The moment remains raw for Bailey O'Brien: “So there was that hopeless moment where I thought I was going to die.”

“My head was spinning. I didn't know what to think. I was very uneducated about cancer. I wondered, ‘Will I need chemotherapy? Will I need surgery? Am I going to die?'

Bailey admits she basically knew nothing about cancer.

“I was young and I was an athlete so I was pretty healthy overall,” she says. “I went back to school with a clean bill of health.”

Two years later, the fear and angst returned. “The spot behind my jaw was a malignancy.”

While waiting for that surgery, another tumor grew behind her ear and was pressing against an earlobe. The night before surgery, she felt a lump in her clavicle area. Then Bailey remembers another surgeon calling: “Oh, on this PET scan there was another spot in your adenoids.”

Four different areas. But even that wasn't the end of the story.

This Cancer Tutor Original features cancer thriver Bailey O'Brien. We know you will be inspired by her story of overcoming the odds time and time again.

“There are so many doubters. People who don't believe that it's possible to heal, especially naturally,” she says. “It worked for me and it's worked for a lot of other people. … When I went seeking them out I found them to be real and true. I experienced it to be true.”

The post Cancer Survivor Bailey O’Brien: ‘Am I going to die?’ appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Robert Carrillo is the executive director of clinics for Cancer Tutor. Robert and his wife, Pamela, have met cancer patients at many clinics in different parts of the world. They have heard the patients' stories — the cancer thrivers and also those who have died.

However, one question sticks with Robert: Why is this individual excelling?

Robert has a developed a “personal cancer policy,” which focuses on finding benefits that cancer patients can apply to their life.

To begin with, Robert says one of the earmarks of cancer patients' commitment to treatment is the acceptance of the cancer diagnosis. The patient is not denying cancer; they meet it head-on and accept it spiritually.

The patient commits to excel through their cancer. They go all-out to do the very best they can for their minds, their bodies, and their spirit — and they do not compromise.

Robert also has learned that cancer thrivers embrace a willingness that's significant to change. They changed a lot about their lives — including how they love. Cancer thrivers take inventory of all the things in their life. They are grateful for and to exercise affection. The patients also laugh. They try to find the humor in life, even with cancer.

People who are thriving have learned to constructively express what is going on inside of them to the people they care about.

Cancer thrivers also have an enormous amount of courage. Many people who do not have the courage to find out what ails them. They're afraid.

But you can make a difference — in your life and others — by developing and sharing a personal cancer policy.

• A firm commitment.
• Willingness to change.
• Exercise courage.

If you haven't applied those things in your cancer journey, and you haven't visited a clinic yet, evaluate those three aspects of your life. Bottom line: There are certain things for which we must take responsibility.

The post Robert Carrillo: A ‘personal cancer policy’ focuses on finding benefits that cancer patients can apply to their life appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Every day people struggle to cope with the financial burden of cancer. In fact, more than 4,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each day. No one is prepared to deal with that diagnosis from an emotional standpoint, and the vast majority are not prepared to deal with cancer from a financial angle.

At Cancer Tutor, we often are asked how to fund a natural or integrative cancer treatment. For people seeking immediate funds, we have a way that you probably have not considered.

Cancer Tutor has hundreds of options for different natural treatments and protocols, and even clinics that can help for those who want to go the natural route — but treatments can get expensive, quickly. And often natural cancer treatments are not covered by traditional insurance, which means one thing: cash out of pocket.

 Also: Fund your cancer treatment without a loan

It’s no surprise that one of the most common questions we receive at Cancer Tutor is “How am I supposed to pay for this? I have spent all my money on my doctors’ bills, chemo, travel expenses …” (Not to mention possible lost wages for having to take off from work to get treated.)

Did you know you can sell a life insurance policy? Yes – sell your life insurance policy, get money into your bank account in as little as three to seven days, and use the funds to do whatever you want. It is called a viatical settlement.

Living with a cancer diagnosis should not be the end of your life. The expenses that come with fighting cancer can drain your finances, leaving little money in the budget for things that truly matter.

• You’ve always wanted to travel but cannot because money is tight.
• You want to pay school or college tuition for a loved one.
• You want to gift your church or a charity and see your money in action.

That “bucket list” money may be as close as a desk drawer. A viatical settlement could be the answer you and your loved ones seek.

A viatical settlement will give you money now – not after you die, left to be split up among beneficiaries.

At its core, a viatical settlement is a financial transaction between you (the policyholder) and a licensed provider. The provider and policyholder are the only two parties that are mandatory in a viatical settlement (more on how to cut out the middleman later), meaning working directly with a provider is the best way to maximize your settlement value.

After researching the viatical landscape, Cancer Tutor recommends Abacus Life Settlements, a safe, state-licensed company that has been offering viaticals since 2004 and has not had a single regulatory issue.

Abacus has underwriter tables to assess the policyholder based on their impairments or whatever illness with which they’ve been diagnosed. This allows Abacus to have a general idea what type of life expectancy – or term duration modeling – that would be used to purchase the policy.

