering that, even in highly developed countries like Canada and the U.S., lots of patients were having the same difficulties I had, first getting an accurate diagnosis and then finding the right medical team and treatments. And when I directed my search to Mexico in order to find a support group that could help my family deal with my situation, I realized there were even less resources and information there. I could not believe that in Mexico City, which is one of the biggest cities in the world, there was not a single support group for Neuroendocrine Cancer patients. Someone had to do something.

NETs Mexico was born in February 2022

But, how do you start something like this? I had no experience, or contacts, or any idea about how to get this done!

First things first, I had to learn as much as I could, without having any medical background, about the disease, familiarize myself with the common terminology and learn about the different types of Neuroendocrine Cancer (turns out, there are a lot! it is a very heterogeneous disease)

I also needed a network so, I went to something I am a bit familiar with… social media!
Opened a twitter account and started randomly following every single health care professional and organization that had the slightest mention of Neuroendocrine Cancer on their profile.
Without knowing it, I pretty much started following all the top Neuroendocrine Cancer researchers, surgeons, oncologists and patient advocates in the world!

It didn’t take long to get contacted by one of the top researchers in the world, Dr. Jaydira Del Rivero from the NIH (The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, the biggest research hospital in the world). This opened the doors to a whole new level of medical information and resources.

At the same time, I was getting in touch with different patient advocacy organizations in Spain, Canada and the U.S., more than anything, to learn from them by volunteering and getting involved in any way I could.
So I met Lisa Yen from the Learn – Advocate – Connect. A Neuroendocrine Cancer Society, LACNETS. (Formerly the Los Angeles Carcinoid Neuroendocrine Tumor Society) and through her my network grew exponentially.

Since then, I’ve put together a series of conferences for the UNAM’s Medical Faculty (the biggest University in Mexico), have helped a number of patients get the right answers and treatments and continue to grow a network of health care professionals with experience treating Neuroendocrine Cancer in Mexico. I also started a patient support group that has been slowly growing with patients from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, Ecuador and Cuba.

I was also honoured with the 2022 Giovanna Joyce Imbesi Above & Beyond Award from LACNETS. This award is given to individuals in recognition of outstanding dedication to NET patient advocacy

Being diagnosed with Cancer has ironically been a positive influence in my life. It has given me a different purpose, it has taught me to enjoy life in different ways and it has given me the opportunity to do something more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done before, to help people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Live music is a very important part of my life so, it would definitely include a visit to some of Toronto’s best live music venues! DROM Taberna is a must, it’s such a good place! Live music every day, great atmosphere and the food is to die for!!

The Reservoir Lounge is another live music institution in the city (has been for the las 25+ years)
They also have live shows almost every night and a great kitchen as well.

You can’t talk about live music in Toronto without naming Lula Lounge, the best place in Toronto for Latin music! They have a big dance floor so, wear comfy shoes!

I would definitely take them to The Painted Lady one night. This one is a combination of early live music and late-night DJ party, really cool place too!

I really doubt my best friend would be interested in landmarks or touristic attractions but, if they were, I’d either choose Casa Loma for the historic value or the CN Tower for an unbeatable view of the city.

And last but not least, definitely a visit to my second biggest passion, Go-Kart racing at the Canadian Mini Indy!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, my parents. I have the fortune of having very supporting parents. Most of the musicians I know had to fight their parents to be allowed to pursue a musical career. I my case, I think I would have had to fight them if I wanted to be a lawyer or a doctor!

Second of all, my wife, Jackie.
There is no other person in this world that would be able to survive my insanity, including my parents!
Since day one, Jackie has been a constant push for a better life, in all aspects. There are no words to express the level of gratitude I have for her unconditional and unending love and support.

And last but not least, Dr. Julie Hallet at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Canada; Dr. Jaydira Del Rivero at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland and Lisa Yen at LACNETS in Los Angeles, California.
These three amazing women are very well known in the Neuroendocrine Cancer community. They are leaders in their field and have had a massive impact in my life.
They are, and have been, and inspiration and a vital support in my attempt to help people that, like me, are going through one of the most feared situations we can live, to be diagnosed with Cancer.

Website: www.micheldqmusic.com

Instagram: @micheldequevedo

Twitter: @netsmexico

Facebook: www.facebook.com/micheldequevedomusic

Youtube: www.youtube.com/micheldequevedo/

Other: NETs Mexico support group: www.facebook.com/groups/netsmexico