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	<title>healing from cancer Archives - Cancer Free For Life</title>
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		<title>8 Inspiring Books on Healing Cancer</title>
		<link>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/8-books-on-healing-cancer/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=8-books-on-healing-cancer</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[ccarothers]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2022 00:20:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best books on healing cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best spiritual healing books for cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books on healing cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing bone cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from cancer]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cancerfreeforlife.com/?p=902</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What are the best books to read after being diagnosed with cancer? Here are the top eight books for healing cancer that I found the most integral to my healing journey. After my diagnosis, books were amazingly helpful sources of inspiration and knowledge. During a two-year period, I probably&#46;&#46;&#46;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/8-books-on-healing-cancer/">8 Inspiring Books on Healing Cancer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>What are the best books to read after being diagnosed with cancer? Here are the top eight books for healing cancer that I found the most integral to my healing journey. </p>



<p>After my diagnosis, books were amazingly helpful sources of inspiration and knowledge. During a two-year period, I probably read twenty to thirty books on the topic of cancer. I am a voracious reader, so this came naturally to me. </p>



<p>But I would say these eight books on healing cancer were the ones that had the most impact on me and my understanding. Many of these books I went back to again and again. </p>



<p>Some books on healing cancer focus on cancer from a purely physical perspective, while others focus on mental, emotional and spiritual ways to deal with cancer. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1707" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/christin-hume-k2Kcwkandwg-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg" alt="8 books for cancer" class="wp-image-1046" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/christin-hume-k2Kcwkandwg-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/christin-hume-k2Kcwkandwg-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here are my top eight:&nbsp;</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3SXiDUO"><em>Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds</em></a> by Kelly Turner</h4>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full"><img decoding="async" width="183" height="276" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1068"/></figure></div>


<p>Kelly Turner, Ph.D, spends several years interviewing hundreds of cancer patients across the globe who have defied the odds and survived far beyond their prognosis. Backed by research and examples, she hones in on nine factors that came up: </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Radically changing your diet </li><li>Taking control of your health </li><li>Following your intuition</li><li>Using Herbs and Supplements </li><li>Releasing Suppressed Emotions </li><li>Increasing Positive Emotions </li><li>Embracing Social Support </li><li>Deepening Your Spiritual Connection </li><li>Having Strong Reasons for Living </li></ul>



<p></p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3A1CZnx"><em>You Can Conquer Cancer: A New Way of Living</em></a> by Dr. Ian Gawler</h4>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1072" width="68" height="103"/></figure></div>


<p>Dr. Ian Gawler, an Australian diagnosed with bone cancer back in 1975, tells his amazing tale of recovery and discusses how to heal by incorporating spiritual, emotional and biological approaches. </p>



<p>This book takes a truly integrated, holistic approach to cancer, emphasizing nutrition, the power of the mind, meditation, family and social support, and the spiritual dimension of life.</p>



<p></p>



<p></p>



<p></p>



<p></p>



<p></p>



<p></p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3w9tBgx"><em>Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer to Near Death to True Healing</em></a> by Anita Moorjani</h4>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1081" width="150" height="226"/></figure></div>


<p>One of my absolute favorite books of all time, I go back to this one again and again. Through her own inspiring and mind-blowing journey, Anita Moorjani provides a beautiful example of how what ails us spiritually and emotionally is at the root cause of cancer. A New York Times Bestseller because it is so profound and full of amazing insights.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3dEg1LL"><em>You Can Heal Your Life</em></a> by Louise Hay</h4>



<p>This book, published back in 1984, argues that almost anything can be healed if you’re willing to do the work to uncover and address the emotions that led to the illness. The author spent decades working with clients, helping them to heal from various ailments through a metaphysical approach.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Later in life, when she developed cervical cancer herself, she knew that it stemmed from the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and her suppressed anger as a result. Without any treatment, she was able to heal herself through doing the work she so often prescribed to her patients.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3pu8HEM"><em>Mind to Matter: The Astonishing Science of How Your Brain Creates Material Reality</em></a> by Dawson Church</h4>



<p>For those who really want a science-backed text on how the mind can affect healing of the body, look no further. The author is a researcher focusing on the field of neuroscience, and in this book, he addresses energy, our inner thoughts and how they contribute to our external reality. </p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="210" height="210" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1085" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-5.png 210w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-5-150x150.png 150w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-5-80x80.png 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px" /></figure></div>


<p>Although the book does not focus solely on cancer, he discusses several studies and personal experiences that deal with healing from cancer via changes in the electromagnetic field. </p>



<p></p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3T6oXK2"><em>AntiCancer: A New Way of Life</em></a> by David Servan-Schreiber </h4>



