Dr. Dan Niequist's Cancer Journey

Dear Friends and Family,

We are reaching out to invite you to join with our family as we face a significant challenge. Our beloved Dr. Dan Niequist, who has spent a lifetime bringing healing and joy to others as a chiropractor, is now facing his own battle: stage 4 prostate cancer.

Dan has been a beacon of hope and kindness to so many of us, dedicating 47 years to his practice with boundless passion and joy. Every day, he embraced the opportunity to help those in pain regain their vitality and joy. Now, as he faces this formidable challenge, we have the chance to reciprocate the love and support he has given to so many.

Though Dan has been met with an unexpected diagnosis, his spirit remains unshaken. He finds immense strength in his loving wife, Diane, whose faith and support uplift him every day, and in the joy his children and grandchildren bring to his life. Their encouragement and love are his constant companions on this path.

Dan is committed to a truly holistic treatment path, combining traditional treatments with a non-traditional approach that, unfortunately, comes with significant out-of-pocket costs. These non-traditional therapies are not covered by insurance, but are crucial to giving Dan the best possible quality of life.

We invite you to join us in supporting Dr. Dan Niequist through this fundraiser. Let’s come together to give back to someone who has touched so many lives with his compassion and dedication. Together we can make a meaningful impact in Dr. Dan’s life and show him the strength of our community’s support.

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Transcript of the video:

"I feel hopeful, I feel pain.

I'm a chiropractor, and I practiced in the family business for 47 years, and it was a real joy. I love going to work every day. And I love my work. Being able to see people whose life was on hold because of pain or disability, to see them get back into life was such a joy.

When you're sick and suffering, you're not at your best. To come alongside someone and try to help them, there's a real joy in that. I just love going to work every day, and I love being part of that process. So I'm very, very thankful for the opportunity that I had as a chiropractor, the joy it brought me, and hopefully being able to help some people along the way.

We sold our place in Crystal Lake when we retired and moved to Texas. A lot of mornings we'll get up and ask, what do we want to do today? And I'll go, I don't know, what do you want to do today? Every day is Saturday for me now. It's an interesting change from the hecticness of being in private practice, but I'm enjoying time with my wife, Diane, and getting to see the kids and grandkids.

The two and a half years we were here, I was very active, did a lot of walking, and was feeling really well. But one morning in April, I woke up with lower back pain, and it began to intensify over the next several days. I realized that this pain wasn't joint or muscle pain; it was referred pain.

I saw several different doctors, a bunch of tests were done. I had an MRI, a PET scan, and was absolutely shocked to find out that I had stage four prostate cancer and that it had metastasized to my pelvis, my sacrum, my spine, several ribs, my scapula, and my skull. It was just a shock.

After I got the shocking diagnosis, I began to study. I wanted to know what my options were. I wanted to use traditional care, but I also wanted to see if there were alternative care options that could blend in together. There are some really good nontoxic things that we've begun to do.

I'm doing 5 or 6 different therapies now. I'm trying my best to do all the necessary things to have the best quality of life I can. I know this is going to be a battle and a journey. I'm still experiencing quite a bit of pain, and at times it's discouraging.

The problem is that traditional medical treatments are covered by insurance, but the nontraditional and metabolic treatments are not, and they tend to be pretty expensive. I want to continue with it, but funds become a limiting issue. I'd like to continue approaching it from both angles and give myself my best chance.

In a trial like this, the people around you are so important. I am so blessed. My wife, Diane, is with me all the way and encourages me. Her faith just rises up and carries me. I'm so blessed to have my children, and the joy that my grandkids bring me is immeasurable. I'm really blessed to have my people, those around me, and people who support me."