When I was a little kid, I wanted to live in a box car. That was before I knew the Box Car Children books existed. Unconventional, that’s me. I’ve never cared much about what is popular, stylish, or fashionable. I usually go for what is practical and convenient.
When I found out I had cancer in the fall of 2008, I took a less-than-conventional approach. I opted for a lumpectomy. I visited an oncologist, and he told me that he thought the margins were too small and I should consider more surgery before chemotherapy. I was just healing from the lumpectomy and did not want to go through another surgery. I decided that was not the path I wanted to take. If the cancer came back, I would figure it out then, but for now, I felt fine and didn’t want to be sick and tired.
Honestly, I didn’t have time for it. I had been a classroom teacher, and then my husband and I opted to homeschool our three children through their high school years. My youngest was due to graduate in December, and I had just started a new job teaching high school science.
I decided to research other options. I learned about Max Gerson, a German-born American physician, who developed the Gerson Therapy, a dietary-based alternative cancer treatment. I also read books by Dr. Francisco Contreras and Dr. Patrick Quillin, which supported the Gerson protocol for fighting cancer. That convinced me that that was the direction I wanted to go.
I learned there were a lot of things I could do to improve my outcome in a non-traditional way just by living a healthier lifestyle.
Five key things that impact a person’s health are stress, rest, diet, exercise, and spiritual factors. I realized that I needed to adjust every one of these areas. I began eliminating sugar from my diet and focused on juicing and adding nutrient-dense, mostly raw foods to my diet.
I also embarked on a more rigorous exercise program. I had done casual morning walks for years, but now it was time to get serious. I started doing strenuous hikes every day after school with my husband and daughter, Joy. Eventually, I heard about a hiking group through a coworker. In 2013, I joined Trail Trekkers, a women’s hiking ministry of Shadow Mountain Community Church. That led to some awesome relationships and amazing outdoor adventures such as section hiking 450+ miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, climbing Mt. Whitney, and backpacking to the floor of the Grand Canyon.
I live on the West Coast and am deliberate about seeing my family. For the last 37 years, I’ve prioritized seeing my family every year (sometimes multiple times yearly). Amy is my swimming buddy; when we get together, it’s pool time! I’ve visited and hiked in national Parks with Marci and backpacked the shores of the East Coast with Brandi and Kelly. It was Brandi’s first backpacking trip, and I was delighted to share what I had learned over the years with her. She and Kelly will reciprocate this year as I embark on my first long-distance, multi-day bike ride.
Brandi’s recent metastatic breast cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call for me. I had gotten complacent about watching my diet and being intentional about what I eat. And although I love my job, I’ve allowed it to consume my life and have struggled to get daily exercise. It was time for a reset.
The oncologist was correct; I did need more surgery and had a mastectomy in Jan. 2011. I still opted for no chemo, and 13 years later, I haven’t regretted it. I don’t know what the future holds, but I want to stay healthy and active for as long as possible. Since our mom passed from metastasized breast cancer in 2008, I have been determined to seize the moment and not assume that I will be able or available for an adventure next week or next year. Today is the day to make every moment count.
To quote from a devotional for teachers I recently read, “Shakespeare once said that the world is a stage and the men and women are merely players, but that is not true. The world is not a set, and people and things that happen are real. We experience real joy and sorrow; life and death are not scenes. Life is not scripted, but we were born with a plan and purpose. Every day matters (An Apple a Day: 365 Devotions for the Heart of a Teacher by Kathy Branzell).
Storytelling has great power. Think of the influence movies and television have. How would your story read if you wrote it down? Ponder that today. The greatest stories will always include people of great heart and passion and people who want to make a difference. We are not on this earth to just survive between birth and death; we are here for a purpose—to live the story that gives God glory from our first breath to our last.”
Most of us know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Many will be diagnosed with an incurable, chronic form known as metastatic breast cancer (MBC). I hope that chemotherapy will not be the only option for those who get the news that they have breast cancer. Through research, we can find ways to extend the lives of those diagnosed with MBC and improve the quality of their lives without horrible side effects. I am looking for treatments that go beyond the status quo and find therapies in unconventional places.
Will you join me? Together, we can make a difference!