<p>Authored by a renowned neuroscientist who finds himself with brain cancer, <em>AntiCancer</em>, another New York Times Bestseller, explores various elements that cause cancer to appear (lifestyle, environment, trauma). It discusses various ways to enhance healing using the body’s own natural healing capabilities through diet, lifestyle changes and mindbody practices such as yoga and meditation. The author is an advocate of both conventional and alternative approaches and uses science to explain why.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3JXgogo"><em>Life Over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment </em></a>by Dr. Keith Block</h4>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="182" height="277" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1086"/></figure></div>


<p>Another book that blends both conventional and alternative approaches to treating cancer, Life Over Cancer is well worth a read. This book focuses on mostly a biological approach, as in what to eat and what supplements to take and why. But it also advocates stress reduction through meditation and yoga.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I loved that this book also discusses what you can do to optimize your recovery during surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Through this book, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of your terrain (body) and what will cause cancer to thrive and what will shut it down.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://amzn.to/3y3rMTj"><em>How to Starve Cancer Without Starving Yourself</em> </a>by Jane McLelland</h4>



<p>The author, Jane McLelland, was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer and beat the odds through her own determination. She became a cancer detective and through the use of diet, supplements and pharmaceuticals, she was able to heal herself.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Through her book, I gained a much deeper understanding of cancer, its many pathways, and how we can strategically starve cancer.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The author has started a revolution as many cancer clinics are now following her protocol.&nbsp;</p>



<p></p>



<p>What about you? What books on healing cancer would add to the list? I&#8217;d love to know what books were instrumental in helping you heal and get through a difficult illness? Leave a comment in the comments section.</p>



<p>Read more about meditation and how it can heal <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/6-powerful-reasons-why-meditation-should-be-part-of-your-healing-regimen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here.</a></p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-cancer-free-for-life wp-block-embed-cancer-free-for-life"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="7ah5kUx3Hy"><a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/listen-my-story-on-the-mystical-attraction-podcast/">Listen: My Story on The Mystical Attraction Podcast</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted"  title="&#8220;Listen: My Story on The Mystical Attraction Podcast&#8221; &#8212; Cancer Free For Life" src="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/listen-my-story-on-the-mystical-attraction-podcast/embed/#?secret=LYFPCeQY3d#?secret=7ah5kUx3Hy" data-secret="7ah5kUx3Hy" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
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<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/8-books-on-healing-cancer/">8 Inspiring Books on Healing Cancer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
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		<title>My Story: Part Two: There Has to Be Another Way</title>
		<link>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-two-there-has-to-be-another-way/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-story-part-two-there-has-to-be-another-way</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[ccarothers]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:34:58 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[My Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bone cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chordoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John of God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sacral chordoma]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cancerfreeforlife.com/?p=319</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>After four doctors told that surgery was the only way to treat the large cancerous tumor growing on my sacrum, my only thought was this: there&#8217;s no way in hell I&#8217;m having that surgery.  I wanted to surf. I wanted to save my bowel and bladder function. I wanted&#46;&#46;&#46;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-two-there-has-to-be-another-way/">My Story: Part Two: There Has to Be Another Way</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>After four doctors told that surgery was the only way to treat the large cancerous tumor growing on my sacrum, my only thought was this: there&#8217;s no way in hell I&#8217;m having that surgery. </p>



<p>I wanted to surf. I wanted to save my bowel and bladder function. I wanted to keep my body intact. I was grasping for any way to salvage a normal life.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A Desperate Search</h2>



<p>There <em>has</em> <em>to</em> be another way. This thought consumed me. I knew it to be true and I knew it my bones. So, I set out to find this other way. As soon as I got home, I googled for hours and came up with nothing. It was one of the most depressing moments. This cancer was so rare that all I could find was information reiterating what the doctors had told me: surgical removal of the sacrum and its root nerves were the only treatment.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1531" class="wp-image-422" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/victoria-heath-MAGAXAYq_NE-unsplash-scaled.jpg" alt="My Story Part 2 Searching for answers" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/victoria-heath-MAGAXAYq_NE-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/victoria-heath-MAGAXAYq_NE-unsplash-300x179.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<p>I desperately wanted to find some evidence that I could solve this a different way. I wanted to find someone who had gotten through this without surgery. But I couldn&#8217;t find anything. My searches came up short. I couldn&#8217;t find any patients to connect with, nobody to talk to, just a bunch of scientific journals and conventional medical mumbo jumbo. I felt defeated.</p>



<p>But I kept searching. I got ideas and books from friends and family. Nothing that was an alternative to surgery in their eyes, but one book in particular gave me an idea. <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Remission-Surviving-Cancer-Against/dp/0062268759" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Radical Remissions: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds</a></em> by Kelly Turner talked about various alternative healing methods. After years and years of digging into the research on what contributed to remissions of cancer, she came up with nine healing factors that were consistent in her search. One of them was on becoming more spiritual. In that chapter, there was a case of a young man with a brain tumor who had healed after going to see a medium and healer, John of God in Brazil.</p>



