30-Year Cancer Survivor
Author, Speaker
Podcast Pioneer
Unfiltered Voice of Reason
MATTHEW ZACHARY
AMERICAN PATIENT RIGHTS ACTIVIST
AMERICAN PATIENT RIGHTS ACTIVIST
MATTHEW ZACHARY
30-Year Cancer Survivor
Author, Speaker
Podcast Pioneer
Unfiltered Voice of Reason
TRUSTED SOURCE
“Matthew Zachary is the irreverent, informed friend you WISH you could talk to when the US healthcare system has you screaming or crying."
Susannah Fox, Author
Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care
For three decades, Matthew Zachary has been standing up for patients inside a healthcare system that prioritizes profits.
“The People’s Voice in Healthcare”
– People magazine
“A Pioneer and Provocateur.” — Atlantic
“An Incomparable Storyteller.” — Klick Health
“MZ Is Why We Do What We Do.” — AbbVie
“A Real American Advocate.” — Walgreens
“He Really Rallied the Troops.” — Amgen
“A Pioneer and Provocateur.” — Atlantic
“An Incomparable Storyteller.” — Klick Health
“MZ Is Why We Do What We Do.” — AbbVie
“A Real American Advocate.” — Walgreens
“He Really Rallied the Troops.” — Amgen
MATTHEW ZACHARY
BORN WITH CANCER AND CONGENITAL CHUTZPAH
At 21, I was diagnosed with a life-threatening, golf ball-size, rare brain tumor that ended my piano career.
I survived—but that was just the beginning of my story.
I went from “you’re going to die” to survivor to nationally recognized cancer rebel, patient advocate, community builder, podcast hero, and unapologetic disrupter.
I’ve spent three decades turning personal adversity into advocacy—challenging the American healthcare system, how our stories get told, and who actually gets heard.
I speak fluent patient, but I also understand the people who run the system.
“Matthew inspires me and so many others in the fight for a better healthcare system by centering the interests of patients as a core principle of future reforms.”
--Wendell Potter, Publisher and Executive Editor of HEALTH CARE un-Covered
Matthew Zachary has:
Delivered hundreds of keynotes
Logged millions of podcast downloads
Worked with brands and institutions that are serious about doing better—not just sounding like they are.
A PATIENT PROCLAMATION FOR OUR TIMES
New Book
A PATIENT PROCLAMATION FOR OUR TIMES
In a system designed to protect profits over patients…
it’s time for a second opinion.
Matthew Zachary is the author of We the Patients: Understanding, Navigating, and Surviving America’s Healthcare Nightmare (Wiley, May 2026), which pulls back the curtain on how the system really works—and how patients can protect themselves inside it. It’s not about fixing healthcare overnight. It’s about giving patients leverage, knowledge, and agency right now.
VOICE OF AMERICA’S PATIENTS
Matthew Zachary founded Stupid Cancer, helping to ignite an overdue cancer movement by building the largest adolescent and young adult cancer community in the world. He gave voice to millions of patients, survivors, and caregivers who didn’t fit neatly into a system that had long overlooked them.
THE PODFATHER
OF HEALTHCARE
THE PODFATHER
OF HEALTHCARE
Back before podcasting was a “thing,” Matthew Zachary created The Stupid Cancer Show, the first healthcare talk radio show of its kind.
Next, he co-created The Cancer Mavericks, an award-winning documentary about patients and advocates who refuse to play by broken rules.
Now, he hosts Out of Patients, a long-running podcast featuring unfiltered conversations with the people sharing—and surviving—the American healthcare system.
CHANGING LIVES
One patient at a time
Matthew’s ability to balance raw honesty with humor, heart, and humanity makes this a must-listen show for all podcast junkies. Matthew is willing to ask the tough questions and address uncomfortable truths, giving listeners an authentic sense of validation, solidarity, and empowerment.
LET IT ALL OUT
I don’t do awareness campaigns.
I do outcomes.
My work is about empowering patients to reclaim their stories and challenging organizations to earn trust through honesty, accountability, and respect for lived experience.
If that makes you uncomfortable, we’ll probably get along just fine.
