Elderly man with cancer moved to live in blue zones, unexpectedly lived to be 98 years old: The secret is very simple!

A man with terminal cancer lived nearly three more decades by changing one thing in his life .

When Greek Stamatis Moraitis was 66 years old, doctors said he only had about 6-9 months to live. Before going to the doctor, Moraitis, who had lived most of his life in suburban New York and Florida (USA), felt short of breath and could not complete a work day like before. According to doctors, he had end-stage lung cancer.

Therefore, he decided to return to his homeland with his wife, to live on the island of Ikaria . This place is known as one of the world's five Blue zones, located between Athens and Türkiye in the Mediterranean. He did not want his family to have to bear the cost of thousands of dollars in funeral arrangements in the US.

He thought: "Let me rest next to my family, by the sea, where my relatives don't have to spend too much money on funerals." But when he returned to Ikaria, something special happened. The place he chose to live the last days of his life was an isolated, unique location. Here, many people live to be over 100 years old. Gradually, he began to enjoy life here. He breathed fresh air, admired the clear blue water, met and talked with old friends.

Ikaria Island in Greece is one of the world's 5 Blue Zones.

Moraitis started growing grapes in his backyard. He realized he would no longer live to enjoy the taste of ripe grapes, but at least his wife would have the vines to remember her by.

But three decades later, Mr. Moraitis is still alive and has grown all kinds of fruit and vegetables including grapes and olives on the family farm.

When Dan Buettner, longevity expert and author of "Living to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones ," asked Moraitis his secret, he shrugged : "I don't know! I guess I forgot I had to die."

It's unclear what kept Moraitis alive three decades after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. It's possible he has some special genetic qualities commonly found in "super-long-lived" people , helping them avoid diseases such as cancer.

Dan Buettner and Stamatis Moraitis.

However, Buettner suspects that it is possible that the main factor that creates our longevity lies not within the body but in the surrounding environment - people, plants, air, lifestyle. A study of Danish twins found that genetics only determine about 20-25% of our lifespan.

According to Buettner, Moraitis isn't consciously trying to do anything to get healthier. All he did was change his environment.

Buettner even attempted to recreate the human-like Blue Zone lifestyle on the island of Ikaria in the US with considerable success. Starting in the small town of Albert Lea, Minnesota in 2009, his Blue Zones Project allows many Americans to live like centenarians in five Blue Zones around the world.

These projects promote walking and exercise, build bike lanes, provide healthier foods at grocery stores and restaurants, and host a variety of community engagement activities. like volunteering or painting murals.

For Moraitis, his daily living environment gave him a purpose to move every day for the rest of his life. If he wanted to cook with olive oil or grapes, he would have to go outside and climb a ladder to pick them. "Easy or difficult, I have to be able to do it ," he said with a smile.

Besides exercising, Moraitis does nothing other than eat organic food that he grows himself.

"I'm still having fun and working every day," Moraitis shared with the media in early 2013, just a few weeks before he died at the age of 98 (or 102, because Moraitis couldn't remember exactly).