Standing Up to Cancer and How I Do it

Five letters in a three-word sentence was all it took to scare the Bejesus out of me. When I heard the doctor say, “You have cancer,” instantly I felt my life was over. It took days to process what she’d said. I didn’t want to believe it, surely, she was wrong, but she wasn’t. After I got over the initial shock of hearing the diagnosis, I got mad. I was not about to let cancer take my life. I had to fight back; I had to develop a game plan.

I began reading any and everything I could about cancer. I wanted to know what types of things caused the disease and how it was treated. Almost every book or internet source I read said the same thing – breast cancer required some type of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. After the big three were completed, to keep cancer at bay, antihormone therapy drugs were used for 5 to 10 years or for the rest of a person’s life. I knew I wasn’t willing to go that route. I had to find something different.

I knew so many friends who’d caved to the traditional treatment plan. Chemotherapy had decimated their bodies and had eventually helped lead to their demise. I’d watched as they wasted away from poisons pumped into their bodies. Instead of irradicating the disease, it stole every ounce of energy and life from these people. I wasn’t willing to try even one treatment.

Radiation scared me to death. As a child, I’d done a book report on the Hiroshima bombing. I can still see the images of men, women, and children running away from the blast site, torn skin hanging from their bodies, looks of terror on their faces as they realized radiation from the blast was going to take them out. Yes, that’s a dramatic example of radiation, but it put the fear of God into my life. Eventually, I came around and found the radiation used for treating cancer was vastly different. I decided I could endure weeks of fatigue, and some skin burns in exchange for dead cancer cells. My doctor prescribed thirty rounds of radiation with 3 strong boosts of it at the end of my treatment, but even with that, I decided how many would be enough. After 28 rounds, I knew in my heart it was time to quit.

Antihormone therapy didn’t go well. Although I wasn’t keen on the idea, I tried three different medications for short periods of time. Arimidex, Aromasin, and Femara made me feel horrible. I cried all the time, felt my body was that of an eighty-year-old, and my bones hurt so terribly I couldn’t take any of them for more than a week. Friends and family said I didn’t give it enough time, again, I knew in my heart this type of therapy wasn’t for me. There had to be a more natural way of fighting cancer, and I was determined to find it. With trepidation, I notified my oncologist that I’d decided not to go the traditional route of fighting cancer. She was skeptical and did her best to persuade me to reconsider. In my heart, I knew I had to do what was best for me. At least, I could try to fight cancer without destroying my body.

I began to study books on Chinese medicine. In 2009, I’d had an opportunity to visit that beautiful country and was intrigued by the health and longevity of the people I encountered there. In talking with some of them, I found out they relied heavily on plants for medical treatment along with other ancient practices like needling and meditation. As I contemplated various Asian medical treatments, I was intrigued but also a little skeptical.

I studied Ayurvedic medicine, too. I had friends from India and had listened to various conversations about treatments for illnesses. These were completely different from traditional forms of medical treatment. Ayurveda, the oldest medicine system of India, used drugs made from plants to prevent and suppress tumors. Its main goal was to find the ultimate cause of an illness. I liked that. While I didn’t understand everything that fell under the four categories of their health system- Prakritisthapani chikitsa (health maintenance), Rasayana chikitsa, (restoration of normal function), Roganashani chikitsa (disease cure) and Naishthiki chikitsa (spiritual approach) I did glean, from my reading, that various plants they used held potential toward fighting cancer.

Soon, my counters were covered in herbal supplements, essential oils, vitamins, and organic, powdered Matcha green tea. I had an arsenal of weapons at my disposal to fight cancer. I didn’t really know where or how to begin and I was scared to death the things I tried might not work, but I had to do something. The first few months of my alternative therapy plan required a lot of trial and error, but I managed to get into a rhythm. I developed a routine that was easy to implement each day.

When time for periodic blood work came, I was scared. I knew I’d done everything in my power to keep cancer at bay but had no measured way of proving it. The lab results would either show an elevation in my tumor marker, or it would not.

Thankfully, the tests gave good results. My doctor was pleased and said, “I was holding steady and what I was doing seemed to be working just fine.” I was elated to hear that news and left the office feeling more confident. I’d discovered a way to stand up to cancer!

It’s been over eleven years since I began my alternative therapy regimen. Over the years, I’ve whittled down the plan and streamlined it a bit. I still follow a mostly organic diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, but I also eat very lean, grass-fed protein. I drink lots of filtered water and matcha green tea. I avoid sugar as much as possible by replacing it with unfiltered honey or Stevia. I exercise each day and do my best to avoid all stress. Taking Ashwagandha each day helps immensely with that. I do a deep detox every month choosing to fast a few days and allow my body to rest. It probably would have been easier to pop pills full of chemicals for the next 5 or 10 years instead of following a lengthy health regimen, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Today, I’m happy, healthy, and strong. I’ve moved from constant tests and procedures at the cancer treatment center to the coveted survivorship program. No longer do I describe myself by the three-letter title (N.E.D. – no evidence of disease) that many cling to, instead, I declare I’m healed. I survived! I stood up to cancer, slapped that stinking disease in the face, and showed it who was boss!

Standing up to cancer takes guts and determination. In each of us there is an innate desire to survive but that desire requires action on our part. If we’re not willing to buck the system and stand up for cancer in our own lives, who’s going to do it for us? It’s important to do your best and try.

Am I one of the lucky ones? Will my cancer ever return? I don’t know the answers to those questions, and I can't justify wasting time on them. What I do know is that what I’ve been doing has bought me eleven beautiful, healthy, productive years and I’m thankful for that.

References

1. “Alternative Cancer Treatment Requires Effort,” by Bonnie Annis. CURE. News release; May 2, 2018. https://www.curetoday.com/view/alternative-cancer-treatment-requires-effort
2. “Ayurveda and cancer,” by Dr. Roopesh Jain et al. Pharmacognosy Research. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3111701/

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