“That’s far different than what you see and have seen in this industry for a long time,” Abacus President and CEO Jay Jackson noted. “The traditional industry process is someone calls an intermediary and then gathers some basic information.”

Companies that act as intermediaries (a middleman or broker) often take up to 30 percent of your settlement value, and lead generation or marketing companies take a share as well. Also, there are several viatical settlement companies, many of them without proper licensing and short company histories.

‘We can qualify very quickly’

Abacus has a different way of doing business: one-on-one – no intermediary, no broker, no middleman necessary. Cancer Tutor visited the Abacus offices in Orlando, Florida, and was impressed with the efficient and thorough process the company uses to address individual cases.

After examining the underwriting (this entire process is done in-house under one roof), Abacus determines the premiums – what the future cost is to obtain the policy. Abacus gets this information from the insurance carrier.

“Because we do the underwriting right away in-house, we can get an idea whether we can provide a better offer,” Jackson said. “We can get those illustrations very quickly with most of the cancer patients that we work with because, in a lot of cases, they’re term policies.

“We can generally qualify very quickly if we are able to look at your policy tables to identify exactly what future premium costs will be if it is a term policy. We can get that data right away in most of our cancer cases as long as the insured can get us their policy contract. This is just one of the things Abacus does to set our timeframes apart from everyone else in the settlement industry without sacrificing quality.”

Jackson notes a universal life policy or potentially a whole life policy requires a little more work after contacting the carrier. On average the process takes three to five business days but can sometimes take seven business days.

After underwriting and premiums, Abacus must determine what the policy is worth during that given period of time.

“It’s just math,” Jackson said. “For us, there’s not any fees or commissions, or any other type of expense that an insurer would pay or be subject to because we’re making the offer directly.

“It’s the same algorithm effectively for every client. We’re not looking at this client and saying we’re going to offer you less because of any random factors. What we’re saying is, that this is the math and we walk every client through that same exact process.”

Typically, the initial call and determining whether Abacus will be able to fund the viatical settlement is less than 30 minutes. (You can contact Abacus at (800) 561-4148.) After that, Abacus encourages the policyholder to speak with their family. If the policyholder determines a viatical settlement is right for them, there is a 15-minute closing interview. Abacus will issue documents that the policyholder will have to fill out and have a notary sign. Once the paperwork is received, Abacus will transfer the funds via bank wire to the policyholder’s account.

At that point, the cancer patient can use the money for whatever they choose.

Why can Abacus process a settlement in days – as few as three to seven days – rather than several weeks, in many cases? The policyholder deals directly with Abacus, which has funding available for disbursement. It really is that simple – one-on-one between you and Abacus, and then the money is wired from Abacus into your bank account.

A strong financial solution

Viatical settlements have become incredibly safe and well regulated by states in the past decade. Many states require specific licensing and practice strict oversight to ensure customer safety. Consumers are better protected than ever before in the viatical and life settlement industry. It is a safe option for consumers.

For many individuals facing a terminal illness, a viatical settlement is a strong financial solution. Patients and their families can receive immediate funds to pay for medical expenses or quality of life experiences.

“We’re not looking at this client and saying we’re going to offer you less because of any random factors. What we’re saying is, that this is the math and we walk every client through that same exact process.”

Jay Jackson

Abacus Settlements

Coping with a medical crisis while worrying about medical bills can be overwhelming; it's a potent 1-2 punch to the gut. With the cost of healthcare continuing its year-over-year rise, even people with excellent health insurance are struggling to keep up with medical expenses.

If you are struggling to afford medical bills, having issues keeping up with your premiums, or just want immediate income, a viatical settlement is likely right for you.

Patients that can easily handle their premiums should take a serious look at their life insurance situation. If there is no need for an immediate lump sum of cash, there may not be a need pursue a life settlement.

Realistically, the greatest payout you can receive from a life settlement is from receiving the full death benefit when the insured passes. However, your insurance company wants your policy to lapse; they get to keep all the money. Insurance companies will encourage you to take a low-ball surrender value or lapse the policy altogether.

In March 2015, ThinkAdvisor reported the number of policies that were lapsed by seniors over age 65 exceeds 1.1 million with a face value of $112 billion.

Based on 2008 data compiled by publicly available sources, more than 250,000 universal and variable universal policies with a face value of approximately $57 billion were lapsed by seniors over age 65. When term and whole life policies are included, the number of policies exceeds 1.1 million with a face value of $112 billion. If the data were available for 2014, the amount would be even greater.

The pro-consumer approach

“If you look at the last decade of growth, the reason why firms like Abacus are now quite successful is attributable to the level of due diligence, transparency, efficiency, and most importantly the pro-consumer approach that Abacus has taken,” Jackson said.

“We’ve now grown to one of the top three industry purchasers in the asset class,” Jackson added. “I use the word purchaser rather than provider because that language can get confusing to somebody from the outside looking in.