<p>So I decided I would go see John of God in Brazil. (Of course, I overlooked the point that he lived and meditated there for hours and hours for over two years before he was cancer-free, among other factors, but I was desperate. After hours of anecdotes and miraculous stories of people who had healed from one visit, I was hopeful.)</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Off to Brazil</h2>



<p>Because the doctors had told me the tumor was &#8220;slow-growing,&#8221; and because my surgery that I was still determined not to have was scheduled a month away, I figured I had time. My little sister and I took off within a couple weeks to Brazil. Sitting on a ten-hour flight with a sacral tumor was one of the most painful things I&#8217;ve ever done, but I was determined.</p>
<p>I saw John of God and had some interesting, inexplicable things happen like a sensations of hot and cold at the site of the tumor, energy pulsating through my body. However, after two weeks in Brazil, my pain got so bad, that I decided to come back home. Being in a foreign country, away from family with the kind of pain that made me want to go the ER just didn&#8217;t feel right. I was scared.</p>



<p>When I got home, it was mid-June and I was due for another MRI, as protocol for my upcoming surgery. I still hadn&#8217;t committed to the surgery, and was still determined to find another way, but I also knew that I had not been healed by going to Brazil. I knew that I still had a tumor.</p>



<p>But after I got the results of the MRI, my doctors were blown away. And so was I.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-425" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/44758715_10103065443463638_4362896223875629056_n.jpg" alt="My Story Part Two" width="540" height="720" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/44758715_10103065443463638_4362896223875629056_n.jpg 720w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/44758715_10103065443463638_4362896223875629056_n-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px" />
<figcaption>In Abadania, Brazil with a smile despite the pain.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MRI #2</h2>



<p>Since the previous MRI six weeks ago, the tumor had TRIPLED in size! No longer the size of an egg, it was now the size of a grapefruit. Dr. H, the orthopedic surgeon, was stumped. Chordoma&#8217;s main feature is that it&#8217;s slow-growing. But this. This was an aggressive tumor. Doctors felt that I may have been diagnosed. </p>
<p>So the doctors did another biopsy and again confirmed that it was in fact classical Chordoma. But for some reason, the one in my body was behaving abnormally and aggressively, like a well-mannered child suddenly going haywire.</p>



<p>Dr. H was so dumbfounded. While he had initially insisted on being the one to do my surgery, even after I had requested a referral to the UCLA Chordoma specialist, he now granted me my wish. Apparently, the surgery was going to be much more complex, so he threw in the towel and handed the reigns over Dr. Hornicek, a renowned orthopedic surgeon who specialized in Chordoma cases.</p>



<p>The only problem was that Dr. Hornicek had a two-month waiting list. I had an aggressively growing tumor that tripled in size in six weeks, and now I was going to have to wait two more months with this thing growing inside of me? What size would it be by then? A spaghetti squash? A pineapple? What fun I had gotten myself into.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-342" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_0942-2.jpg" alt="MRI #2 The Tumor" width="471" height="628" />
<figcaption>The Tumor trippled in size, now measuring 9.6 x 7.6cm</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Truth about Surgery</h2>



<p>Luckily, I ended up getting an appointment within two weeks. By this time, with the tumor, the pain, and fear growing exponentially inside of me, I resigned to the surgery. So now, I just wanted this thing out of me, regardless of the consequences. I needed to be out of this pain.</p>



<p>However, after meeting with Dr. Hornicek, now the problem was scheduling the actual surgery. Because this surgery involved four surgeons: orthopedic surgeon, neurosurgeon, plastic surgeon and general surgeon, they all had to find one day on their busy calendars to do my surgery.</p>



<p>I should also mention that this surgery was actually two surgeries, on two separate days. One incision in the front, and then two days later, an incision in the back. It was explained to me that it&#8217;s difficult cutting through bone, and just like you would cut down a tree, you have to cut it down from both sides.</p>



<p>I would be in the hospital for two weeks, followed by an in-patient physical therapy habilitation center for another 3-4 weeks. Following the surgery, doctors would have to clear me to sit, something that could take up to six weeks. And even then, I would only be able to sit for 15 minutes at a time. I would also be using a walker for 3 to 6 months after the surgery.</p>



<p>By this time, I had joined this Facebook group of Chordoma patients around the world, where I heard more horror stories. I met people whose wounds still hadn&#8217;t healed months after surgery, who had to have blood transfusions during the operation, and several more, who years later, were still taking narcotics just to get through their day. I did not want to have this surgery, but I did not know what else to do. The pain kept getting worse.</p>



<p>I ended up waiting 8 more weeks before they finally scheduled the surgery. 8 more weeks of increasing pain, tumor load and fear, alongside the grief that I would likely live the rest of my life unable to surf or have a normal, continent life.</p>



<p>But luckily and serendipitously, I never ended up having that surgery.</p>



<p style="font-size: 33px;"><strong>Continue to <a href="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-three/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-three/">My Story: Part Three</a></strong></p>


