I never tire of hearing stories about people who survive cancer against the odds. You don’t read about these stories in medical journals. You’re more likely to find them in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, or on a blog. In rare cases, you will find collections of these “miraculous” stories gathered together in a book ( such as, “From Incurable to Incredible”, by Tami Boehmer). But it’s not the stuff that science or modern medicine is made of. After all, if a doctor TELLS you that you have six months left to live, he is not going to shout it from the roof tops when you are alive 38 years later! Such is the case of Carl Helvie.

I first read about Dr. Helvie on Elyn Jacobs blog (read the whole story here). His credentials are pretty impressive: “Dr. Helvie holds an M.P.H. and Dr. P.H. from John Hopkins University and has 58 years’ experience as a nurse practitioner, educator and researcher. The author of seven books, he is host of the Holistic Health Show on BBS Radio. Thirty-eight years ago, he developed lung cancer and was given six months to live by a conventional physician. He is now among the longest living survivors of lung cancer.”

I don’t know a lot about lung cancer, being a breast cancer gal myself, but I do know that it is considered one of the deadliest types. When Dr. Helvie was diagnosed, his prognosis was grim. With just six months left to live, he decided to try to make himself as comfortable as possible. However, using a combination of alternative therapies, prayer, meditation, affirmations and visualizations (which by the way, are ALL talked about in our book, 100 Perks of Having Cancer Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It)….he cured himself of cancer and has been cancer free for an amazing 38 years!

I devoured every word of Dr. Helvie’s interview, but this is the line which really caught my attention: “Cancer treatment is a multimillion dollar industry in which drug companies make lots of money, hospitals have wings donated, the American Cancer Society stays in existence, there is lots of research money available, doctors make money and on and on. So there is not much incentive to disturb the status quo and find a cure. Alternative doctors have offered successful treatments for over 80 years but when one practitioner gets too successful the anti quack law is pulled out and there are attempts to put them out of business. Many such cases are documented.”

So is there stuff our doctors are NOT telling us about how to survive cancer? Damn right there is! Here are some of the things that my doctors did not tell me about how to survive, and prevent a deadly recurrence:

-By following a regular exercise program, I can reduce my risk of having a cancer recurrence by as much as 40%.

-By eating a mainly whole food, plant based diet, I can reduce my risk of recurrence by a whopping 30%.

-Studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and breast cancer. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. I live in Newfoundland (enough said….) People who live in northern climates are at high risk of being deficient in this vitamin, which in turn puts them at risk of developing breast cancer. To reduce the risk, take a supplement (new studies show that you should take K2 along with D3……don’t ask me why.)

-Numerous studies have demonstrated the power of natural substances such as curcumin, mushroom extract, and dandelion root, just to name a few, which in lab studies have been shown to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells.

I could go on and on sharing my “quackery” with you but the bottom line is this: people believe what they want to believe, and for the most part, they don’t want to hear the bad news about their bad habits.   It takes guts to make lifestyle changes, and change is not for the faint of heart. Are you ready for a change?

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