I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016.
Imagine yourself waking up in the morning, grabbing your first cup of coffee, the sun is shining, your walking outside to listen to the birds and breathe the clean fresh air. You hear the phone ring, so you go inside to answer the call and you hear the voice of your primary care physician telling you that your biopsy has come back positive for Cancer.
What, you must be mistaken? Needless to say, I was in a state of shock. How could this be? No one in my family had ever been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
I was immediately referred to 2 doctors who specialize in treating Cancer, who would now be in charge of my care. I don’t think anything could have made me feel more scared and alone.
I don’t think anything could have made me feel more scared and alone.
I couldn’t imagine how my body would feel if I had no estrogen! I felt powerless over my own life, I was not ready to feel like an 80-year old woman. I was not done living my life.
My first conversation was with the surgeon. I remember being told to put on this flimsy paper gown that opened in the front. It was very cold in her office and there I was, sitting on that examining table waiting for the doctor to come in. When she came in she introduced herself, examined me and began drawing pictures and describing the gruesome details of what surgery would involve. This was followed by radiation, possibly chemotherapy and a medication that blocks all the estrogen in your body that I would need to take for at least 5 years. Any woman who is experiencing menopause knows what happens as the estrogen levels in her body begin to decline. I couldn’t imagine how my body would feel if I had no estrogen! I felt powerless over my own life, I was not ready to feel like an 80-year old woman. I was not done living my life.
My second appointment was with a medical oncologist on the phone. She was very reassuring with a ‘don’t worry attitude’. “Women experience every day” she told me. Did she just say, ‘women experience this everyday’? During our conversation she talked about the standard of care with an ‘it’s no big deal attitude’. She convinced me to make an appointment with the radiologist to talk about treatment and the possibility of a new procedure call ‘Bracky’ radiation therapy where they place a balloon in the area during surgery and do an extremely high dose of radiation to that area of the breast every day for a week. Yikes!
During my appointment with the Radiologist, I got feeling that he actually enjoyed radiating tissue. He explained Brachy Radiation therapy, where they would implant a balloon and my surgery wound would remain open for at least a week. In my own research I later learned, what he didn’t tell me; that it leaves a permanent hole in your breast.
Or there was the option of conventional radiation where they would put permanent marks on my body to mark off the area for the radiation treatment. Those treatments would be every day for 6 weeks. “You’ll notice that the skin on your breast will be burned but it will heal and feel quite normal in time.” he said. Somehow I managed to ask, if the skin on my Breast burns but will heal in time, does that mean that my breast tissue will also heal.
“Oh no”, he said. “Your breast tissue will feel like radiated tissue. It will feel hard and lumpy and that will not ever go away. But don’t worry, we will try really hard not to radiate your heart or your lungs, but I can’t guarantee it.” And by the way isn’t it true that radiation can cause cancer? “No”, he answered.
My femininity and the very essence of who I am was under attack.
After being presented with the options available in today’s traditional medical community, I set out on a path to find a way to a natural way to heal. My endless hours of research led me on a journey of healing.
I cannot describe the feelings of hopelessness I felt. My femininity and the very essence of who I am, was under attack. What were they saying to me, doing more harm to my body would somehow make me better? None of this made sense to me. Are these really the only options? But a small voice inside me told me there had to be a better way!
When I told the oncologist I would not be doing radiation at all. You would have thought that I set off a bomb in her office. She tried to remain calm while she explained to me that although it was my right to refuse treatment it was not in my best interest and doing so would only increase my chance of cancer recurring. Then she explained this was not the “standard of care” and was a dangerous decision. I had made up my mind and nothing was going to change that, I would take my chances. After being presented with the options available in today’s traditional medical community, I set out on a path to find a way to a natural way to heal. My endless hours of research led me on a journey of healing.
Finding a Nutritionist, an Integrated doctor and a Naturopath oncologist helped change my lifestyle. They focused on exercise, releasing trauma and eating nourishing foods that not only increased my energy and eliminating inflammation, but built my immune system. These three incredible women worked with me on the latest research and targeted anti-cancer strategies. They were not shaken by my diagnoses’; they knew exactly what to do.
Your body cannot heal if we have a compromised immune system. Very few people ever think about that. We feel healthy, so we must be healthy. I certainly believed I was healthy, but still I had cancer and there was a reason.
I learned about the toxic chemicals in our food, our water and our environment. According to Health Guidance for Better Health, Inc., I learned that our drinking water alone contains over 2,000 chemicals and these chemicals are both poisonous and deadly. In the bigger picture, add to that all the chemicals and other toxic substances that are used on our food. It is staggering! Our bodies are miraculous and it is a wonder that we can fill our bodies with poison and our body does everything it can to fight off and eliminate these toxic substances. Unfortunately our bodies cannot eliminate it all, some toxins remain in our system and continue to poison us and compromise our immune system and slowly we begin to die from the inside out.
There is no easy answer. The journey can be different for each one of us, but for me, my journey began by asking myself what stood in my way of a complete healing from this cancer. The answer came back to me loud and clear. Change your beliefs, change your future.
This may sound like a simple task, however our beliefs are the very foundation we have use to build our life on. In rising up from the ashes, I made a decision that no matter what happens I would live my life to the fullest.
In my journey to uncover the truth about cancer, I began to regaining my power and make decisions that would not only lead me to living a healthier life but would lead me to living my life as a thriver not a survivor.
Today I am 100% cancer free.