“Since a settlement is often a very emotional decision that can present a mental hurdle for an individual to get past,” Jackson said, “it is extremely important that our process remains pro-consumer and we meet all of the relevant regulatory requirements; we’re heavily regulated by each state’s insurance department.”

It is our experience that Abacus often makes the strongest possible offer in every case. The company truly is committed to its mission of helping you focus on healing instead of medical bills. However, if you choose not to work with Abacus, the company will help connect you with other reputable viatical companies.

If you are going to reach out to Abacus have your most recent medical data and the last annual statement regarding your life insurance policy.

Regarding the policy, the more information you have – when it was issued, when it expires, etc. – the quicker the process will be.

A viatical settlement can provide needed funds for someone facing late-stage cancer and relieve the added financial stress of expensive premium payments. With Abacus, there is no cost and no obligation to accept the funding if an offer is given. It is easy to find out if you qualify and how much you or your loved one may receive.

 Visit the website: Abacus Life Settlements or call (800) 561-4148.

FAQs

The post Abacus a strong financial solution for cancer patients looking to sell life insurance policy appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

“There was definitely a point where I felt like I was probably a little bit oblivious to the details of the fight that was to come,” she says. “I had six weeks between having my baby and then going into surgery.”

In the wake of being diagnosed and after talking with her doctors and researching, Jen decided to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction.

“I just thought, ‘Well, you know what? I’ve been through childbirth five times. We can get through a surgery. It’s fine. We can do surgery. Surgery is fine. I can survive that part.’

“Just being a type-A, driven person, I just started to research,” Jen says. “Of course, you run across the doom and gloom, but as I started researching, I started understanding different ways that nutrition really does affect your body.

“And when I would research all the conventional, or so-called, causes of cancer and risk factors, I had none of them. So, it just was kind of a mystery on how the cancer happened.”

That mystery would lead to the realization that healthy living is rooted in good nutrition. While eating begins at the table, beating cancer begins in your head – and Jen learned both of these truths.

‘I was in a different world’

Back to late October 2014 …

“I remember I got the phone call, and I went outside,” Jen Hartney says. “I sat on the curb. And I have a big old pregnant belly, and I’m sitting on the curb, and I just remember cars driving past and thinking, ‘How in the world did my life just flip upside down and there’s normal things happening, like people just driving by to run errands and people walking outside to check their mail?’

“And it just felt completely surreal. The best way I can describe it is that it just felt like I was in a different world.”

Fear would play through my mind and think, ‘What’s going to happen if they grow up without a mom?’ Or immediately my mind would race forward to just telling my husband, ‘You have to get remarried if something happens to me because they need a mom.’

Jen Hartney

Still, Jen and her husband, Rich, also had a growing family to think about.

“My husband, he's the most consistent, steady person I know, which is a great balance for me,” Jen says. “From the beginning, he didn’t doubt.

“He said, ‘We’ll get through this, and it’s going to be OK.’ I don’t know if he really believed it at the moment, but that’s what I needed to hear.”

Once Jen and Rich had come to terms with the breast cancer diagnosis, it was time to focus on giving birth and then preparing for surgery.

“I started researching and learning during those six weeks about nutrition and what can happen to your body when you are nutritionally deficient and when you have stress thrown in there and other factors … it really made sense to how I got cancer as a young 35-year-old. ‘Oh my gosh. I have not been eating well at all.’

“I jokingly call myself a recovered ice cream addict,” Jen confides.

“We didn’t eat terribly; we didn’t eat McDonald’s three times a day,” she says, “but I certainly was not focused on a nutrient-dense diet. I really was addicted to ice cream; I probably had a bowl every single night. For our wedding, we had an ice cream sundae bar instead of a cake, because I just really loved ice cream. I mean, I can justify having ice cream for breakfast, because you get your calories and burn your calories all throughout the day.

“So yeah, those six weeks between having the baby and before my surgery, that's when I just dove into the research and the nutrition, and that's when it clicked to me and I thought, ‘This is something I can do.’ It empowered me. … I dove so far into the research because it gave me something to do – and it gave me some control back of a situation that felt completely out of control.”

And baby makes seven

Childbirth is an enormous strain on a woman’s body. That added stress does not mix well with cancer.

“They induced me since I was close enough to being full term,” Jen Hartney says. “Really, that was the first thing we had to do – focus on getting through a healthy labor and a delivery and have a healthy baby.”

Once the baby was delivered, the Hartneys turned their attention to Jen’s cancer. She met with her oncologist and mapped out a course of action.

“We ran through the standard, chemo, radiation, genetic testing … it was just a ton of information,” she says. “My doctor, he really was good. He didn’t say, ‘On such-and-such date, you will do this, and then you will do this, and then you will do this.’

“It was, ‘Well, this is what chemo will look like, and this is what we would do for the radiation.’ I got the referral for the radiologist and then met with my surgeon. … A bit chaotic, I would say, because it’s all really disjointed.

“I mean, you go see the oncologist, and then you go see the surgeon, and then you see a radiologist, and then you see a geneticist. And it was just so many different appointments, and you’re bouncing around through all these different specialists. And it took a while for us to pull together a game plan, basically, because there were so many different pieces involved.”

