Alexandre Faucher lives in Bromont, Que., what he describes as a “little village” known for its ski resort and nature trails. He starts and ends each day walking his dog, Merlot, taking in the beauty and peacefulness of his surroundings. 

“He’s a miracle on four legs,” Alexandre says of Merlot, who turned 15 in fall 2025. 

Alexandre, 49, says he feels like a miracle himself. 

Around the time of Merlot’s milestone birthday, Alexandre was feeling off. 

His five-year-old son had spent the day with Alexandre’s sister, as his now-wife, Tiphaine, prepared for a weeklong visit with family in France. Alexandre was outside, enjoying the warm fall weather, when his son was dropped off. 

“I was just relaxing,” he says. “The past three months had been very difficult for me. My wife said she didn’t recognize me. I didn’t have the energy I used to. I hadn’t been sleeping. I was getting angry all the time. Even when I tried to speak, this tiny voice came out. I wasn’t myself.” 

That day, Alexandre noticed a difference in his face, too. 

“I looked at myself in the mirror and one side of my face was drooping,” he says. “I tried to smile through it and I couldn’t. I thought it was because I was stressed out.” 

Finding answers

His sister urged him to go to the hospital. Reluctant at first, he eventually agreed after encouragement from both her and Tiphaine. 

“I ran nine marathons in five years,” Alexandre says. “I did three Ironman competitions. I thought I was as healthy as I could be, but I was tired, so I thought, ‘If this can help us have an answer more rapidly, then let’s do it.’” 

After two hours in the emergency department, Alexandre underwent a CT scan. 

The moment he received the results remains vivid. 

“It was around 10 p.m., but it could have been 4 a.m., for all I knew,” he says. “We were sitting in this little room with a little window and a little light. The doctor came in with the scan of my brain and said, ‘Look at this.’ There was a mass the size of a tennis ball. She said, ‘It’s either cancer or it’s metastasis. Do you have any questions?’” 

 

The news was especially hard to process as life had recently been falling into place. Alexandre had an offer on his house after a year on the market, and his wedding was just a month away. 

“I’ve always been very optimistic,” Alexandre says, “but for the first time in my life, I couldn’t tell myself the cup was half full. I didn’t know what to think.” 

Gratefulness in the unexpected 

He was scheduled to be transferred to another hospital in the morning, so he stayed overnight while Tiphaine went home to be with their son. 

Throughout the experience, Alexandre says Tiphaine was a steady source of strength for him and his family. 

“She was like a pillar,” he says. “Even when things were heavy, she held onto the belief that we would get through it.” 

He describes the nurse who cared for him that night as “the first angel” he encountered, followed by the medical transport driver who brought him to the next hospital when an ambulance wasn’t available. 

“He made me laugh,” Alexandre says. “I was grateful he was there.” 

At the second hospital, Alexandre met his neurosurgeon and underwent an MRI. 

“I had wires all over my body,” he says. “It felt like I was chained—not just to the wires, but to my thoughts.” 

To distract himself, he asked Tiphaine to bring books. Alexandre, a tennis buff whose love of the sport was instilled in him by his late father, was glad she had picked out a book on tennis great Andre Agassi. 

She also brought him reading material related to nutrition and fasting—topics that would later become personally meaningful as he navigated his diagnosis. 

The procedure was successful, with most of the tumour removed. A week later, Alexandre received a diagnosis of grade 4 glioblastoma. 

“I didn’t even know what that was,” Alexandre says. “He told me I had eight to 12 months to live. And again, it was, ‘Do you have any questions?’” 

Looking ahead 

Alexandre went on to complete six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, all while moving forward with his wedding in October 2025. 

He resumed chemotherapy in January 2026 and says his scans have since been clear. 

Alongside his medical treatment, Alexandre says he has focused on making lifestyle changes that felt right for him, including periods of fasting and changes to his diet. He says Tiphaine continues to play an important role—preparing meals, adapting recipes and, at times, fasting alongside him in support. 

Mindset, he says, has been just as important. 

Through conversations with others facing cancer, he found it was a common thread. 

“One of the things that really stayed with me,” he says, “was hearing how different people respond when they’re first given a diagnosis.” 

He recalls a story shared with him by Merton Briggs, a U.S.-based patient he connected with, who approached his diagnosis with a sense of determination and optimism. 

“For me, it reinforced the idea that how we respond matters,” Alexandre says. “I didn’t see that outcome as the only possibility. I chose to believe there could be another path forward.” 

His experience has also deepened his faith, which he describes as a central source of strength and perspective. 

Today, Alexandre wants to share more of what he’s learned with others. He’s writing a book about his journey, titled God’s Prescription, while offering speaking engagements and giving back through volunteering. 

“I truly believe, from the bottom of my heart, that this whole event was a gift,” he says. 

As someone who describes himself as intense and often misdirected in his early years, Alexandre says he now approaches life differently. 

“I feel like I’m channeling my energy correctly now,” he says. “I’m a good person. I’m a loving person. I’m a caring person. I’m a compassionate person. I’m here to give and receive love. I’m here to help anybody that I can. And that’s my new mission in life.”