The Peter Attia Drive: Dr. Tom Catena

The Peter Attia Drive: Dr. Tom Catena (from 2019, recently re-aired)

“I think maybe the modus operandi of my life is always looking for, what’s the opposite of greener pastures? Browner pastures (laughs)”

That’s a quote from guest Tom Catena, M.D., the only physician working in the Nubah Mountains in Sudan, where a civil war has raged for over a decade, devastating the community, injuring thousands and taking countless lives. If it sounds like this episode is going to be a depressing one, it’s far from it. On the contrary it’s quite uplifting.

Tom Catena, M.D. is a fascinating man. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be a missionary but he didn’t know in what capacity, so he become a physician. He figured he could use his profession to serve others. And that's exactly what he’s been doing for more than a decade. Sacrificing time with family, the comforts of home (the U.S.), and an easy medical practice complete with all of the modernities the states have to offer.

I loved this conversation because I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone as authentic and genuinely good as Tom Catena. In every single way he is the person we all strive in our head to be, but very few actually become.

Throughout this episode there were a few things that stood out to me.

What are you willing to sacrifice?

During the conversation Dr. Attia starts to lament on wishing he was as good a person as Dr. Catena is. After all they are both physicians, and Dr. Attia has chosen a much different path than Dr. Catena. He’s chosen to serve people in the familiarity of home, on topics (longevity, lifespan) that he is passionate about. He is not in the classical sense of the definition, a missionary.

But Dr. Catena’s response is very real. Dr. Attia’s role in this world, or specifically in this struggle in the Nubah Mountains, is to use his platform (this podcast, his newsletter, and website) to bring awareness to the struggle where there hasn’t been much (if any) before. I know I had never heard of it prior to listening to this episode.

He asks the question in a sense, to think about what it is your willing to sacrifice. For Dr. Catena the answer is comfort, friends, family and high paying job. Everyone’s answer is going to be different. But it’s important that we all don’t fall into a feeling of apathy because we believe we aren’t able to contribute in the same manner as someone else. Rather we should ask ourselves, what are we willing to sacrifice, and use that to guide us.

The bloated U.S. healthcare system.

The hospital that Dr. Catena runs operated on donations. Dr. Catena earns $350 a week for his services. He serves a community of roughly 1,000,000 people. He (Dr. Catena) explains that if he had a $1,000,000 annual budget, he could:

• treat 130,000 out patients

• perform 2,000 surgeries

• treat 6,000 in patients

• treat several thousand maternity patients

• deliver hundreds of babies

• vaccinate thousands of children

For comparison a surgery in the U.S. could run anywhere from $20,000 - $150,000 depending on the surgery being performed and where. The U.S. spends over a trillion dollars per year on healthcare and yet we remain one of the most unhealthy nations in the world. So where is all of our money going and how much better could we be doing. Not just monetarily, but in serving the people who need it most.

Suicide, or lack thereof, in the Nubah Mountains

In all of his time in this war torn region of the world (over 10 years), Dr. Catena has only experienced one suicide. A man who shot himself and completely shook the community.

Meanwhile in the U.S. suicide ranks among the top ten causes of death in every age demographic except 0 - 10. That’s only counting fast suicide. Slow suicide (alcohol, drugs, over consumption of food) over a lifetime makes up pretty much all ten of the top ten causes of death in this country (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes etc…).

How a war torn region of people can remain so steadfast in their desire to live, compared to a nation that has everything, is described in great detail in the book Tribe, by Sebastian Junger.

The Starfish Story

Lastly, this is just a great anecdote for anyone that feels like they couldn’t possibly make a difference. The Starfish Story.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

This short article about Tom Catena, MD is a short version of the podcast episode: He’s Jesus Christ