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- Dr Anthony
Dr Anthony Chaffee came to medicine after a decade as a professional rugby player. An All-American, he played professionally in the United States and England, and he brought an athlete's view of the body with him: what you put into it, and how you use it, decides most of what you get out. He now practises preventative and longevity medicine from Perth, with nutrition at the centre of it.
The turning point was recognising that nutrition and lifestyle are not adjuncts to medical treatment but clinical tools in their own right. Many chronic diseases can be prevented, many can be substantially improved, and some can be brought into remission by addressing the factors that drive them. So he looks past the symptoms for the underlying cause, and treats that wherever he can, with conventional medical treatment used whenever it is needed.
His view of ageing is a simple one. Growing older need not mean decades of progressive chronic disease. Give the body what it needs, reduce harmful dietary and environmental exposures, and act before illness develops rather than after it arrives. His hope for the next decade of patient care is that it moves from managing chronic disease to preventing it, so that people live longer and healthier lives, with more independence and, where possible, less need for lifelong medication.
Dr Anthony started university at sixteen, studying molecular and cellular biology, and earned his medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (National University of Ireland, 2013). He went on to work as a neurosurgical registrar at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, and holds general registration with the Medical Board of Australia. He has also provided medical care in refugee camps in Bangladesh, treating survivors of the Rohingya crisis. His clinical interests are nutrition, preventative medicine and chronic disease management, alongside lifestyle medicine, hormone health and longevity. He is a co-author, with Professor Thomas Seyfried and an international group of clinicians and researchers, of a 2024 paper in BMC Medicine proposing a clinical research framework for ketogenic metabolic therapy in glioblastoma. He speaks widely on nutrition and metabolic health, and hosts a weekly podcast with leading clinicians and researchers.
Three experiences shaped how he practises. Caring for patients whose injuries or illnesses could not be overcome, despite everyone's best efforts, taught him humility, and that medicine cannot always change the outcome. Seeing patients harmed by preventable errors, and losing family and friends to preventable disease, taught him something different: that avoidable harm carries its own weight, because better judgement, better preparation or earlier intervention might have changed the course. Together they are why he stays vigilant, and why he works to give every patient the best possible chance.
The athlete has not gone anywhere. Away from his patients he lifts weights, sprints and still plays rugby, and he is writing a book.
Dr Anthony grew up in California and in Seattle, Washington, and now calls Perth home. When he is not training or writing, he reads and spends his time with family and friends.
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