At just thirty years old, Steve was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer. The journey has taken him through chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, and many different avenues of holistic health. An avid blogger, Steve shares his personal health regimens as well as love of music, movies and sports in his writing. Follow along his quest for wellness as he reacclimates into the world in spite of daunting statistics. You can connect with Steve on Instagram 

Steve Rubin

I can easily recall at least three moments where doctors told me they hadn’t seen anyone in my situation turn their health around.

The look in their eyes, that tone in their voice… the all-around numb sensation that closed in on my soul afterward; I’ll never forget how hopeless and isolating those moments felt. When the experts don’t seem to believe you can heal, how are you supposed to believe yourself?

Back in 2016, I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer that spread from my right femur to both lungs and then my left hip. In just a few years, I’d endured a handful of recurrences and underwent seven surgeries.

Eventually, my oncologist sat my family and me down and explained that the five-year survival rate was less than 10%.

In spite of what doctors and statistics said, I chose to put on blinders and move forward. I began embracing alternative healing approaches and overhauled my entire lifestyle to focus on healing.

After conventional treatment failed, doctors essentially ran out of answers except for a clinical trial with brutal side effects and a low success rate. Comparatively, this made it easier for me to explore other approaches with a more open mind, yet the experience was still terrifying… It wasn’t like I was receiving instant validation that anything I was doing would save my life.

The uncertainty was every bit as overwhelming as you might imagine, yet I followed my heart, taking life one day at a time, and ultimately, I was blessed to turn my health around. (If you’re interested in learning more about my story, feel free to check out my blog at www.othercword.com)

Looking back, here’s an important lesson I learned:

The opportunity to buy into "hopelessness" is always available to us. 

With healing cancer, I found that managing the mental game was half the battle, especially with the odds stacked against me.

The opportunity always existed for me to worry that I was crazy for thinking I could turn my health around. Likewise, there was an opportunity to consume myself with anxiety, pressure and uncertainty; there was an opportunity to believe horror stories shared with me about what happened to someone on social media with a similar diagnosis…

These thoughts and stories are floating around in the ether, ready to activate as soon as we give them the green light (whether consciously or subconsciously).

There’s also the opportunity to think about success stories and remind us that people overcome extremely daunting situations every day.

There’s the opportunity for us to feel empowered about studying healing and implementing holistic healing approaches. There’s the opportunity for us to recognize that waves of fear, doubt and anxiety are natural and inevitable, and it’s our job as thrivers to accept and manage these emotions each day.

There’s the opportunity to remind ourselves that we are gaining extremely valuable wisdom that can one day be passed down to others who are struggling.

And there’s the opportunity to remind ourselves that we can't fully see the big picture; all it takes to heal is one lucky break.

All of these are on the table. Different thoughts, mindsets and stories waiting for us to try on like a new pair of clothes. Recognizing the control we have is the first step.

Then, be sure to choose your beliefs carefully, because they’re extremely powerful.

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Looking back at my experience with osteosarcoma, I realized that managing the mental game was half the battle, especially with so much negativity.  

A Lesson About Mindset I Learned Overcoming a Less than 10% Survival Rate

It’s been almost 10 years since I was diagnosed with stage 4 osteosarcoma (a rare and aggressive bone cancer). Cancer had spread from my right leg to both lungs and my left hip; I’ve had seven surgeries and five recurrences. The doubt, urgency and uncertainty were absolutely relentless.

I’ve experienced some pretty bleak times and I’ll never forget what it felt like having to keep rallying myself through one day after the next, especially when the future appeared hopeless.

Ultimately, I was extremely blessed to turn my health around. Doctors and luck are surely to thank, and I also believe the work I put in from my end outside the hospital played a significant role in my healing.

In my case, there was no magic pill to save the day. The journey was slow while I overhauled my lifestyle and did my best to “earn my health,” one day at a time. However, without any clear validation that I was doing was even working, I had to work extra hard to keep my mindset positive and focused.

