Steve shares his knowledge, experience, and wisdom to help better equip and empower your capacity to mount a robust and effective response to a serious challenge.
steveHOLMES
cholangiocarcinoma survivor.
My younger brother Graeme and I were diagnosed with the same aggressive terminal cancer, with 6 months to live
cholangiocarcinoma survivor.
My younger brother Graeme and I were diagnosed with the same aggressive terminal cancer, with 6 months to live
I survived. Graeme did not.
My survival became part of a modern-day medical breakthrough — revealing a new pathway for how patients can respond to, and survive, even from the most serious of late-stage settings.
Surviving stage IV terminal cancer is remarkable in itself. It attracts attention — and with it, an unexpected responsibility.
Cancer patients suffer a lot.
That’s what it is to be a patient.
So anything I can do to reduce that suffering — to make life more liveable — is a good thing. A meaningful thing.
Sharing my battle-earned knowledge does exactly that.
It shines a light on what’s possible.
my walk with CHOLANGIO
Diagnosed with extrahepatic distal cholangiocarcinoma — located in the bile duct at the head of the pancreas — worst of all GI and digestive cancers. Equalled by a metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis.
Cholangiocarcinoma: Chol; bile. angio; vessel or duct. carcinoma; cancer of the protective lining. 2-3% survival if metastatic. Most are.
25 hours of surgery removing multiple organs.
One month later: a ruptured aneurysm of my main hepatic artery at home — massive internal bleeding, vomiting blood, minutes from death. Claire kept me alive long enough for a surgeon to intervene and save my life — with seconds to spare.
But the cancer returned — fast, aggressive, widespread metastases across my liver and lungs. Too many to count.
Now late-stage, stage IV, with weeks — if not days — to live…
A LAST-MINUTE HAIL MARY PASS — in the form of a clinical trial: KEYNOTE-158.
It took just 3 days for all the pain to disappear.
And my first scan confirmed I was cancer-free.
I had just walked the talk of the greatest scientific minds alive today — and possibly achieved the fastest documented complete responses ever recorded in cancer.
This Cancer that nearly took me in the dead of night.
It shaped me, it shaped my path.
steve HOLMES
cholangiocarcinoma survivor.
My younger brother Graeme and I were diagnosed with the same aggressive terminal cancer, with 6 months to live
I survived. Graeme did not.
My survival became part of a modern-day medical breakthrough — revealing a new pathway for how patients can respond to, and survive, even from the most serious of late-stage settings.
Surviving stage IV terminal cancer is remarkable in itself. It attracts attention — and with it, an unexpected responsibility.
Cancer patients suffer a lot.
That’s what it is to be a patient.
So anything I can do to reduce that suffering — to make life more liveable — is a good thing. A meaningful thing.
Sharing my battle-earned knowledge does exactly that.
It shines a light on what’s possible.
my walk with CHOLANGIO
Diagnosed with extrahepatic distal cholangiocarcinoma — located in the bile duct at the head of the pancreas — the worst of all Gi and digestive cancers. Equalled only by a metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) diagnosis.
Cholangiocarcinoma: Chol; bile. angio; vessel or duct. carcinoma; cancer of the protective lining. 2-3% survival if metastatic. Most are.
25 hours of surgery removing multiple organs.
One month later: a ruptured aneurysm of my main hepatic artery at home — massive internal bleeding, vomiting blood, minutes from death. Claire kept me alive long enough for a surgeon to intervene and save my life — with seconds to spare.
But the cancer returned — fast, aggressive, widespread metastases across my liver and lungs. Too many to count.
Now late-stage, stage IV, with weeks — if not days — to live…
A LAST-MINUTE HAIL MARY PASS — in the form of a clinical trial: KEYNOTE-158.
It took just 3 days for all the pain to disappear.
And my first scan confirmed I was cancer-free.
I had just walked the talk of the greatest scientific minds alive today — and possibly achieved one of the fastest documented complete responses ever recorded in cancer.