And then, there was the ever-present fear …

‘That was probably my breaking point’

The Hartneys’ children ranged from newborn to 7. Their lives were just beginning and the thought of Jen not being around was constantly in her thoughts.

Says Jen: “That fear would play through my mind and think, ‘What’s going to happen if they grow up without a mom?’ Or immediately my mind would race forward to just telling my husband, ‘You have to get remarried if something happens to me because they need a mom.’

“There were lots of fears of just wondering, ‘What if this doesn't end the way that I would want it to end? What if there’s a different plan that’s bigger than me, and the plan that’s bigger doesn’t necessarily mean that I get to live and survive cancer?’

“I believe that the plan for my life has already been written out,” she says. “What I eat, what I do right now doesn’t determine what my last day will be – but it does determine how well I live out my days.”

Ultimately, Jen’s mentality was “let’s get this done.” She did not want to dwell on the surgery. It was time to tackle cancer – and move on with her life.

“I had a peace going into that surgery,” she recalls. “I woke up the morning of, kissed my 6-week-old baby goodbye, and kissed my kids goodbye while they were all sleeping, trying not to wake them up, and knowing that when I came back, I would not be able to hold my baby or any of my kids for, I didn't know how long it would be …”

Jen says she “didn't freak out at all, not that I remember, at least,” while being prepped for surgery. But she was not prepared for post-surgery.

“I remember when I came out of it, I felt like I had been run over by a semi and that it had backed up and run over me like a hundred times more,” she says. “I think that was my breaking point, was just the physical pain matched the inside, what I was feeling on the inside.

“That was probably my breaking point at which I felt I just wanted it to be over. I really don't want to keep fighting through this, because there was so much pain.”

‘They had not gotten all the cancer’

OK, so the surgery was a success. Yes, there was pain. Yes, there were mental hurdles to overcome. But Jen Hartney had made it through the toughest part. Recovery was at hand; it was time to get on with life.

“I went in for my checkup just to make sure the sutures were healing and that everything was OK because I had lost a lot of blood during my surgery,” Jen says.

“When I went in for that follow-up appointment thinking we would just be told that the stitches look fine, you’re healing OK. … They actually told me that they had not gotten all the cancer and that we would be going in for another surgery.

“Hearing that news is probably one of the lowest points of my entire life. It just felt like we had just gotten punched in the gut. And I didn't know what to make of that, because I had barely, barely been able to get, I mean literally barely been walking when we were told that I was going to go in for another surgery.

“That was a real low point,” Jen admits, “just because I felt like I was literally being just beaten and bruised and battered and just covered in scars and bruises and marks and just stitches. My body was just a physical mess. … I just couldn’t get my feet underneath me.”

The second surgery, however, proved to be a turning point for Jen.

“Before going into my second surgery, I really just completely surrendered to God and said, ‘I don't know what your plan is, and I don't know why this is so much harder than what I think it has to be.’ But He just gave me a real sense of peace going into that second surgery, and it was really when I woke up from the second surgery that I felt, ‘Alright, we're going to fight this. We're going to come up with a plan, and I don't know what the end result will be.’ ”

‘Standing guard over me’

While interviewing Jen Hartney the sense of angst she endured is palpable. No doubt there were fears. Family is her life; there is boundless love. The idea that she would not be there for her husband and children was tough to consider.

After the surgeries, there was a time when Jen could not hold nor pick up her children. She was literally detached from the physical bond of mother-child. I asked if she felt like a spectator in her own life.

“I always hesitate to tell this story, and I don't know why, because I think it's one of the biggest parts of this story,” Jen says. “When I came out of that surgery, the first thing I did is, as I was literally waking up, I just had tears in my eyes. And I looked at my husband and I said, ‘Did you see it?’ I said, ‘It was huge.’

“And then he said I kind of passed out for a few more minutes, and then my surgeon came in to check on me, and as I was waking up again, I said to him with tears in my eyes, ‘Did you see it? ‘It was huge.’

“It was an angel. I saw the angel in the room, and he was in the corner of the room of the surgery, of the OR, and I was facing its back,” she says. “Beyond him, I could see myself on the table with my surgeon and with the nurses and the whole medical staff, them just working on me. I never exchanged any words with the angel, and I just had this sense that at any moment it would just unfurl its wings and it would just be this huge shield of protection and that it was just watching, standing guard over me, basically.”

Jen admits she is hesitant to tell the angel-in-the-room story. “I know some people will think I’m a complete loon,” she says. But she is steadfast that the second surgery was a turning point for her life.

“I felt like I had a glimpse of something beyond me to show that it wasn’t just up to me to fight this battle – that I had, basically, backup. I had somebody else fighting this for me, and I was just there going through the steps and the motions.

“As far as feeling like a spectator,” Jen says, “I don’t know the right answer to that. In some ways, I felt everybody is going on with life, and it’s so normal for them, and yet I’m in this other world of still trying to fight for my life and not even knowing what the next week may bring as far as types of treatment that we may pursue because we still weren’t sure about doing chemo or radiation. I actually had the port put in during my surgery since I was already under.”

