Cancer Doesn’t Discriminate, Not Even Against Health Nuts Like Me! My Battle with Stage IV Lymphoma Print 19 LikeDislike By Heather Juliet Life is full of important lessons. Unfortunately, I had to learn this one at age 33: cancer doesn’t discriminate against anyone. I was a student and natural health professional, yet I was sick all the time. I was having night sweats and fatigue. At one point I started to get recurrent infections. My blood tests came back abnormal, and I had developed a horrible cough that impaired my breathing. After about two months of this cough getting progressively worse, I finally felt so sick that I went to urgent care. An Unexpected DiagnosisAfter many tests, surgical biopsies and a chest CT scan, I received a diagnosis that many view as a death sentence: Stage 4 Lymphoma cancer. I was always the “health-nut” girl, so it was hard for my friends, family and I to believe I had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma. Based on the type and stage of my cancer, a natural cancer treatment was out of the question. My only option would be to start a rigorous and highly toxic form of chemotherapy and radiation. Lymphoma chemotherapy is the worst as it includes five to seven very harsh drug combinations as opposed to the normal one or two prescribed for most other cancers.Tolerating Treatment:I underwent 5 hour-long chemotherapy infusions every two weeks for 6 long months followed by 1 month of daily 30 minute radiation treatments. I was told that I would very likely have damage to my liver, lungs and heart due to the treatment, and that I’d be infertile. Additionally, I would have a higher risk of developing secondary cancers down the road as a result of this toxic treatment. Staying Positive: When you’re faced with death or treatment that carries such risks, you just need to follow your heart. For me, I chose the treatment and prayed that I’d be okay. I decided from day one to be positive and only focus on my healing. I wasn’t going to let this define me and I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I wasn’t able to work, so I had to move back in with my family so that they could help care for me. I was losing too much weight, on the brink of death, and barely able to get through the horrible side effects of my chemo. Yet I intuitively felt that I needed to surround myself with only positive and uplifting things. I adopted a meditation practice to focus on getting better and staying positive, I practiced guided imagery, positive affirmations, prayer and used healing crystals. I did everything in my power to get better.Cancer-Free Life: Six months later, on December 31, 2013 when my treatment officially ended, I was cancer-free. It was a miracle. I’d be starting the New Year with a celebration of life. Everything about me internally had changed: the way that I lived, and the way that I thought, felt and responded to things. I now felt powerful and fearless and would commit to living my life fully every single day.Check out some of my health-supportive recipes:Healing Coconut Vegetable Curry with RiceEasy 4-Ingredient Sweet Potato PuddingDetox Beet JuiceNote: PLEASE consult with your doctor before making any changes to your diet or medications. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Is Collagen Good for Pregnant Women? Collagen supplementation has become increasingly popular for many reasons, from improving the appearance of skin to helping strengthen gut and joint health. As the primary building block of the body’s skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, an...
What is Mushroom Coffee? What is Mushroom Coffee? What is mushroom coffee, and what does mushroom coffee taste like? This relatively new trend began to gain popularity around the 2010s and has grown to capture interest in all sectors of the food, health, and coffee indus...
Raw VS Cooked Vegetables: Benefits and Success Stories What You Need To Know About Raw VS Cooked Vegetables Interested in a raw food diet but unsure about how to get started? Proponents of a raw food lifestyle eat only uncooked and unprocessed foods because it is believed that heating food destroys i...
What To Know About The Bone Broth Weight Loss Diet What To Know About The Bone Broth Weight Loss Diet With all the mail I receive from people who are excited about starting the bone broth weight loss diet, there’s one question I’m hearing a lot: “Can I do this diet if I’m a vegetarian, pe...
5 Benefits of Exercise as You Age First of all, why is it important to stay active as we age? As we age, we can feel less stamina and agility than we did when we were younger. But this doesn’t mean we should stop moving altogether. In fact, it’s the opposite! By incorporating re...
Tips on How to Help With Constipation As a Functional Nutritional Therapist, one of the most common digestive complaints I hear from my patients is that they suffer from chronic constipation. They aren’t alone. In the U.S, we spend billions of dollars on over-the-counter and pharmaceu...