Case in point
A case in point is that of Sophie Sabbage. In October 2014 Sophie was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She had lung cancer that had already spread to her bones and brain and her doctors agreed she didn’t have long to live.
“My turning point was shortly after being diagnosed with multiple metastases in my brain, a devastating day and my darkest hour by far. That was the day I nearly gave up and actually prayed for God to take me fast rather than let me lose my lucidity and clarity of mind. I knew I could do this cancer journey if I had my mind. But without it I was done. I have never known such despair.
But then they told me I had to take steroids and have my whole brain irradiated. And something shifted. A force of will? Courage? Utter stubbornness? Perhaps even blind stupidity? But it rose up my tumour- ridden spine like an electric charge and the fog cleared. I knew I needed to say no. I knew steroids would take me downhill faster than a teenager on a skateboard – that I would get fatThere are many different types of fats; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, hydrogenated, saturated and trans fat. The body requires good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) in order to… (and depressed), not sleep well (when we heal) and increase my blood sugar (which cancer loves). It made no sense to me. I also knew people said, ‘I’m not the same person,’ after whole-brain radiation. And, above all, I knew I needed to trust my own intuition above anything any expert was telling me to do.
That was the day I took charge of my treatment and my choices. I had more lesions in my brain than they could count. Five months later my brain was cancer free. I never took a steroid and they never irradiated it! The radiologist still talks about it at the hospital. He had never seen a result like it. The chemo helped. And other stuff I do. But refusing those treatments was the way I boldly empowered myself and the despair left me. I haven’t felt it since.”
She is clearly beating the odds, having written an inspiring book, The Cancer Whisperer, about how to work creatively and constructively with a cancer diagnosis and how to let cancer heal your life. Her approach includes many of the aspects I explore in my book The Chemistry of Connection: feeling your feelings; asking for help; establishing your boundaries; knowing your purpose; and clearing your mind of negative beliefs.
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