About The Book
“Beauty and the Malignant Beast” begins with Dan and Celeste’s love story. They dated for five years before marrying in 2003, building a life filled with international travel, artistic pursuits, and quiet contentment. Celeste’s passion for horses, art, and her thriving interior design business painted a picture of vitality that made her cancer diagnosis especially shocking.
When routine pain led to testing, doctors discovered Stage 4 colon cancer. Dan describes the cold delivery of devastating news, the rush of surgeries, and the start of aggressive chemotherapy that would define the next several years. The book documents treatment across multiple specialized centers, clinical trials, and the problematic reality of watching treatments show promise before losing effectiveness.
Throughout treatment, Dan grew frustrated with what he saw as gaps in communication, a lack of empathy from medical staff, and a system designed to keep patients cycling through expensive treatments rather than pursuing actual cures.
Dan critiques pharmaceutical companies’ influence on regulatory agencies like the FDA, arguing that profit motives suppress the investigation of alternative therapies. He examines the business incentives behind hospice care as Celeste transitioned to end-of-life support at home.