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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-two-there-has-to-be-another-way/">My Story: Part Two: There Has to Be Another Way</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
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		<title>My Story: Part Five: Still Growing</title>
		<link>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-5-still-growing/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-story-part-5-still-growing</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[ccarothers]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:45:43 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[My Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alternative treatments for cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bone cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabis for cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naturopathic treatments for cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tumor getting bigger]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cancerfreeforlife.com/?p=289</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Three months had passed: November, December and January. It was now Feb, 2019, time for my MRI. The one that surely would show shrinkage. All that pain had to be for something. I was also starting to experience less pain, and I started to reduce my medications. Cannabis–Better than&#46;&#46;&#46;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-5-still-growing/">My Story: Part Five: Still Growing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Three months had passed: November, December and January. It was now Feb, 2019, time for my MRI. The one that surely would show shrinkage. All that pain had to be for something.</p>



<p>I was also starting to experience less pain, and I started to reduce my medications.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cannabis–Better than Morphine</h2>



<p>I will say that the best thing for my pain ended up being CBD/THC oil. I saw a cannabis nurse (through a company called <a href="https://holisticcaring.com/our-team/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Holistic Caring</a>) that I was referred to through my naturopathic doctor. The cannabis nurse, Elizabeth, recommended the specific ratio of 1:1 CBD/THC and told me specifically where to order it because I needed top quality stuff.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="630" class="wp-image-550" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-1024x630.jpg" alt="Cannabis for cancer " srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-1024x630.jpg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-300x185.jpg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-1536x946.jpg 1536w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/roberto-valdivia-HrRm_V-V0sM-unsplash-2048x1261.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>So I took it not expecting much. But WOW! This stuff worked. I got more standing power. Now I was able to make my own smoothies now and sit at the dinner table and eat dinner with my family for around 20 minutes or so.</p>



<p>I had over the previous six months smoked marijuana and had taken various edibles to help with the pain. And while there was some relief, nothing compared to the cannabis oil, whether it was the quality of the product or the ratio of CBD to THC or both.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Naturopathic Treatments</h2>



<p>Also, in those three months, I was seeing a Naturopathic doctor, Dr. Reese at <a href="https://lotusrainclinic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lotus Rain Naturopathic Clinic</a>, who, along with her staff, was amazing. I continued getting high dose Vitamin C and she had me on a supplement regime that I followed. It was pretty similar to the supplements that the Oasis of Hope clinic recommended I keep taking.</p>



<p>I was full of hope for this MRI. I had less pain. I still had the dendritic vaccine in my body. I had the reactive oxygen species (ROS) from radiation in my body doing their thing. I was told they&#8217;d work together synergistically. Plus, I was taking 50+ anti-cancer supplements per day, all aimed at boosting my immune system.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Power of Prayer</h2>



<p>I also constantly heard that people were praying for me, actually, multiple congregations praying for me: My Mom and Dad&#8217;s church, my grandma and grandpa&#8217;s church, my Grammy&#8217;s church. It felt good to know that I was being prayed for and I will always count it as a contributing factor in my healing.</p>



<p>I was also praying and praying, hoping God would shrink the tumor. My hope kept me out of the darkness, though I was still somewhat depressed most nights.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1850" class="wp-image-556" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/aaron-burden-lPCu8HnGU2E-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg" alt="The Power of Prayer " srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/aaron-burden-lPCu8HnGU2E-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/aaron-burden-lPCu8HnGU2E-unsplash-1-300x217.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MRI #9 Results</h2>



<p>The first week of February, I got the results of my MRI. The report popped up in my inbox and I was excited to finally see some good news. </p>
<p>But when I opened the report, I couldn&#8217;t believe my eyes.</p>
<p>It was bigger: 14.1 x 12.0 x 10.7.  I couldn&#8217;t believe that I was now at 14 cm, when the tumor had started off at 5 x 7 cm when it was discovered. How? I slipped into uncontrolled sobbing. I went to a dark place in my mind where I believed death to be imminent at this point. This was the lowest of the low for me.</p>



<p>I refused to conceptualize the size of the tumor. I didn&#8217;t want to think about anything bigger than a grapefruit eating away at my bones, like Pac-man growing bigger and stronger, munching away.</p>



<p>In retrospect, I realize the tumor at this point was something between a cantaloupe and a honeydew melon, though of course it&#8217;s not symmetrical.</p>



<p>This was my 9th MRI. Every single MRI that I had gotten showed growth. I was tired of seeing the words &#8220;continued significant growth of the destructive mass&#8221; in the first line of my reports.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hitting Rock Bottom </h2>



<p>I had done so much, had tried so hard and felt so defeated. I had flown to Brazil to see a healer hoping for a spiritual healing. Instead, all I got was a triple dose of my tumor. Then, I spent $30,000 of money I didn&#8217;t even have at the cancer clinic in Tijuana for a dendritic cell vaccine and other treatments that did not work (though they may have slowed the growth). Next, I spent every single reserve of strength getting through 8 weeks of grueling proton beam radiation. Then, I spend hundreds of more dollars on naturopathic appointments, treatments and supplements.</p>