‘The healing power of touch’

Ultimately, life returned to normal – as much as ‘normal’ can be after two intense surgeries. And a normal life gradually included being able to have physical contact. It was two months after her baby was born.

“I could finally hold her and somewhat kind of pick her up if she was on an elevated surface,” Jen Hartney says. “At that point, my kids could gently, they had to be very careful around mommy, they could gently put their arms around my neck. I still couldn’t raise my arms above head. I still couldn’t reach out in a huge hug, and everything was still really sore and tender.

“It made me realize the healing power of touch, just the fact that just that physical touch with the people you love, with other people, that there is just some sort of degree of healing in that itself.”

However, the power of touch isn’t necessarily physical. Jen learned that her words could touch people. As part of a military family, the Hartneys literally had moved many times. She started a blog to keep family and friends informed about her diagnosis and surgeries.

“That’s just how we were updating folks on different steps and progress and surgeries and choices of treatment,” Jen says. “Once we decided to pursue an alternate route or a holistic route, I just, naturally, there was just a lot of questions of people saying, ‘Well, what are you doing? What does that include? What does that involve? And why this and why not that?’

“It was through all the education and through sharing what we were doing and the why behind it that really became, to me, I guess the reason why I enjoyed and decided to share more the story and to actually start educating people.

“As far as food goes and the nutrition side of things, almost everything that works for an ‘anticancer’ diet really is just a great diet for anybody. It’s just a good, healthy way to live and way to eat whole foods. That really became the reason why I start sharing the information with other people – I realized it was good for a lot of people if you’re struggling with blood pressure or diabetes or digestive issues. So much of what I had learned applied to that, and so that became the driving force behind deciding to share more of my story and information.”

With that realization, The Prodigal Table was born …

‘A table where everyone is welcome’

During a visit with a friend, Jen was talking about the blog and how she wanted to evolve it into a website, to be a place where people gather. The friend said a table came to mind: “Where food meets faith.”

“I said, ‘Yes, totally, a table where everyone is welcome and everyone has a seat and it’s a place of just grace.’

“That led me to the word ‘prodigal’ because it refers to the story in the Bible of the prodigal son. What I love about that story is just the amount of grace that is in there when the son returns from having gone his own way and spent his inheritance and had done things, made poor decisions, and yet when he returns, there’s no shame. There's no condemnation by the father. The son already knows what he’s done. The reaction he gets from the father is just full of grace.

“I feel like there’s not just enough … you can never have too much grace in our world,” Jen says. “Especially when it comes to faith and especially when it comes to food, I feel the desire and a conviction to make it a place full of grace where people don’t feel like they come and they have to feel guilty about what they're eating or feel like what they’re doing or not doing should make them feel ashamed but that there’s just a lot of grace, because I have received a lot of grace.

“I just want anyplace I am, whether it physically be the table or the website, just to be a place of grace for others.”

The transition to healthy eating for the Hartneys began with Jen in the kitchen, preparing meals for the family.

“Before all of this began,” she says, “I’ve always had an interest in food, and more the science and the chemistry behind food and how different elements work together. And I love food, and I think I just love when it tastes great. So, from the very beginning, I thought, ‘Well, we can’t just chow down a bunch of kale and broccoli all day. This has to taste good.’

“That’s another huge part of eating well, is that you eat food that tastes good. I always wanted to make food that also tasted good. I wasn’t just forcing them to chew on green leaves all day.

“The transition, I would say, wasn’t so terrible,” Jen says, “because they were all very accepting, either for my husband by choice or for my kids because they didn’t have a choice. It was an introduction of different vegetables and some questions of like, ‘Why don't we do this?’ or ‘Why don’t we do that?’

“My husband would probably say that I am an experimenter,” she admits. “I’m always trying something new. I mean, we do have a handful of standby recipes that I know my kids will always like, and those are great, because I throw those into the mix, into our weekly menu. Probably two or three times, we have a meal that’s an oldie but goody.

“But I’m constantly trying new things, constantly adjusting recipes, trying to see what I can tweak here or there or just trying things that are completely new because I feel like food is this endless world of possibilities.”

Well, except for one food.

“Other than in a capsule form, I have not tried liver,” Jen admits. “I know that it’s really nutrient dense, but I just can’t bring myself to try that yet. I wish I could.”

‘I really don't know what the future holds’

With a large family and a burgeoning website on her plate, you may get the impression that Jen Hartney has her hands full. You’d be right – but it’s not overwhelming.

“I used to think that I wanted to do something huge,” she says, “that I want to do something big and just make this huge impact on the world – and not necessarily in terms of fame, because I really am somebody who does much better working behind the scenes.

So much of the battle is in your head. … There’s a place and a time to come to terms with your fears and to get that ugly cry out, but … there’s just a mental toughness that you have to acquire throughout this battle.

