Cancer, Healing, and Nutrition

Considering the connection between between cancer, healing, and nutrition can be like heading into a vast unknown territory.  It can be be scary.  When my husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer, the American Cancer Society was informative when it comes to things such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.  It was remarkably silent about any complementary therapies.  In fact, it was so silent with such a marked void that alarm bells went off in my head.

Sample of whole food in a Kanza lodge.

Our family didn't plan to enter new territory in our eating or in healing.  We firmly planned to go the traditional route.  Several doctors spent quite a bit of time "selling" us chemo, and I remember thinking they were preaching to the choir.  My husband was young, 42, and we have three boys.  It was a no-brainer we would do whatever we had to beat this cancer.  And we have...just in our own way.

So what changed?  Shawn went through with the mastectomy and lymph node removal despite his grandmother's concerns.  She sent us a number of resources on alternative therapies, but there was so many it was really overwhelming.  We didn't know which supplements to choose, what order, or how they could interact with the chemo he was scheduled to begin.  So we made an appointment with a Naturopathic Doctor.  She asked an important question: where was Shawn getting exposed to estrogen?  The American Cancer Society mentions estrogen exposure from steroids as being a possible cause of breast cancer in men, but this didn't apply to Shawn.  Then ND informed us there is estrogen in most dairy products today.  This opened up a whole new world to research.  Was this true?  In short, yes, they give the cows estrogen to keep them lactating.

Today, eating fruits, veggies, beans, seeds, nuts and whole grains is pretty much considered an extreme form of eating.  Trust me, you get some strange reactions when you tell someone.  Yet, our ancestors called this whole food eating normal.  

We don't hand grind our own whole grains like they used to,
but I do occasionally grind them in my Vitamix.

For us, researching the connection between healing, cancer, and nutrition opened up a whole new world for us.  We discovered the works of Dr. John Mc Dougall, Dr Neal Barnard, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, and especially the Cancer Study by Dr. Colin Campbell.

The Pioneering Spirit

Two years ago we started on a journey we didn't expect.  Right after our family vacation to the Ozarks,  my husband was diagnosed with cancer.  It felt like the end of the world, and the next few months are still a blur.

But I can tell you when our new life began: August 2, 2011.   That's the day my husband announced he was going to a Whole Foods Plant Based Diet to heal from cancer.  He had the surgery in July and was scheduled to start chemo, radiation, and hormone therapy in August; all of which he declined.   On that day we became pioneers in a whole new lifestyle.  Our switch to Whole Food eating was abrupt, overnight, and it was overwhelming.  But we needed to do it, not just for my husband's healing but for all of us.

It REALLY was called the Pioneer cabin, down by itself in a 'holler

Our "Pioneer Cabin" vacation, a few weeks before our diet change.

Notice the extra large marshmallows and Dr Pepper (pre-Whole Food eating)

When I was a little girl I wanted to travel across the plains in a covered wagon.  I had a cute sun bonnet just like Laura Ingalls that I treasured.   Today, I often feel like a pioneer - but now my hair is in a scrunchy, and I'm more likely to be wearing yoga pants than a long skirt.  Do I even own a long skirt any more?  So here's my American Pioneering story.  It's how we eat and live.  For a girl who thought she was helping her mom cook when she peeled back the foil on the tv dinner, making bread from scratch has been an eye opener.  I'm constantly learning new things.

On this blog I will share recipes that have worked for our family, tips that helped us transition, share the resources I've found, and be honest about all our experiences in this new life.  Most of all - it's not a story about cancer, or giving up foods.  Much as pioneer stories weren't about the home they left behind.  For us, it's about the new world of whole foods we are discovering for us and our family.  It's about life, health, energy, healing, and joy of living life to the fullest.