This Cancer that nearly took me in the dead of night.
It shaped me, it shaped my path.
“Steve, go out there and ride your bike —
Do something special with the opportunity you’ve just been given.”
~ Dr Matthew Burge
I hope this page honours that opportunity —
and shines a light on what’s possible — for you.
Recent Podcast
Quick Skim
I lead a foundation built to innovate and outpace cancer.
Today. Not tomorrow. That’s it.
As a late-stage IV survivor,
that’s the strategic clarity I bring —
to the patients on the frontline,
and to the boardrooms that support them.
The key is this: simplifying.
By stripping cancer of its complexity, we strip it of its reputational power over us.
We unlock the power of the patient,
accelerate science,
and lift survival.
That is what moves the needle — today.
Anything else just gets in the way of elevating survival.
I lead from the battlefield —
shoulder to shoulder with patients and families.
Every day. That is where innovation and victory live.
Delving Deeper
Effective cancer leadership demands clarity across three fronts:
Battlefield.
Medical response.
Science.
And this battle is fought in three ways:
Response.
Early detection.
Prevention.
A silent epidemic is unfolding.
Paralleling the explosion of cancers we now face.
And bile duct cancer is at its center.
A missing link, hidden in plain sight.
Bile is the river of life inside us —
central to metabolism, digestion, and cellular strength.
But in just a few decades, its flow has turned toxic —
and taken cellular health with it.
It is the canary in the cancer coal mine.
Not lung. Not breast.
But bile duct and pancreatic cancers — the deadliest of all.
Rising fast. No improvement in survival.
Still no effective response. Still no prevention.
Toxic bile → metabolic failure → cellular malnutrition → increased cancers.
Bile health is central to cellular health.
Cellular health is central to prevention.
Prevention is our greatest survival strategy.
The only way out — is to innovate our way there.
I have learned:
Regular people, with commonsense, cut through cancer’s complexity with clarity.
Give them the right tools and the right pathway —
and they redefine what’s possible.
Chapters Of Me
When I was 29, my brother Graeme and I were at cricket practice. Dad, our coach, was tossing balls back to the bowlers. Then, without warning, he collapsed from a heart attack. He was 52.
Neither Graeme nor I knew CPR. I stood there, helpless, as he died at our feet.
I’d had chances to learn. I didn’t take them. It would’ve been simple. Fast. But I didn’t prepare—and when it counted, I failed.
That guilt has never left me. It then proceeded to shape everything that followed.
How could it not, if Dad’s life was to mean anything?
The Second Blow
Years later, Graeme—now 52—called with news: he had terminal cholangiocarcinoma. We’d never heard of it. Neither had his doctors. They had to Google it.
Graeme trusted the system — but it wasn’t built for this cancer. They didn’t give up out of malice. They gave up because they didn’t know how to respond.
There was no lived-experience network. No strategy. No support. He was left isolated—managed, but alone. He never had a chance.
I was back on the sidelines. Again, helpless. Again, nothing I could do.
Graeme died, leaving behind a wife and two children. Their lives were changed forever.
Later that year, I broke my neck in a cycling accident. I was paralysed down my right side for nearly a year.
Where My Helplessness Ended
Then, after recovering and regaining my full functions, I was diagnosed with the same cancer — but at a more aggressive version.
My decline was fast. The odds: less than 1%. Statistically, no one survived from where I stood. But amazingly I did.
Mum wanted me to walk away. “Take the miracle and move on,” she said.
But I couldn’t. I had kids too. And Graeme didn’t get to walk away.
My survival couldn’t just be mine. It had to mean something more.
That helplessness I’d lived with for years—I wasn’t going to let it lead anymore.
From healthy cyclist to terminal cancer patient with weeks to live—then back to cycling 400 km a week—and building a patient-led response system for cancer. This is how it happened.
