Mark Shigihara has a favorite series of questions he likes to ask audiences when he speaks on overcoming challenges.

“If you knew that the earth would end in 30 days, what would you do to change your life?” he poses.

And then adds: “Why not make those changes when your back isn’t against the wall? Why not make those changes now?”

The Bellevue resident knows what it’s like to feel his back against the wall, to face the end. In March 2007, he was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas, ampulla, small bowel and colon.

So he decided to write a book.

Living Lessons: My journey of faith, love, and cutting-edge cancer therapy (Active Interest Media) was published in late September. It weaves Shigihara’s personal story with information on the integrative cancer treatments he’s receiving at Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center (SCTWC) in Renton.

“Through the entire process, it really became clear to me that I could turn this experience into a positive if I had something productive come out of it,” says Shigihara, a pharmacist who collaborated with author and holistic health practitioner Kim Erickson in writing the book.

“I hope this book becomes a companion not just for cancer patients and their families, but for anyone facing an overwhelming life challenge.”

If there were one message he’d like readers to take away, he says it would be to “savor your journey.”

In Living Lessons, Shigihara shows how dealing with advanced cancer can be a valuable learning process, in every way. First there’s the purely practical matter of choosing your treatment. He wants to empower patients to look at all the options.

Most people, he writes, have no idea how to navigate outside the realm of conventional therapy. His own foray into integrative medicine was something of a surprise to his colleagues and friends, he says.

Because he underwent surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center and has professional ties to the University (he’s an affiliate assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy), associates assumed he would continue treatment with UW doctors.

But Shigihara chose Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center. An affiliate of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, SCTWC combines oncology with evidence-based complementary therapies, including naturopathic oncology, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and mind-body medicine.

In what he calls the Center’s “maximum blitz” approach, Shigihara sees an oncologist for “metronomic dose” chemotherapy (in which drugs are administered in smaller, more frequent doses to minimize side effects), a naturopathic oncologist for dietary guidance and supplements, and a Chinese medicine practitioner/acupuncturist.

“The proof is in the pudding,” says Shigihara, who is alive and doing well more than three and a half years after his diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States; once diagnosed, eight out of 10 patients die within one year.

During his weekly chemo treatments, Shigihara had his laptop open, working on his book. He wrote no matter how lousy he felt. “If I didn’t have that feeling that this was my destiny, I don’t know if I would’ve had the strength,” he says.

“Faith” and “love” come before “therapy” in the title because, without that foundation, no treatment is going to be as effective, Shigihara says. He drew inner strength from his faith in God and focus on family – wife, Gwen and sons James, 21, and Lane, 18 – and devotes a chapter of the book to caregiving.

His family has always been important, but cancer made it even more so. Not knowing how much time he had left, Shigihara set out to make the most of his relationships with his children and wife of 26 years, creating special memories and advising his sons on everything from job interviews to first loves.

Curious, his wife recently asked him the question he asks of others. “What would you change?”

Without hesitation, he said, “Nothing. I have had a wonderful life and now circumstances have given me an opportunity to help others.”

Copies of Mark Shigihara’s book, Living Lessons: My journey of faith, love, and cutting-edge cancer therapy are available at Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center, 900 SW 16th St in Renton. The book also can be purchased on Amazon.com and from other online booksellers. For more information, visit www.livinglessonscancer.com.