<p>I should also mention that I was doing some major emotional excavation, trying to root out the emotional or psychological reason for having this cancer. I tried EFT, Recall Healing sessions, hours and hours of journaling, hypnotherapy, reiki, etc.</p>



<p>I learned a lot about myself through this work and what the emotional triggers for disease were. Yet digging up my past emotional traumas was not making the tumor go away. It was STILL GROWING! (In retrospect, I do feel these things were extremely helpful, but at that time, I didn&#8217;t realize it.)</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-560" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-1024x765.jpg" alt="My story part 5 still growing" width="790" height="591" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-1024x765.jpg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-300x224.jpg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-768x574.jpg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-1536x1147.jpg 1536w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2013-04-20-21.19.33-2048x1530.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px" />
<figcaption>My sisters: Nicole (30), April (in heaven), Me (38), Rachel (36)</figcaption>
</figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sisters to the Rescue</h2>



<p>My sisters, my main support system, came over as they normally did whenever I was in crisis mode. Crying and feeling sorry for myself, lying on the floor in a fetal position I wailed, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to die&#8221; to which my sister Rachel responded very matter of factly, &#8220;we&#8217;re all going to die.&#8221;</p>



<p>Her words were a much-needed slap in the face that jolted me out of my self-inflicted misery. She was right. We all are going to die. Why was I creating so much drama and suffering over something that afflicted the entire human population? That was the best thing that anyone could have said to me at that time. With that realization, I re-focused, re-centered and re-evaluated.</p>



<p>I had to try something different. There had to be some other way&#8230;some other way&#8230;some other way. I kept repeating the thought over and over because I knew that it was true. I wasn&#8217;t giving up.</p>



<p class="has-custom-weight" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 33px;"><strong>Continue to<a href="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-6/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> My Story: Part Six</a></strong></p>


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				</li></ul></div><p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-5-still-growing/">My Story: Part Five: Still Growing</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
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		<title>My Story: Part Six: Finding Meditation</title>
		<link>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-6-finding-meditation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-story-part-6-finding-meditation</link>
					<comments>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-6-finding-meditation/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[ccarothers]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:44:13 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[My Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bone cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr. Joe Dispenza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how meditation works to heal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meditation for cancer]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cancerfreeforlife.com/?p=291</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Why was the tumor still growing? Why was nothing working? Not radiation, not the naturopathic treatments, not the spiritual healing, not the $30K dendritic cell vaccine, not the hypnotherapy, not the prayers, not the reiki. I could feel the anxiety and fear coursing through my entire body, consuming me.&#46;&#46;&#46;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-6-finding-meditation/">My Story: Part Six: Finding Meditation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Why was the tumor still growing? Why was nothing working? Not radiation, not the naturopathic treatments, not the spiritual healing, not the $30K dendritic cell vaccine, not the hypnotherapy, not the prayers, not the reiki. I could feel the anxiety and fear coursing through my entire body, consuming me. I knew I needed a way to alleviate it. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dr. Joe Dispenza</h2>



<p>I remembered Jackie, my cancer sister from the Oasis of Hope clinic in Tijuana, and how she told me that she often watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpOMk1jOzgk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Joe Dispenza</a> on YouTube and how it made her feel better. I didn&#8217;t know much about this guy, but I decided to check him out.</p>



<p>Within one hour, I was hooked. Joe Dispenza was all about feeling the emotions of your future in the present. The key to healing was in producing, evoking the emotions of love, gratitude, joy, peace, wholeness, whatever emotion you would feel if you were in fact healed. It made sense to me. </p>



<p>Dr. Joe Dispenza uses neuroscience to explain why and how our thoughts and feelings can contribute to your personal reality. That you&#8217;re sending your body messages with your thoughts and feelings and how to change them. If I&#8217;m stuck in a state of fear, anxiety and depression, how is my body going to produce a healing response? How do I get out of that? He prescribes meditation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Random Stranger or Angel?</h2>



<p>That&#8217;s when I suddenly remembered something so profound that I couldn&#8217;t believe I had forgotten. Prior to my diagnosis, back in March or April of 2018, I had been sitting on the beach, reading a book, watching the waves, bummed that I was in too much pain to surf. An older man in his sixties approached me and asked me what book I was reading. I happened to be reading the book, <em>Ask and You Shall Receive</em>, a spiritual text by Abraham Hicks. This sparked a powerful conversation on spirituality that lasted over an hour.</p>



<p>His name was Paul, and in our conversation, he told me his story, that he&#8217;d had stage 4 cancer, but when all treatments failed, he was placed on hospice care. Instead of staying home and waiting to die, he came to the beach to meditate. Eventually, he got into a state of complete surrender after meditating for hours each day. Weeks later, he was feeling so great, he went back to the doctors and they could not find a single trace of cancer in his body. At the time, I had no idea I had cancer, so all I thought was &#8220;what an amazing story.&#8221;</p>



