In May of 2005 I was sitting in the office of the world’s leading hematologist while he gently explained to me, my mother, and my husband that there simply was no hope for my situation. I had a terminal bone marrow disease called myelodysplasia and the only cure was a bone marrow transplant that I would almost certainly not survive due to my previous exposure to chemotherapy drugs and the damage they had caused to my vital organs.
This was the third hematologist that I had consulted with and they all had the same opinion. It was in this moment, in this office with my husband and mother sitting next to me crying that I decided I would no longer take the advice of my medical professionals. I simply did not believe death was the most likely outcome. I honestly felt like my doctors did not have any real hope to offer me so I chose to take myself out of their care.
I decided that I was going to start making the decisions regarding my healthcare. Up to that point I did what the doctors recommended with very few questions. I decided which drugs I would choose to try and when I would use them. I decided only to use one drug to support my blood levels and reduce the number of blood transfusions that I needed. I also decided that I would get a blood transfusion only when I felt I needed one. The drug or the transfusions were not something that could provide a cure for my condition; only support me while I slowly died. Some of the doctors did recommend that I try some experimental drugs and one of them even wanted me to attempt a bone marrow transplant even though she felt that I only had a 5% chance of surviving it.
The way I see it is when you are very sick and medical doctors have no reliable help to offer, you can do one of a few things; you can trust that the doctors are right and subject yourself to experimental treatments or go home to die. In my case doctors predicted that I have no more than 5 years. The other option is to make a choice and figure out how to live. I chose to live.
Making that choice was actually not very popular with most of my family at first. My decision to basically give up on conventional medicine meant that I had to truly embrace holistic or alternative medicine in my treatment plan. Unfortunately there are a lot of unethical and greedy people in the world who live off of feeding on the desperate and dying. There is understandably a lot of skepticism when it comes to the world of alternative medicine. It took my family awhile to trust that I would be able to weed out the vultures and find the real medicine in alternative approaches. They questioned whether there even is any real medicine in alternative approaches.
I didn’t care much about their skepticism; I knew I only had one option; to make myself well again. I was not even 30 years old yet and I had already survived an 8 pound tumor, massive surgery, and aggressive chemotherapy treatments. I would survive this too. I decided the thing to do was focus on building my health rather than fighting my disease. The research I was doing led me to recognize that the alternative approach was to treat the overall person and not simply the symptoms that the person is experiencing.
It may sound like building health and fighting disease are the same things but they are not. The difference is in the way you think. This is huge when considering your overall health. Our thoughts can be very toxic and they can draw in the very thing you are trying to avoid. Instead of thinking that I did not want to be sick I started thinking and visualizing myself being well. When I took a supplement, I did not think I was fighting my bone marrow disease, I thought that I was supporting my bone marrow health.
What started happening was simply amazing, after doing a lot of research on my own and consulting with several holistic professionals including nutritionists, herbalists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists I started incorporating some major changes in my lifestyle. I found myself at odds with a lot of the truths that I had carried with me my entire life. I assumed that my laundry detergent was harmless, my microwave was safe, and that the food I was buying in my supermarket was healthy especially when the label told me it was. Now I don’t believe any of that.
I did away with all of my conventional cleaners, stopped using the microwave, no longer used any make up and most skin care products, and even quit wearing a bra. I did all of these things because I came across disturbing information regarding their dangers in my research. I started to feel like the conspiracy theorists that I used to laugh at. My perception of what is safe for human consumption and exposure changed dramatically. It only took a couple of well written books to make me truly understand just how toxic today’s world is.
The nutritionists that I had been consulting with recommended a very specific diet and I followed it to the best of my ability. They also recommended a boat load of supplements; some of them the most terrible tasting stuff that I had ever put in my mouth. I also started practicing yoga, deep breathing exercises, and I started attempting to meditate – something that sounds easier than it is.
After about 6 months I started to get a little better. I needed fewer blood transfusions and fewer injections to maintain my blood levels. My conventional doctors were intrigued and my holistic professionals were not surprised. I was still not completely well though and I felt like I needed a more complete team to evaluate my situation and offer me guidance. I had also heard about the cancer clinics in Mexico that according to holistic medicine were achieving great success. Conventional wisdom disputed this and maintains that alternative cancer clinics do more harm than good. I was curious and I wanted to see for myself.