Late October 2016 – The First Sign
I was on a Saturday coffee ride between Main Beach and Burleigh on the Gold Coast when a sudden wave of weakness hit—like a bad flu. I pulled out and went straight home.
I had no idea it would mark the start of a battle for my life.
November 2016 – Diagnosis
Tests revealed elevated liver enzymes. A scan showed lesions blocking bile flow.
Then came the diagnosis: cholangiocarcinoma. Six months to live.
It was the same cancer that had taken my brother Graeme two years earlier.
December 8, 2016 – Whipple Surgery
A 14-hour, multi-organ surgery by seven surgeons. They removed:
- Common hepatic duct (lower section)
- Common bile duct
- Gallbladder
- 80% of my stomach
- Head of pancreas
- Ampulla of Vater
- Sphincter of Oddi
- Duodenum (first chamber of the small intestine)
- 2 lymph nodes
January 5, 2017 – Aneurysm
An emergency aneurysm ruptured in my main hepatic artery. I was minutes from death.
Dr Tom Snow, who was about to leave the hospital, returned just in time to save my life.
July 2017 – Aggressive Recurrence
The cancer returned. This time, it was everywhere:
Large tumours across my liver
Lungs—too many to count
Breathing became difficult. Sitting was painful.
I was now stage 4, with weeks—possibly days—to live.
The Hail Mary Pass
Dr Matthew Burge offered a phase 2 clinical trial. This phase 2 drug had no record of success in cholangiocarcinoma or pancreatic cancer. It was a long shot.
Too weak to sign the consent form, Claire held my arm up while Matt guided the pen. Then Matt looked me in the eye and said,
“Steve, you have one job—stay alive for the next 30 days.”
This new drug concept helps our immune system to see and eliminate the cancer, developed by Professors James Allison and Tasuku Honjo, which would later win them a Nobel Prize in 2018.
August 8, 2017 – First Infusion
I made it.
August 11, 2017 – Day 3
The pain disappeared. I could breathe again. Sit. Walk.
October 2017 – A Historic Scan
Nine weeks later, I was completely NED—No Evidence of Disease.
I became the first cholangiocarcinoma patient to reverse stage 4 cancer at such a late stage, and be confirmed in full response.
A New Path, A New Responsibility
That survival wasn’t random. It revealed something.
I had walked the talk and lived the hypotheses of the greatest minds in cancer science—and proved them right. That gave me a new responsibility: to build from it.
I began to develop a patient-led response to cancer—rooted in lived experience, grounded in science, and focused on execution. Not hope alone.
This response culture is designed to empower patients, amplify engagement, and drive survival outcomes forward.
Video: Part One of Two
Symptoms
While cycling I suffered a sudden loss of energy, much like the onset of a bad flu. The next day these following symptoms became obvious:
- Increasing lethargy
- Yellowing eyes
- Itching and yellowing hands
- Pale-clay-colored stools and dark urine
Cancer Diagnosis Details
- GP: Blood test discovered elevated liver enzymes: ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and AST (aspartate aminotransferase) in my blood
- Ultrasound found suspicious lesions, immediately followed by a CT Scan which revealed lesions blocking the bile flow.
- ERCP Procedure and brushing confirmed cholangiocarcinoma: ‘Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography’
- Diagnosis: Stage 2b Extrahepatic – Distal
Surgeries ( total:25 hours)
Whipple Multi-Organ Removal
- Bile duct 95%
- Cystic Duct & Gallbladder 100% (Cholecystectomy)
- Stomach 80% (Gastrectomy)
- Pancreas 33% (Pancreatectomy)
- Duodenum 100% (Small Intestine )
- 2 local lymph nodes
Surgical Complications
- Substantial Wound Infections: 5 Weeks VacPac Pump
- Emergency Ruptured Aneurysm 1-month post-op: Main Hepatic Artery terminated
Clinical Trials
Attica trial is trialing an adjuvant therapy.