<p>During our conversation, we talked on and on about meditation. I had dabbled in it myself, but would give up after a few weeks of just being &#8220;too busy.&#8221; I remember him saying &#8220;Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening to God. When we meditate, we can hear the divine messages come through.&#8221;</p>



<p>He also told me that he completely changed his life, leaving his stressful corporate job behind and now he was in the process of becoming a comedian. He invited me to an open-mic night where he&#8217;d be performing that night. Eventually we parted ways. I went back to popping pills and wondering what the heck was wrong with my back.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" class="wp-image-594" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-1024x576.jpg" alt="Woman Sitting on the beach" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/antoine-therizols-alkChvKEpYk-unsplash-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Trying to Find Paul</h2>



<p>After I was diagnosed a few weeks later, I saw Paul two more times. By then I knew there was something more to that conversation. It wasn&#8217;t just a coincidence. I wanted to talk to him again, to tell him, &#8220;OMG I have cancer!&#8221; I wanted to ask him how to meditate, what kind of meditations he did, etc. I wanted his advice.</p>



<p>When I spotted him, I was in my neighborhood, driving by and saw him from the car as he was walking down the street. Once I realized it was him, I pulled over and ran across the street trying to find him. But I couldn&#8217;t. I walked up and down the street where I had seen him. It was as if he had disappeared.</p>



<p>The next time I spotted him, a few weeks later, I was at the local farmer&#8217;s market which gets pretty crowded. I saw him on the opposite side of the street, but because of all the vendors in the middle, I had to go all the way around. When I finally got to where I had seen him, I couldn&#8217;t find him anywhere. I spent the next 40 minutes looking and looking, but never found him.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-601" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/gabriella-clare-marino-U9mnkg_94MI-unsplash.jpg" alt="Farmers Market " /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Meditation: Feeling at Ease</h2>



<p>Eventually, in the midst of the chaos of treatment options and MRI&#8217;s, I forgot about Paul. Until that day in Feb. 2019, when I started listening to Joe Dispenza, whose message was similar to Paul&#8217;s—meditation is powerful and it heals. I downloaded a few of Joe Dispenza&#8217;s guided meditations and got started. The mediations were long, about one hour, but I decided I would start doing one every morning.</p>



<p>I didn&#8217;t feel anything profound <em>during</em> the meditations, but after seven days, I felt completely at ease, as if all the fear and anxiety completely dissipated from my body. It was amazing. I no longer cared so much about what happened, about the outcome. I had this feeling that no matter what happened, everything was going to be Ok. In retrospect, I realized this was the state of surrender. </p>



<p>I stuck with the mediations every morning. After several weeks, I started noticing I could take longer walks, even hikes, stand up longer, drive, and sit for longer periods of time. I started noticing my pain was dissipating, so I started to further reduce my medication. </p>



<p>But I never connected feeling better physically with the meditation. I don&#8217;t know why, it just didn&#8217;t cross my mind. I think it was probably because I had started to feel better physically a few months ago when my radiation treatments had ended and because of the cannabis oil. I felt that the meditations were simply helping my mental state, putting me more at ease.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" class="wp-image-603" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-1024x683.jpg" alt="Meditation to Heal " srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/amelia-bartlett-45IxHIky6xM-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Meditation Works to Heal</h2>



<p>Later on, I would have the epiphany that disease is really psychological dis-ease that manifests in the body. So healing will take place when we can get our mind back to a state of being at ease, the opposite of dis-ease. And that&#8217;s what meditation does. It&#8217;s simply a tool to put our minds and nervous systems at ease.</p>



<p>A lot of times the psychological conflict that is causing the dis-ease to manifest physically is a result of childhood trauma buried deep in the subconscious mind and we may not even be aware of it. When we meditate, we slow our brainwaves enough to access our subconscious mind, to sit with the pain rather than avoid it. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1704" class="wp-image-604" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/frank-mckenna-OD9EOzfSOh0-unsplash-scaled.jpg" alt="Meditation heals " srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/frank-mckenna-OD9EOzfSOh0-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/frank-mckenna-OD9EOzfSOh0-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A Meditation Retreat?</h2>



<p>In March of 2019, about one month after having started my daily meditation practice, I saw that Dr. Joe Dispenza had these seven-day mediation retreats that he does monthly all over the world. I checked his events calendar and saw that he had one in July of that year in Portland, Oregon, the closest location to me in San Diego.</p>



<p>But then I saw the price tag: $1800. By this time I had racked up so much debt from treatments and because I also hadn&#8217;t been working for 10 months, I was in a financial mess accruing over $40,000 in debt. I was still unable to drive or work. </p>



<p>There&#8217;s no way I could afford to go. But then, I saw through his Facebook group which I had joined, that there&#8217;s a scholarship program that awards fully-paid scholarships to a few people for each retreat. So I applied.</p>



