New book — coming soon

The weeks before surgery are the ones that matter most.

Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, is a physician who has spent his career caring for patients through surgery — and a cancer survivor who used the principles of prehabilitation to prepare for his own. His book, Built to Recover, brings that science, and that hard-won experience, to every patient.

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With prehab Without

The prehabilitation advantage: patients who prepare start from a higher baseline, lose less ground during surgery, and climb back faster — often past where they began.

About

The expert who became the patient.

Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, has seen major surgery from both sides of the operating table.

For sixteen years he has cared for patients as a physician, guiding people through some of the most vulnerable hours of their lives. Then, at forty-two, the perspective reversed: a routine investigation ended with the words “I think you have cancer.” He was diagnosed with two simultaneous cancers, and everything he understood as a physician he was about to live as a patient.

Rather than wait passively for surgery, he stopped asking “Why me?” and started asking “What can I do about this?” He immersed himself in the evidence on prehabilitation and applied it to his own body and mind — coming to see himself not as a passive participant, but as an active member of his own surgical team.

In September 2025 he underwent an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy, one of surgery's most demanding operations. He was on his feet the next day and discharged home on the fifth.

5days

Home after a major esophagectomy — less than half the typical stay. The principles in Built to Recover are the ones he used to prepare himself.

Built to Recover grew from that experience — the guide he searched for as a patient and couldn't find. It translates the science he knew as a doctor, and lived as a patient, into practical guidance anyone can use to prepare for surgery.

Credentials

Board-certified physician
MD, McMaster University
Residency, University of Ottawa
16 years of clinical experience — Trillium Health Partners, Greater Toronto Area

“It was the surgeon's job to get me through the operation with the cancer removed. It was my job to go into surgery with the best possible level of fitness — mentally and physically.” — Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, in Built to Recover

He lives in the Greater Toronto Area with his two sons.

The Book

Built to Recover

Your Guide to Preparing for Surgery

A science-based prehabilitation programme for every patient.

eBook coming next month · print edition to follow

In plain language, Built to Recover walks patients and their families through exactly how to prepare for a major operation — what to do in the weeks beforehand, why it works, and how it can shorten recovery and reduce complications.

It's the book Dr. Silvaggio searched for as a cancer patient and couldn't find — written for the person facing surgery, not the specialist, and grounded in both the medical evidence and his own recovery.

Why the pre-surgery window is your biggest opportunity
A step-by-step programme for strength, nutrition, and mindset
Questions to ask your surgical team before the date

“[An endorsement quote — from a colleague, surgeon, or early reader. Drop these in as they come.]”

— [Name, Credentials or Title]

Speaking

Bring prehabilitation to your audience.

Talks from a physician who has lived what he teaches — for the people who prepare patients for surgery, and for the patients themselves. Each one can be tailored to your event and time slot.

Surgical centres Patient education programmes Medical conferences Hospital systems Community health groups

Preparing Your Body for Surgery

The prehabilitation advantage, made practical — what patients can do before an operation to recover faster and stronger.

For patients & families

The Prehab Playbook for Surgical Teams

How to build prehabilitation into a care pathway — the evidence, the workflow, and the outcomes that follow.

For clinicians & hospitals

Both Sides of the Table

A physician's story of facing his own cancer surgery — and what it taught him about preparation, control, and recovery.

For general & wellness audiences

“[A quote from an organizer of one of your talks — local counts, and specifics sell.]”
— [Organizer, Programme / Event]

“[A second short quote — about the audience response or how practical it was.]”
— [Organizer, Programme / Event]

Speaker one-sheet

Bio, topics, headshot, and contact — everything an event planner needs, on one page.

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