Why I Created True Proactive
Hi, my name is Clive. I’ve been a doctor for 11 years and a General Practitioner for the past six. Before moving to New Zealand, I owned a GP practice in the UK for five years.
My family and I ultimately left the UK disillusioned with the NHS. On some days I was expected to see or speak to up to 70 patients in a single day, 74 was my personal record. That’s not healthcare. You simply can’t give people the time, attention, and care they deserve at that pace.
Those years reinforced something I already knew to be true.
Early Detection Changes Everything
As a doctor, I see every day how powerful early detection can be. Catching a health problem early is often the difference between a simple intervention and a life-altering, or even life ending, diagnosis.
What frustrates me is that simple, cost effective screening tools already exist that can detect some of the most common cancers before symptoms appear.
A good example is the FIT test (Faecal Immunochemical Test) for bowel cancer. We sell this test for $195. It’s not perfect, no medical test is, but it can detect around 75–90% of bowel cancers, often before they cause any symptoms at all.
In New Zealand, the government provides FIT testing only for people aged 58–74. Outside of those age brackets, you’re largely on your own, expected to wait until symptoms develop before seeing a doctor. And sometimes, by the time symptoms appear, it’s already too late.
The Real Barrier Isn’t Always Access
For many people, the issue isn’t access to healthcare.
It’s the inconvenience, embarrassment, or hassle of going to the doctor.
And yes! this includes my own family.
I literally had to buy my dad an at home PSA test and do it for him myself because he refused to go to the doctor! Despite the fact that I am one.
He wasn’t being reckless. He was being “fine”.
Stoic. Embarrassed. Too busy.
All the familiar reasons many people, especially men, avoid GP visits.
That moment really stuck with me.
I realised the biggest problem wasn’t medical technology or healthcare availability.
It was the first step.
Getting people to engage at all.
Where True Proactive Came From
That’s where True Proactive was born.
Too many serious health conditions are diagnosed late, not because they’re rare or unpredictable, but because early opportunities for screening are missed.
If we can make screening simpler, more accessible, and more acceptable, we can genuinely change outcomes, especially for people who would otherwise avoid testing altogether.
True Proactive exists to make that first step easier.
This Has to Change
We live in an age of AI, near self driving cars, and powerful computers in our pockets, yet it still feels backwards that we often have to wait for something as dramatic as bleeding or a change in bowel habit before bowel cancer is detected.
That doesn’t make sense to me.
We all work hard. Life is tough enough. We deserve every chance to make it to retirement, and actually enjoy the rewards of all that hard work.
If True Proactive helps even one person avoid the thought, “I wish I’d checked earlier”, then it’s doing exactly what it was created to do.
Taking the first step doesn’t have to be difficult.
If you’re outside the government screening age ranges, short on time, or simply want a more private way to check your health, at-home screening can be a sensible place to start.
Explore our range of simple, clinically validated at home screening tests and take control of your health, on your terms.
Start screening today