Jen Hartney

“And now, when I look to the future, I just think, ‘Man, I’m so content to just affect whatever circle He’s placed me in, and it doesn’t have to be big. It can be as small as a handful of friends and my neighbors and my family. I'm content with that, and that itself can be used for good.

“I really don't know what the future holds,” she says. “I have some dreams here and there, and I’ve always loved the idea of being somebody who can help and rescue and just help other people. That’s always been a passion of mine. … I think God will work all that out. But yeah, I can’t really say I have any huge vision right now, because I’m just thankful for what we have right now, and I feel like I’m just content with this.”

Jen also knows beating cancer is a mindset.

“The first thing [my OB] said to me was, in essence, ‘You need to get your head in the game.’ And I thought, ‘Gosh, I’m just reeling from this information, and she’s telling me to get my head in the game.’ She said 90 percent of this is in your head. I tucked those words away and didn’t really think about it. But that was one of the things that stood out to me as I was recovering between the two different surgeries.

“I was talking to a friend who had flown in to help take care of me and my kids, my family. And she could just tell how discouraged I was and just what a low point it was. She said, ‘We need to start sending you some positive stories because I think when you’re on the Internet, you’re just reading about all the doom and gloom and reading about all these terrible stories.’

Friends began sending Jen positive stories of cancer survivors. And it made a difference.

“So much of the battle is in your head,” Jen admits. “So much of this is getting away from the negative talk and the fear and the doubts. There’s a place and a time to come to terms with your fears and to get that ugly cry out, but after that, really so much of this really truly is in your head, and there’s just a mental toughness that you have to acquire throughout this battle.

“Seek out the positive, seek out those good stories – because they’re out there.”

Jen is content and she has perspective – on life, her passion, and cancer: “It’s a disease. That’s all it is. It’s just a disease – and you can beat it.”

The post Jen Hartney turns the table on cancer with nutrition appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Cowboys have a treasured place in the fabric of America. Known for their tenacity in the face of obstacles, cowboys — like cancer survivor Hermon Ash — have the reputation of making good things happen when the chips are down.

Hermon bluntly tells his story of working through a morass of red tape. And from that struggle came the determination to not only fight his cancer — but to also become a voice and an advocate for those also struggling with cancer.

“My healing began with a doctor who took interest in healing me,” Hermon said of the treatment he received from Dr. Carlos Garcia of Utopia Wellness. “Now, I didn't follow his direction 100 percent. And Dr. Garcia knew it. He told me it was a simple choice: Follow the treatment or not.”

Ultimately, Hermon got on board. He made the commitment to beating cancer. And he survived. Hermon's story is one that many can relate to. And surviving cancer is how the cowboy rides away.

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“I survived [testicular] cancer in 1997,” said Hamilton, an Olympic gold medal figure skater. “Seven years later I was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor, and then it came back six years later in 2010 and that time they did surgery.

“Now it’s six years later and [cancer] decided it wanted an encore.”

This time, Hamilton made lifestyle changes and remained steadfast in his faith.  “I really tried to draw as close to the Lord as possible,” Hamilton said. His story was featured in People Icons: Heroes & Survivors on ABC.

After cutting out sugar and “all the unhealthy stuff,” Hamilton revealed that his tumor had shrunk.

“The doctors basically said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,’ ” Hamilton said. “And it was very funny, the surgeon that I would use if I were to take it out, I go, ‘Can you explain this?’ He just smiled and looked at me and goes, ‘God.’ … I was just a blubbering mess, like, ‘I’m not worthy of this.’ ”

Hamilton is uniquely acquainted with cancer – from personal experience and the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, which stands for Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship. The alliance seeks to build strong partnerships with leading institutions, cancer support groups, and researchers from around the globe.

“Cancer is a tough thing,” Hamilton said, “and it’s really devastated a lot of families. I lost my mother to cancer and it changed my life forever.

“But I choose, in everything we do, to celebrate life.”

Hamilton is a firm believer in “getting up” after the fall. He pointed to a chapter in his book, The Great Eight, titled “Fall Down, Get Up, Smile Like Kristi Yamaguchi. “In one of her [skating] programs, she took a hard fall on a really difficult jump — and she got up, went right back to her program like nothing happened.

“I realized in that moment there’s a life lesson: I’m gonna fall down. I’m gonna make mistakes. But it’s what’s next — it’s how you get up. The more times you get up, the stronger you are.”

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Pamela Carrillo was diagnosed with breast cancer — “we were in shock,” she admits — but that was not the end of the story. In fact, it was the beginning of a journey that prompted her husband, Robert, to challenge everything they had been told about orthodox medicine.

He began to research conventional methods as well as natural treatments, including supplements for the cancer protocol. Ultimately, the Carrillos decided to choose a natural, integrative course of treatment, and today they are an example of how people should engage — and win — their battle against cancer.

Robert became more than a husband to Pamela; he was her caregiver, and their relationship deepened throughout the course of her cancer treatment. The Carrillos refused to accept cancer as a death sentence. Their story is one of research, understanding, and love.