- 6-month Chemo, weekly infusions (12 hr days) not well tolerated
- 2 year follow up
- At 5.5 months, I experienced a prolific metastatic breakout
- Mets Description: Large multiple tumors under my right rib cage, across the top of my liver, and both lungs – (too many to count.) Breathing became labored with every breath, and sitting became increasingly difficult.
- Now – late-stage, Stage 4 Prognosis: weeks to days without further intervention
Keynote 158 (Aug 2017): Monoclonal Immunotherapy
Hail-Mary Pass My Last Chance- 3 weekly infusions
- Response – Day 3
- Cytokine Release Syndrome– CRS Level > 3+: Day 4 to Day 12
- Complete & Full & Response – officiated at 9 Week Scan
- Reference: NED – Remission – Cure
I’m a rare survivor of late-stage cholangiocarcinoma — an aggressive liver cancer of the bile ducts.
80 to 85% of diagnoses are non-resectable. For the 20% who qualify 85% recur.
This is a cancer without a robust survival model.
Five-year survival rate: 5 – 10%. (Pancreatic 12%)
If stage 4 metastatic, 2%. Most cases progress to metastatic
This wasn’t near-death. I went over the edge — and had to claw my way back.
Statistically, I shouldn’t be here.
— 25 hours of life-threatening surgeries, removing multiple organs
— A burst aneurysm — minutes, if not seconds, from death
— Two experimental clinical trials — one, a last-minute Hail Mary with just weeks — if not days — to live
I’ve walked alongside — and negotiated with — the deadliest of all cancer beasts: cholangiocarcinoma.
I forged a path between the improbable and the impossible — shaped by the breakthroughs of 2018 Nobel Laureates James Allison and Tasuku Honjo —
to achieve what may be the fastest complete response ever recorded from such a late-stage setting.
Please forgive my rookie video and presenter skills — it’s real and raw, but I guess that’s the point.
When I was told I would die—that was their reality, not mine. I still had a choice. And with that choice came hope—along with possibilities only someone in my position could see.
If I had accepted the prognosis and given up, then yes—I would have died within a few short months. The statistics would have been right. But I didn’t.
I chose differently. I chose hope—not the vague kind, but the kind born of urgent need and a refusal to surrender. That hope revealed a path—one no one else could see.
It didn’t just lead to survival. It gave me back my life—clearer, fuller, and more meaningful than I’d ever understood before.
People often say to me, “Steve, you’re so passionate. How do you do this?”
My answer is always the same:
You’re mistaking perseverance for passion.
And it’s not how I do this—it’s why I must.
Passion is a luxury — born of time and choice.
Two things cholangio patients rarely have.
And passion fades.
Perseverance doesn’t.
It’s born of necessity — and endures because it has to.
There’s a quote I returned to often. It kept me from falling through the floor—and dying where I lay:
“Because a thing seems difficult, do not think it impossible.”
— Marcus Aurelius
And in time, I made it my own:
“There is always a way—if we remain open to such thinking.”
— Steve Holmes
Reclaiming the Ride: Cycling 14,000 km’s
Having reclaimed my cycling, I knew I carried both a responsibility and a challenge.
My oncologist, Matt — ever confident, and a pretty handy cyclist himself — once said to me:
“Don’t worry Steve, I’ll get you back on the bike.”
Lofty words, considering no one else had beaten Cholangio the Beast from such a late-stage position.
But he believed it.
And because he believed it, so did I.
Cycling seemed to feature a lot in my battle to beat cholangio.
Maybe it was just an interesting distraction.
Maybe it was a symbol of the fight.
But this wasn’t the first time cycling had shaped a major decision.
Transforming Hope To Reality
Hope is real. It is the vision and plan born of our need — a map toward where we must go. Legacy is what we did with that hope, what we left behind — for those who follow.
I rode for those who could not. For those who follow. To raise funds for the Patient Navigator Journals—a life-defining response strategy every patient should receive the moment they’re diagnosed.