Here are three reminders I’ve used to stay motivated and do my best to boost the odds of success:

I recently wrote about how too much future thinking can throw us off in the present

. At the time, I had a long, unfamiliar drive ahead of me, and while lost in thought about which lane change to make later on down the highway, I almost drove straight into a giant pothole.

When we’re too busy thinking ahead, it’s easy to get distracted and make mistakes. Plus, it tends to bring on anxiety because we’re trying to figure out answers to all different problems that aren’t even on our plate at the moment, and this riles up the nervous system which is counteractive to healing.

Be where your feet are. Be here now. Stay focused on… (see #2)

During the darkest days, I treated healing like a full-time job. Between nutrient-dense meals, supplements, detox and alternative healing protocols, I kept asking myself what’s the next healing action I could take to boost the odds. (Process thinking.)

This helped me keep my attention on healing as opposed to disease thinking (symptoms, side effects, survival rates). It also helped me sleep better at night knowing I left nothing on the table.

(Important: There are times where the best healing action is resting, or literally doing nothing and just chilling out. Too much perfectionism, I’ve learned, can add stress that offsets any health benefits.)

3. “0-0” (as in the score is zero-zero).

Whatever happened yesterday, whether I had a productive day or a setback, I leave that in the past and do my best to boost my healing today.

There will be setbacks and stretches where we just feel off. But I strive for consistency as much as I can. That means getting enough sleep, exercise, flooding my body with nutrients, detoxing, mindset and emotional work. Each day, I focused on supporting my mind, body and supercharging my immune system, again and again. (If you’re interested in learning more about my story, feel free to shoot me at note at 

 and I’m always looking to support the community like other thrivers did for me.)

While it’s so easy to get caught up in results thinking (especially after scans), process is where we do have control. These tips have served me well over the years, and I hope they help you, too.

As always, one good decision at a time, one day at a time.

Reflecting on different reminders that have helped me maintain an empowering mindset and stay motivated on healing with cancer, one day at a time.

The Right Mindset Helped Me Focus on Healing After Stage 4 Cancer

It’s been three years since I wrote a post called, 

 where I shared about my experience trying to figure out life after cancer.

At the time, I was learning how to exist in the real world, after I had managed to stabilize my health after five years in constant survival mode. I’d been diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 30 years old, which spread from my right leg to both lungs and my left hip. It escalated to stage 4 with a less than 10% survival rate.

I was thrilled to have pulled off a miracle; however, the aftermath was challenging to navigate as well. Still, in my thirties, all my friends had moved on to successful careers, had kids, bought nice homes… And I was living on disability, trying to find my way again.

As a type A personality, I thrive off the feeling of productivity and knowing I’m working towards a goal. However, I just couldn’t figure out the right outlet to channel that energy. In that blog post, I capped off my thoughts with the conclusion that the best I could offer myself was to trust the process and be comfortable with the idea that I was unclear… perfectly unclear.

Now in 2024, I can happily report that my path has come together better than I ever could have imagined. Since that original post, I officially overcame the five-year survival rate. My wife and I have also moved across the country from New York to Northern California. And as more people facing cancer have reached out asking for more details on how I turned my health around (feel free to shoot me a note at steve@othercword.com), I started helping others by sharing my experience in a more structured coaching program.

On top of all that, the biggest change has been that my wife and I eventually revisited the conversation of having a child. We’d both gone through so much trauma that we didn’t even know if it would be possible. But we decided to give it a try and pursued IVF. And miraculously, we had a healthy, beautiful baby girl earlier this year.

I’ll admit, as exciting as the idea of being a parent was, I had some real concerns. The uncertainty of cancer still looms in the background (I don’t expect that to ever fade entirely), and I worried about the responsibilities a newborn would require. Less sleep, less time to keep up with my holistic regimens and protocols…

But just like in the post, “Perfectly Unclear,” I leaned on the idea of trusting the universe to support me, guide me and help me figure it all out, one day at a time.

Being a new dad and moving across the country to a brand-new area hasn’t been easy. I’ve had setbacks, I’ve had breakdowns… but just like during treatment, I do my best to make the right adjustment and keep moving forward. And I’m really proud of how I’ve grown.