<p>I didn&#8217;t know whether I would be able to sit that long on an airplane, or if I&#8217;d be in too much pain, but I felt that because I was feeling better and better, I would be able fly and sit long enough to go by July. After submitting my application, I forgot about it.</p>



<p>Three months after I had started meditating, on May 1, 2019 it was time for my next MRI.</p>



<p style="font-size: 32px;"><strong>Read what happens next in <a href="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-7/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Story: Part Seven</a> </strong></p>


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		<title>My Story: Part Eight: More Good News</title>
		<link>https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-8-joe-dispenza-meditation-retreat/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=my-story-part-8-joe-dispenza-meditation-retreat</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[ccarothers]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:43:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[My Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chordoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chordoma healing stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing from chordoma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healing stories from bone cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe Dispenza Meditation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cancerfreeforlife.com/?p=298</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>I continued to stick with the daily meditations, 1 sometimes 2 hours a day without fail. It became part of my daily routine, and has been ever since. The Joe Dispenza Meditation Retreat In July 2019, I headed to the seven-day Joe Dispenza meditation retreat in Portland, Oregon. Along&#46;&#46;&#46;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-8-joe-dispenza-meditation-retreat/">My Story: Part Eight: More Good News</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cancerfreeforlife.com">Cancer Free For Life</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>I continued to stick with the daily meditations, 1 sometimes 2 hours a day without fail. It became part of my daily routine, and has been ever since.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Joe Dispenza Meditation Retreat</h2>



<p>In July 2019, I headed to the seven-day Joe Dispenza meditation retreat in Portland, Oregon. Along with 800 others, I meditated for six sometimes seven hours a day. I met amazing people and heard amazing healing stories from others there at the retreat. The energy and overall energy of the people and the space was amazing.</p>



<p>It was there that I realized powerful things can happen when you&#8217;re surrounded by 800 people who are also in a high-vibratory state. I had also felt this years before in my yoga practice, that every time I stepped into my yoga studio with others who also had the intention to heal and open their hearts, I&#8217;d feel the effects of my practice much more profoundly than if I had simply done yoga at home by myself.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-668" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_1849-edited.jpg" alt="Joe Dispenza Meditation Retreat" width="938" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_1849-edited.jpg 582w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_1849-edited-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px" />
<figcaption><strong>Me in Portland, doing a high-ropes course. Part of the meditation retreat where the aim is to manage our fears </strong></figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



<p>The most exciting part of the <a href="https://drjoedispenza.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joe Dispenza </a>meditation retreats are the coherence healings which take place in the final three days. I was chosen on day one to be a healee, meaning I would be lying on the floor, surrounded by 8 others (healers) trained to send me healing energy.</p>



<p>So many people had told me that miraculous things happen during the coherence healings. I was expecting something extraordinary to happen. As the healings began, I heard others crying, shaking, and making various noises that sounded like something powerful and involuntary was happening for them.</p>



<p>But I didn&#8217;t feel a thing. I walked away somewhat disappointed. &#8220;Nothing really happened to me,&#8221; I told my team leader. &#8220;You don&#8217;t know that!&#8221; he replied. But I dismissed him and let my disappointment go, focusing on enjoying the rest of the retreat.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-662" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/67702254_10103399495006668_4371845011575144448_n-edited.jpeg" alt="" width="979" height="735" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/67702254_10103399495006668_4371845011575144448_n-edited.jpeg 720w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/67702254_10103399495006668_4371845011575144448_n-edited-300x225.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 979px) 100vw, 979px" />
<figcaption><strong>Portland, Oregon: The Rose Gardens</strong></figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



<p>The following two days I participated as a healer and I felt my heart really open in those healings. Overall, I truly enjoyed the seven-day meditation retreat. So many people had these profound experiences or healings where they saw visions, felt energy move through their bodies or had come out of a meditation no longer in pain.</p>



<p>But I had none of these experiences. I had great meditations where I felt calm, connected and centered. But I wanted the fireworks. I thought if I had a powerful, profound experience it would mean I healed. Regardless, I tried not to get wrapped up in the disappointment of not having a mystical experience.</p>



<p>Instead, I kept directing my focus toward the gratitude I felt for having won a scholarship to go, for being able to have this incredible experience. I hoped that with a little more progress and getting back to work full-time starting in August, I could save up and come to another one.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Continued Progress</h2>



<p>In the weeks that followed the retreat, I noticed little improvements. My awkward limp had completely disappeared, which was nice so that I didn&#8217;t have to constantly answer the question, &#8220;What happened to your leg?&#8221; &#8220;Why the limp?&#8221; Sometimes I&#8217;d just say &#8220;cancer&#8221; and wobble away, hoping they would shut up. But I usually just replied &#8220;nerve damage&#8221; which was true; radiation had caused temporary paralysis in the nerves in my left foot.</p>





