Finding Friendship Through Stage 4 Prostate Cancer
Aug 13, 2026
Read Time: 5 Minutes
Left to right: Dennis Freire, David Kenley, and Ben Buchanan
Takeaways: Three men living with stage 4 prostate cancer developed a lasting friendship through support services offered at Huntsman Cancer Institute.The Men’s Cancer Support Group and writing workshops at Huntsman Cancer Institute helped them navigate the emotional challenges of living with cancer.Impact: By combining leading-edge treatment with support and wellness services, Huntsman Cancer Institute helps care for the whole person.
They meet for dinner, call each other during the week, and make time to catch up whenever they can. Ben, Dennis, and David talk about work, grandchildren, and whatever else may be happening in their lives. The friends also share something not many others can fully understand: All three are living with stage 4 prostate cancer.
Ben
For years, Ben Buchanan was the medical expert in the room. As an emergency room doctor, he was used to caring for others.But in 2009, that role changed when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and at age 62, he found himself on the other side of the patient-doctor relationship.
Ben Buchanan
After beginning treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Ben focused on managing the physical aspects of his disease. But as the years passed, he realized cancer's emotional impact could be just as challenging.“When I mentioned this to my care team, they said they had resources to help,” Ben recalls. He was hesitant at first, but a couple months later, he asked if there were any support groups available. That’s when he started attending the Men’s Cancer Support Group at Huntsman Cancer Institute, a weekly virtual gathering where male cancer patients can connect with others who understand the challenges of living with cancer.
"It's a valuable and unique chance to be with people who are in a similar situation," he says. "Our friends and spouses don't really always understand what we're going through."The conversations often go beyond cancer itself. Members talk about how they are coping emotionally, navigating relationships, and adapting to life after a diagnosis."We talk about how we're dealing with it and how we're dealing with our family and friends emotionally," Ben says. "We're all in the same boat in that sense."Seventeen years after his diagnosis, Ben is still receiving treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute. While the cancer remains part of his life, he tries to bring a sense of optimism to the group."I think pessimism is contagious, and I think optimism is contagious," he says. “I'm alive, I can walk. I can talk. I can think. Why focus on what I can't do?”Now retired, Ben no longer spends his days caring for patients in the emergency room. But he still finds fulfillment in helping others, bringing his perspective to the support group and connecting with people facing many of the same challenges.It is also where he met some of his closest friends.
"If it hadn't been for Huntsman Cancer Institute facilitating the creation of these networks, I wouldn't have this incredible friendship.”
Dennis
Dennis Freire
When Dennis Freire met Ben at the support group, he was struck by his outlook on life.“When I first met Ben, his story and the way he approached his life was a source of hope,” he remembers.Dennis was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2020. At the time, he recalls being told he might have about 18 months to live. But meeting someone with the same diagnosis who had been living with the disease for years challenged some of his assumptions about what lay ahead.
“I’m realistic about what it means to have an incurable disease. He has his story, and I have my story,” Dennis says. “But he's been inspirational, and his story is what I want to hold on to.”
Living in Cedar City, Utah, roughly 250 miles from Salt Lake City, Dennis appreciates that he can participate in the support group virtually. The format allows him to stay connected with fellow patients, regardless of where he is.Once a month, he drives three to four hours to Huntsman Cancer Institute for care. In May 2025, Dennis enrolled in an innovative clinical trial for a new treatment for prostate cancer.Since he started taking the study drug, Dennis says the results have been encouraging. His PSA level, a blood marker used to monitor prostate cancer, is now considered undetectable, and imaging has shown his tumors and lesions remain stable.“Clinical trials cause you to dare to hope,” he says. “My youngest grandchild is 3, and I dare to hope I can see her at age 5, 8, even 10.”Throughout treatment, Dennis has continued to attend the support group. Following an invitation from Ben, he started participating in a writing workshop at Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Wellness and Integrative Health Center. The workshop is led Susan Sample, PhD, MFA, Huntsman Cancer Institute Writer-in-Residence.“Writing has become an important therapeutic process for me,” Dennis says. “I have written a book's worth of poetry and prose pieces related to my cancer journey. I find it to be very helpful in processing the emotions of dealing with cancer and cancer treatment.”Some of his pieces have even been published in journals.The writing workshop also gave Dennis another way to stay connected with the friendships he had built through Huntsman Cancer Institute.Now, when he makes his monthly drive to Salt Lake City, he makes time to catch up with friends.
David
David Kenley
When David Kenley was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in March 2022, he thought he only had a few years left to live."Based on the information I had, I assumed my life expectancy would be three to five years," he says.At the time, David was living in South Dakota, where he worked as the dean of faculty at Dakota State University. Although he was receiving treatment locally, a recommendation from his brother ultimately changed the course of his care.Years earlier, David's brother had received treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute for leukemia and spoke highly of his experience.
"When I got my diagnosis, he said I'd be a fool not to take advantage of the resources that are right here," David says.
In the summer of 2023, David moved to Utah to receive treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute.The move was not easy. He left behind friends, colleagues, and a community he had built over many years. "I would be lying if I said it hasn't been extremely difficult," David says. "But pursuing top-quality cancer treatment has definitely been worth it."Shortly after arriving, David began attending the Men's Cancer Support Group."I didn't know anybody in Utah," he says. "I had no friends. I had a very limited support network for this cancer journey."The group helped change that.
Left to right: Ben Buchanan visiting David Kenley during his treatment
David met other patients navigating many of the same challenges he faced. He also joined the writing workshop with Ben and Dennis, who became his close friends.“I’m now at the four-and-a-half-year mark,” David says. “And while the cancer is still terminal, I'm still here, and things are going well.”David credits Huntsman Cancer Institute with providing the resources that helped him build the support system he needed."I want to encourage more people to avail themselves of these opportunities," he says. "They're there to help you make friends, help you to have networks during difficult times, and we all need those."
A Lasting Friendship
Left to right: Ben Buchanan, David Kenley, and Dennis Freire enjoy a meal together
When David comes to Huntsman Cancer Institute for chemotherapy, Ben and Dennis join him when they can. “I told him I'd support in every way, and I'm going to go to all of his chemotherapy, if possible,” Ben says. “That's the kind of relationship we have. We share stuff we don't share with anybody else because they don't really understand.”Though what initially drew them to each other was the shared diagnosis, their friendship has grown beyond that."Sure, the commonality is that we're stage 4 cancer patients, but that isn't the only thing about us,” Dennis explains. “We’re friends. We have this real-life relationship where we sit down, and we break bread, and we joke and laugh together.”David says he will always be grateful for the support services that brought them together."If it hadn't been for Huntsman Cancer Institute facilitating the creation of these networks, I wouldn't have this incredible friendship.”
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