One of my nutritionist recommended a clinic in Mexico called Sanoviv. Sanoviv is a full service hospital that combines the best of conventional and alternative medicine. I was especially interested in some of the things that they offered that were not approved by the FDA in the United States, I wanted to go outside of the country because I specifically wanted access to the things that were illegal here if I needed them. I did some research and I went to visit Sanoviv with my husband. It was amazing, they offered exactly what our hospitals should offer; one facility that covered medicine, diet, mental health, stress management, physical health, and patient education.
With resistance from my friends, family and medical doctors I made plans to go. The resistance came because most people have a very hard time believing that it is possible to find superior medical treatment outside of the United States where many citizens believe they enjoy the best health care in the world. The cost was $21,000 for Sanoviv’s 3 week intensive program. This is a lot of money but compared to what my insurance companies and I had already paid (over a million dollars) it was chump change. Chump change that we did not have and that my family must have thought I was nuts for considering paying. With that said, there was still little hope otherwise so we set out to gather up the money. I had over a third of it in my 401K program that I cashed out and then we did a fund raiser that included flyers, internet advertisement, and a huge yard sale. People are so amazing that within 3 months I had all of the money I needed to go. This would not have been possible without the many friends and strangers that donated their time, services, and hard earned money for the cause. I can’t thank them and all of my family enough.
That trip to Sanoviv saved my life. They helped me put together the pieces of the puzzle that I was missing and with their help I learned how to truly take care of my health in a way that I would never have been able to learn at that time here. I did not end up needing any of the approaches that are illegal here and surprisingly it didn’t take a whole lot to provoke serious healing. We used specific enzymes, organic raw vegetarian diet, meditation, wheat grass, enemas, vitamins, specific supplements, and some other basic approaches. I received a wealth of education and I left the facility feeling healthier than I ever remember feeling. This is the approach that worked for me. Sanoviv does extensive testing to determine this and their protocols are different for each person. I believe this is the best and safest way to practice medicine.
That was in June of 2006 and now a year and a half later I am still remarkably well. I have not used a single medication nor have I even been close to needing a blood transfusion ever since. My CBC (complete blood count) looks exactly like a healthy person’s CBC. Most of my doctors believe this is nothing more than a spontaneous remission and probably not influenced by the many serious changes I have made to my lifestyle. I was not involved in a clinical trial so I cannot say that my improved health is related to my alternative approach but I believe in my heart that it is.
I have continued to study nutrition and I am now a certified holistic nutritionist and I am on my way to becoming a master herbalist. I am a walking encyclopedia in regard to maintaining and reclaiming health naturally. Now I want to share the knowledge that I have accumulated and help people understand that there is more than just medication involved in maintaining and building health. I want to help to truly educate people about what is and what is not healthy for their body and lifestyle.
I absolutely do not recommend that anyone quit seeing their doctors or quit taking their medications. I do encourage people to broaden their health care approach to include a truly healthy diet and supportive lifestyle. I encourage people to hire a professional who is passionate about helping people find the right diet for them. Generally, medical doctors will admit that they do not have a lot of training in nutrition, they are not aware of just how effective dietary changes can be or exactly what changes would benefit their patients most.
As a cancer survivor and a certified nutritionist I hope to see a future where we are able to prevent many of the deadly diseases that affect us today through eliminating harmful toxins and by improving our nutrition and lifestyle. I feel like I am living proof of this possibility and I meet other people who beat the odds in the same manner that I have almost everyday.
Unfortunately there are still people out there who die of terrible diseases everyday even though they are doing everything their doctor recommends and their diet and lifestyle are perfect. I don’t know why this is, it seems unfair.
There are still many people who could understand nutrition on a much deeper level and if they did they would have a better quality of life. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to help bring that understanding to others. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would become a complete health nut I would have told you that you were completely crazy. Now I know that I owe my life to some great health nuts and I’m proud to be considered one myself.
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