Lynette’s Passionate Plea Fuels Perseverance
“I cannot speak highly enough of the Patient Navigator Journal. I owe so much to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation Australia. The information and support I received were life-changing. When I experienced a recurrence, I knew exactly what steps to take because of the tools and knowledge Steve provided. Please support Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation Australia’s patient initiatives—I certainly do!”
— Lynette Williams, Patient Survivor
Thoughts Are Things – Real Things
If survival is our thought, that is our path.
Then our thinking are the stepping stones along it.
If not, all we see is the obstacle of cancer — not the opportunity it conceals.
That is the truth of any challenge.
— Steve Holmes
I have learned:
Regular people bring commonsense and clarity to the complexities of cancer.
Give them the right tools, the right pathway, and the opportunity —
and they don’t just survive — they redefine what’s possible.
That’s what’s been missing.
That’s the backbone of How We Win.*
— Steve Holmes
Need. Hope. Will.
When every known way is an impasse, Need triggers Hope.
Need unleashes our unbreakable inner will — it refuses to lie down.
Hope, our tireless mapmaker, charts the path from improbable to possible.
Perseverance fuels the journey.
Will drives it home.
I Have Cancer, I Am Going to Die
As Shakespeare wrote, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
“I have cancer” is a fact.
“You are going to die” — that’s an opinion, not a fact.
That clarity creates control.
Control builds response.
Response builds survival.
~ Steve Holmes
I hope some of these will help you in your battle.
Remember this:
We gather strength as we go —
with each step, not in spite of cancer,
but because of it.
What My Survival Taught Me — and What Now Drives Everything I Build
My Three Core Principles
1. Simplicity reveals truth.
Complexity camouflages failure. Strip it away — failure is exposed. The solution is revealed.
That clarity attracts.
2. The future is not built on today’s facts.
It is built on today’s vision, invention, and the relentless urgency to deliver — now.
3. End-to-end control.
Excellence owns the whole system.
Remarkable is giving life to what is on your mind.
Concept, vision, failures, triumphs — and reality — all aligned.
My Guardrails
Law 1 — Delay is death.
Between conception and creation falls the shadow. Every delay feeds death.
Law 2 — Dogma constrains potential.
We are beaten by what we think we know — we win by breaking through it.
My Execution Truths
Rule 1 — Awareness is theatre.
Survival is the execution of what works — now.
Advocacy of what works is useful. If not, it is in the way.
Rule 2 — Future cancer success.
It lies in prevention, the innovation of lived expertise, patient empowerment, expanding surgical options — and narrowing the gap between them.
The Foundation’s Core Principles
were born of these.
What I Understand
Cancer is a function of biology.
Lifestyle shapes biology.
That clarity shines a light on what needs to be done.
I did not choose this.
Cholangio chose me.
It hunted me and my family.
Now I hunt it.
This is my something special.
Why Cycling
Cancer took it from me.
I took it back.
A distraction — a challenge within the challenge.
Cycling is where I filter my thoughts —
empty them out to find the gold nuggets that lie among them.
It’s where I gain perspective, and see the breakthroughs and possibilities.
It’s where How We Win and the Cancer Doctrines were conceived and built.
Cycling, like life, demands discipline, vision, perseverance, and innovation.
It grounds my effort.
It keeps me connected to the opportunity — life.
In the early days, it was a mental escape into a parallel world —
away from ICU beds and thoughts of imminent death.
Later, it became a place of vision and innovation —
a moving workshop where everything I’d learned could evolve into something greater.
My Challenge
Separating the lessons learned from the emotions that encapsulated them has been a significant challenge. Initially, I sought to detach them for clearer communication. Yet, I realized that these emotions are not just carriers, but integral components of the lessons themselves. My challenge now lies in sharing these intertwined experiences in a way that offers tangible benefits
ContactME
For more information please contact me
Warm Regards Steve
Claire, Georgia, Zach and me
A family still standing — because open-minded people acted. That was all it took to set this unlikely survival in motion.