<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" class="wp-image-666" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="At a Friend's Wedding in August of 2019" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-80x80.jpeg 80w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n-320x320.jpeg 320w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/68308423_10103407184456948_5345271818473177088_n.jpeg 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<figcaption><strong>My friend Carolina and I at a friend&#8217;s wedding in Mexico, August of 2019</strong></figcaption>
</figure>





<p>I was also able to drive longer distances without pain. I was still reducing my medications, slowly titrating off of the morphine and the Gabapentin. I was starting to feel more clear-headed.</p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Moving Out Back on My Own</h2>



<p>In August of 2019, after living with my parents for ten months, I moved out. I also had just gone back to working full-time by then and no longer needed to rely on them to feed me, take me to my appointments, make sure I didn&#8217;t die from an overdose.</p>



<p>I will always profoundly appreciate my parents for their support during this time. I seriously have no idea how I would have gotten through that time without them. I was also unable to get any disability from the government even though I couldn&#8217;t work, which makes me not only angry, but dumbfounded on how other debilitated cancer patients who may not have family support would get by.</p>



<p>I started going back to the gym, lifting weights, trying to drop the 25 pounds of cancer weight and gain back some muscle strength so I could surf again. I was fluffy. My muscles had completely atrophied. I&#8217;ll never forget getting on the stair-master for the first time in over a year and being so winded that I could only do two minutes. I realized I had a long way to go.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" class="wp-image-670" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="Exercising Again" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/lindsay-henwood-7_kRuX1hSXM-unsplash-1.jpg 1800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surfing Again</h2>



<p>After a few weeks, I decided it was time to try surfing. Summer was in full swing in San Diego. I bought myself a new wetsuit that would fit and a longboard, since I knew my shortboards would be difficult. It had been over a year since I had last surfed and my body had been to hell and back, so I didn&#8217;t know what to expect. Still, it was demoralizing. I felt like an 80-year-old woman getting up in a five-step process. But it did feel good to get in the water, to actually ride a wave after so long. So I kept going, focusing on the gratitude I felt for being able to surf.</p>



<p>I constantly had to check my negative thoughts of comparing my new-self to my former-self by looking back at how far I had come, reminding myself that only a few months ago I was unable to walk or sit. And here I was surfing. I had nowhere to go but up.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-678" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/155999565_10104220678508348_5800518332407945406_n-edited.jpeg" alt="Surfing again " width="959" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/155999565_10104220678508348_5800518332407945406_n-edited.jpeg 1440w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/155999565_10104220678508348_5800518332407945406_n-edited-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/155999565_10104220678508348_5800518332407945406_n-edited-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/155999565_10104220678508348_5800518332407945406_n-edited-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px" />
<figcaption><strong>Me surfing again </strong></figcaption>
</figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Next MRI</h2>



<p>September finally rolled around, and I was due for my next MRI, but this time I was full of anxiety and fear: Is it bigger? Growing again? For some reason I was having increased amounts of pain. I wasn&#8217;t sure if it was perhaps because I was too quickly going off of my pain meds. Or because I was pushing myself too hard at the gym? Or maybe I was going too fast titrating off my pain medications. </p>



<p>I wasn&#8217;t sure, but I let all these negative thoughts run through my mind. Because of the pain I was experiencing, I basically was convinced that the tumor was growing and that my MRI would show that. I was still meditating, though I couldn&#8217;t shake the anxiety. But when I got the results, I was shocked.</p>



<p>The tumor had shrunk significantly yet again. Now, it was the size of a small lemon. I was thrilled.</p>





<p>I really felt like the Joe Dispenza meditation retreat had something to do with the MRI results. It probably would have shrunk some anyway due to the radiation alone, but I think there was something profound about those coherence healings and the healing energy I was surrounded with.</p>



<p>I also cannot discount the love and prayers that had been sent my way over the past year. The love and support that my family and friends showered me with during this time was no doubt a part of my healing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Off All Medications</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1707" class="wp-image-681" src="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ryan-moreno-Lurw1nCIkLc-unsplash-scaled.jpg" alt="More Good News" srcset="https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ryan-moreno-Lurw1nCIkLc-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cancerfreeforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ryan-moreno-Lurw1nCIkLc-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<p><strong>One month later, in October 2019, I was off of every single one of my pain medications and completely pain free. My wish had come true. </strong>And I will say that I 100% believe that meditation helped me get off these pain meds. Whenever I started meditating, the pain would disappear.</p>



<p>Since then, I&#8217;ve seen multiple studies demonstrating that meditation and other mindfulness practices help reduce doses of pain medications, including narcotics. Something I heard Dr. Joe Dispenza say that always stuck with me is &#8220;I&#8217;m no longer wired for pain.&#8221;</p>



<p style="font-size: 34px;"><strong>Continue to <a href="http://cancerfreeforlife.com/my-story-part-9/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Story: Part 9</a></strong></p>


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