Now, Robert and Pamela are the driving force behind Cancer Tutor's verified clinics initiative. The Carrillos visit natural and integrative clinics to meet with doctors, discuss the protocols offered by the clinics, talk with patients. Robert and Pamela have been down this road; they understand what cancer patients face.

The Carrillos' insight into the process — and their on-site visits — are designed to be a starting point for anyone seeking the best options for fighting cancer. Cancer Tutor believes this hands-on approach will bring cancer patients and their caregivers a peace of mind when choosing a clinic.

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Just wanted to email you and thank you for a simply wonderful, thorough, and informative website!

Using the information I was able to cure my cancer in 12 days using baking soda and a plant-based diet while cutting out meat, dairy, alcohol, and all sugars.

I saw my oncologist yesterday to officially cancel my appointment for more brachytherapy and this was her reaction to my PSA drop from 5.29 to 0.65 in 4 weeks!

She was very impressed and confirmed that with current PSA level of less than 2 and two consecutive massive drops that equals no detectable cancer in the prostate.

She said the only sure way to tell is another biopsy but with the presence of cancer would be so small it would be unlikely to show any cancer from the 12 samples they would collect and even if it did show anything the massive progression of PSA downward would mean it was insignificant anyhow and clearly reducing.

When she saw the blood results dropped 5.29 to 1.73 to 0.65, her eyebrows went skyward and she exclaimed, “It's a miracle.” I went on to explain about the lifestyle changes and she began to make notes about everything on her computer, rapidly typing all the detail of what I did.

She immediately wrote her email down and said, “Please promise to send this to me; it is very important!”

She finished by asking me to return on the 10th of November with another PSA test taken a week previously from the doctor and said that she will watch the video (she speaks perfect English). She also said she would discuss my case with all her oncologist buddies — especially the way that diet plays no part in their current advice.

So, all in all, a very positive visit and I was amazed at the eagerness the information and results were enthusiastically received. She said she is looking forward to my next PSA result — and I said that makes two of us!

— Andy Harrell

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I was officially cancer-free April 20, 2010.

Describe your experience with conventional doctors and treatments:

My experience with conventional doctors is very eye opening. I decided immediately to not do chemo and to fight this cancer naturally. This decision was hit immediately with strong opposition from the doctors. They were pressuring me to do chemo that day. They started to raise their voices and were almost yelling at me. They scheduled me to talk to another team of doctors that day. I met with an oncologist and they immediately started to lecture my wife and me about how stupid our decision was. They got really mad when I explained that I am going to die with chemo or without it and I wanted to refuse chemo.

This conversation started a chain reaction. My wife and I started to receive phone calls at all times of the day and night telling us that I was going to die and chemo was my only chance of living longer. They called my wife and told her that she will be raising our triplets alone because I was killing myself.

When I was first diagnosed with the second tumor, I asked the doctor, “How do you know this is cancer without a biopsy?” He said, “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck.” Is this how everyone gets diagnosed or is it just me?

I was going in once a month to get CT scans to check on my progress. The doctors started lying about my test results (they did not want me to know the tumor started to shrink). Once I called them out on the lying they decided to withhold my test results. (This took a phone call to the hospital administration to get resolved.)

On Oct. 31, 2009, I went in for a CT scan and an hour later I received a phone call from a new doctor who was covering for my doctor who was out sick. She told me that the previous doctors I talked to were wrong and I did not have cancer. Thirty minutes later she called again, said she made a mistake, and I am once again dying of cancer. About 45 min after the second call I received a third call saying they have no idea what the mass is.

In November I talked to a surgeon about removing rest of the tumor. He got angry when I asked him questions (he said something that contradicted himself). He then told me he did not care if I lived or died on his operating table. After I picked my jaw back up off the floor I left. A few weeks later I received a certified letter in the mail that said that I was going to die from cancer because I refused to do chemo.

In December 2009  I saw a naturopath doctor who said the plan I was using was fantastic. She had me incorporate fish in my diet so I could gain some weight back. (at that point I was 170 pounds; I started at 235 pounds). She also confirmed what I had been asking doctors from the beginning was if I can get my tumor biopsied. At this point, all of the doctors I saw refused to biopsy my tumor. I started to go through the phone book and try to find a doctor who would biopsy me. I only found one doctor.

The results were that my tumor was 100 percent dead cancer cells. I also found a surgeon who was willing to remove my tumor. On April 20, 2010, I had a 9 1/2-hour surgery to remove the tumor  at Cleveland Clinic. I received 4 inches of incision from my first surgery in 2009 and 26 inches of incisions on my second surgery on April 20, 2010. I have had a CAT scan once a year since April 20 and I have had no problems.

What alternative therapies did you do and which ones helped you the most?

I started off doing the Hallelujah Acres Diet, with Angstrom ionic liquid cesium and potassium, Solaray Turmeric and Essiac Tea. I added everything that I could afford that fought cancer naturally. I started jogging and lifting weights. I made sure I ate large quantities of raw broccoli, spinach, garlic and carrots. I was losing so much weight. I added wild caught fish into my diet when I started to get too thin.

