Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, is a physician with sixteen years of clinical experience at Trillium Health Partners and the author of Built to Recover: Your Guide to Preparing for Surgery. After a cancer diagnosis at forty-two, he used prehabilitation to prepare for his own major surgery and went home on day five. All proceeds from the book go to Childhood Cancer Canada.
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For podcast hosts, journalists and event organizers. Find upcoming appearances, story ideas, and everything you need to introduce Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, and Built to Recover.
Appearances
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Episodes will be posted here as soon as they air.
Coming soon
The Cancer Pod
Video and audio episode coming soon.
Coming soon
ACCRAC Podcast
Anesthesia and Critical Care Reviews and Commentary. Audio episode coming soon.
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The doctor who became the patient
What changes when a physician of sixteen years is suddenly on the other side of the operating table.
Make the wait count
How patients can turn long waits for surgery into weeks of useful preparation.
Prehab, explained
The four pillars of preparing for surgery: nutrition, fitness, breathing and mindset, in plain language.
Questions patients are asking now
From protein targets to weight-loss medications like Ozempic: what to raise with your surgical team.
Fear, control and resilience
Moving from "Why me?" to "What can I do about this?" after a cancer diagnosis.
A book that gives back
Why every dollar of proceeds from Built to Recover goes to Childhood Cancer Canada.
Press kit
Bios, photos and book details.
Free to use with coverage of the author, his talks or the book. Please credit photos to Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD.
Short bio
Full bio
Mathew Peter Silvaggio, MD, is a board-certified physician who received his medical degree from McMaster University and completed his residency at the University of Ottawa. With sixteen years of clinical experience, he practises at Trillium Health Partners in the Greater Toronto Area, caring for patients before, during and after surgery.
At forty-two, he was diagnosed with two simultaneous cancers and found himself on the other side of the operating table. As he prepared for chemotherapy, immune therapy and a major esophagectomy, he applied the science of prehabilitation to his own body and mind. He was walking the day after surgery and home on day five, less than half the typical stay.
He wrote Built to Recover: Your Guide to Preparing for Surgery to give patients the practical, evidence-based guide he couldn't find. He now speaks to patients, physicians, hospital teams and conferences about how better preparation leads to better recovery. All proceeds from the book go to Childhood Cancer Canada. He lives in the Greater Toronto Area with his two sons.
Book facts
- TitleBuilt to Recover: Your Guide to Preparing for Surgery
- AuthorMathew Peter Silvaggio, MD
- PublisherHG Press, Toronto, 2026
- HardcoverISBN 978-1-0680455-2-3
- PaperbackISBN 978-1-0680455-1-6
- eBookISBN 978-1-0680455-0-9
- ProceedsChildhood Cancer Canada
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