Speaking of trusting the universe, that’s one of the hardest parts about life after cancer. I’ve endured five recurrences and seven surgeries over the years. For a while, it felt like good news wasn’t possible. But thankfully, these past few years have shown another, more supportive side. Now one of my biggest areas of focus is to keep reminding myself, “It gets to be this good, and it gets to keep getting better and better.”

There will no doubt be ups and downs, but I’m sticking to the formula that’s gotten me here: one good decision at a time, one day at a time. Throughout it all, that’s one thing that’s always been perfectly clear.

When my life after stage 4 osteosarcoma felt unclear, I did my best to trust the process. Three years later, here's what happened. 

3 Years Later, I’m Revisiting My (Unclear) Life After Cancer  

One of the hardest parts about fighting cancer is staying present, despite all the nightmare scenarios that plague the mind.

It’s so easy to get caught up in thinking about what could go wrong. Especially after you’ve already endured trauma. And if you’re like me, your brain has a hard time with the uncertainty. We want control. We want to see a clear path that leads us back to wellness.

So, we end up spinning and spinning, and waste valuable time and energy that could be used towards healing.

Planning ahead is one thing; being intentional about what you want is healthy and productive. But fixating on the future at times when the present moment demands your attention is different.

A few weeks ago, I was driving to a friend’s house. It was a longer trip and even though I had GPS, I knew there was this one part, along a six-lane highway, where your eyes were suddenly bombarded with green signs offering route changes (which always seem like they have extra small fonts)… and you had to be in just the right lane quickly.

I kept trying to remember which of two lanes was the correct one… and while I was lost in thought, almost smacked right into a giant pothole.

It was a perfect reminder that when we’re drifting off too much into the future, our performance in the moment suffers and it’s easier to make mistakes.

Too much future thinking in general also causes anxiety. I mean how are we supposed to have an answer for the infinite possible problems that could arise tomorrow? It’s discouraging and a waste of energy.

The best approach, I’ve found, is to focus on doing today’s job as well as possible. And then do that all over again tomorrow.

While I was working to overcome bone cancer that had spread from my right leg to both lungs and then my left hip, I kept asking myself, “What’s the next best thing I can do for my healing?”

Some days that meant grabbing another juice, making a salad or taking a handful of supplements (always under the oversight of a doctor). Other days that meant resting or leaving space for self-compassion. It didn’t matter so much what the task at hand was, as long as I listened to my heart and used what I had learned about healing to make the best decision possible in the moment.

This kept my performance up; it kept my mind busy and kept me focused on the process. And over time, the cumulative result is how we can boost the odds of healing.

I still have to remind myself of this lesson all the time. I have plenty of off days, I have my struggles like everyone else. But I do the best I can to notice, when for example,I’m going down a rabbit hole about an upcoming scan or intimidating medical appointment and use the wisdom I’ve gained since my diagnosis to make adjustments to where I’ll focus.

(If you want to connect or learn more about my experience overcoming a less than 10% survival rate, feel free to send a note to steve@othercword.com)

I view mindset management as a daily practice, and it starts with awareness. It also requires patience, because living in the moment, especially when healing from cancer can often feel unrewarding, if not grueling. Results can take time and aren’t guaranteed. That can be an uncomfortable space to live in day after day.

We also want to strike the right balance because planning ahead for the future does help us work towards the life we want to build (especially when trying to plan a life that doesn’t exclusively include our identity as “cancer patient”.)

Keeping an eye on the future can offer a ton of payoff and be strategically sound… Just maybe not while the present moment needs our focus in order to get there.

Putting a focus on healing is most important before fixating on the far future. Take it one day at a time.

Steve Rubin

A Lesson About Mindset I Learned Overcoming a Less than 10% Survival Rate

The Right Mindset Helped Me Focus on Healing After Stage 4 Cancer

3 Years Later, I’m Revisiting My (Unclear) Life After Cancer

Avoiding Unhelpful Future Thinking While Fighting Cancer

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