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Stamatis Moraitis was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in his mid-60s
09:12, Fri, Jan 16, 2026 Updated: 09:15, Fri, Jan 16, 2026
Stamatis Moraitis was diagnosed with terminal cancer (Image: BBC)
A man given just months to live following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis went on to survive for more than four decades after choosing to return to the remote Greek island of his birth.
Stamatis Moraitis was in his mid-60s when American doctors informed him that the tumours in his lungs were incurable, giving him less than a year to live.
Multiple specialists confirmed the diagnosis, and the outlook was grim.
Instead of pursuing aggressive treatment, Moraitis decided to return to the Aegean island of Ikaria, his birthplace, which is renowned worldwide for its residents' longevity.
Remarkably, his health started to improve. On the island, Moraitis discovered he could gradually resume physical labour, spending his days planting vegetables, tending vineyards and socialising daily with friends who gathered at his home, frequently drinking homemade wine late into the evening, reports the Mirror.
Stamatis Moraitis returned to the island he was born (Image: Blue Zones, LLC/Youtube)
Years afterwards, he travelled back to the United States to enquire how he had survived. "My doctors were all dead," he said.
For Moraitis, the improvement in his health stemmed from embracing the island's relaxed way of life, prioritising waking naturally, taking daily naps and spending his time in conversation with friends.
Moraitis, a Second World War veteran who emigrated to America in the 1940s, had spent his life working demanding manual jobs, raising a family and living what seemed to be an ordinary life. In conversation with longevity expert and National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner, Moraitis attributed his survival to a shift towards a less stressful lifestyle.
Reflecting on his time spent with Moraitis, Buettner described him as "the most memorable person" he met during his research.
Ikaria has some of the longest lived residents in the world (Image: undefined)
"He moved back to Ikaria to die," Buettner said. "Instead, he recovered, without treatment, simply by changing his environment."
Buettner has contended Moraitis's survival was not due to some miraculous cure, but rather a simple change in lifestyle.
"We live in a culture that relentlessly pursues comfort," he said. "Ease is related to disease. In Ikaria, hardship, movement and social connection are built into everyday life."
Research indicates that people living on Ikaria are more than twice as likely as Americans to live to 90 and typically develop cancer and heart disease much later.
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The population adheres to a predominantly plant-based diet, walks steep terrain daily and places significant importance on social interaction and community.
Moraitis lived for over four decades beyond his terminal diagnosis, becoming a global symbol of Ikaria's way of life. When asked how he overcame cancer, his response was characteristically straightforward: "It just went away."
English (US) · 