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I believe from personal experience that carrots can cure cancer — and rapidly, without chemotherapy, radiation, or other dietary changes. I think carrots are worth a try for nearly everyone diagnosed with cancer because the results show up very fast.

Here’s the history of my experience:

2012

On June 6, I had surgery for a newly diagnosed Stage III colon cancer. I declined the recommended chemotherapy and felt better and better from that date. But six months later, on Nov. 6,  I had a CT scan follow-up that showed probable cancer in my lungs.

The oncologist said I had Stage IV colon cancer metastasized to the lungs. Later I learned that the colon cancer surgeon believed cancer in the lungs was unrelated to the colon cancer, an independent development. His reasoning was that colon cancer, even metastasized, grows very slowly, and the two lung tumors were growing fast.

The oncologist also said radiation wouldn’t help me. She recommended chemotherapy to retard my demise but said chemotherapy wouldn’t cure cancer. I asked the surgeon about my life expectancy. He told me that without chemo I probably had only two to three years to live — and not much more with chemo.

I was very distraught. I read everything I could find on the Internet about alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation. I already had a list of twenty or so recommended substances that didn’t work, that my husband had tried for six months before dying of lung cancer in 2005.

I hit upon a letter on the Internet by a California man named Ralph Cole, saying that drinking the juice of five pounds of carrots daily had eliminated small squamous cell cancers on his neck and that a few others had told him the juice had helped with a variety of cancers. Ralph was very detailed in describing his own experience and wasn’t selling anything or engaging in self-aggrandizement. On Nov. 17, I started drinking the juice in the quantity Ralph recommended.

I Juiced 5 lbs of carrots per day

On Nov. 27,  a PET scan confirmed the findings of the CT scan: the presence of “spots,” swollen lymph nodules, and two small tumors in enlarged lymph nodes between the lungs,  each about an inch long by 1/4 inch diameter.  According to the radiologist ‘s report,  these tumors were “avid for sugar” and “rapidly growing.”

Drinking carrot juice, unlike some supplements that oncologists prohibit during conventional treatment, is perfectly compatible with simultaneous radiation or chemo; but I didn’t want the recommended chemo because I had researched and dreaded its side effects.

So I had no chemo, no radiation, no other treatments, and no dietary changes beyond the carrot consumption, and continuing eating meat and ice cream and indulging in other dietary vices  (I don’t recommend ice cream for cancer, but only want to emphasize that drinking carrot juice was the only change I made in my life, besides gratefully accepting prayers and “good energy” from friends and asking for wisdom and help from Whoever is up there in the Beyond.

2013

On Jan. 7,  after eight weeks on the carrot juice (a quart to a quart and one-third daily) I had my first follow-up CT scan. It showed no growth of cancer, some shrinkage of the tumors, and fewer swollen lymph nodes. In just eight weeks, the growth of the tumors had stopped.

It’s interesting that eight weeks is the same amount of time on carrot juice that it took Ralph Cole to eliminate  his squamous cell tumors.

For the next six months, until the end of July 2013, I continued drinking the juice faithfully every day, except when I was traveling. I used an Omega Juicer at first, which made about a quart of juice from the five pounds of carrots. Because of moving, I switched to a Champion Juicer, which made about a quart and a third from the same amount of carrots. Both juicers were effective. I made all the juice for the day in the morning, drank part, and kept the remainder in the refrigerator, drinking it throughout the day. Every month or so when I traveled, I would go three or four consecutive days without juice.

A CT scan at the end of March 2013 showed no growth of cancer, no new cancer, no swollen lymph nodes, and further shrinkage of the tumors.

A CT scan on July 30, 2013, showed no evidence of cancer!

The swollen cancerous lymph nodes had returned to normal size and were stable.  I told my oncologist for the first time about my carrot juice treatment, saying I hadn’t told her because I thought she would be skeptical.  She said that she was sure that many natural substances are effective against cancer, but that she can’t recommend them because of the lack of formal studies and statistical support.

My understanding is that M.D.’s must rigidly conform to recommending chemotherapy or radiation, and nothing else, lest they fly in the face of proven published research and cause a patient’s injury or death with unorthodox advice — which could get them a big medical negligence lawsuit.  So you can bring up carrots, or cabbage, or curcumin with your doctor, but even if they are interested, they are not free to recommend these substances to you.

My oncologist recommended a new scan in six months, but in six months I’ll likely be in Guatemala where a scan involves drinking a lot of a very nasty-tasting contrast medium. So I’ve decided to wait a year to have the next scan. Meantime I will keep on with occasional carrot juice, and aim for less meat and ice cream, and more salads.

To reprise my progress: 

• Two weeks after starting the carrots, there was no improvement.
• Eight weeks after starting the carrots, the tumors had stopped growing and were shrinking.
• Four months after starting the carrots, all the lymph nodes in my lungs had returned to normal.
• Eight months after starting, there was no sign of cancer anywhere in my body.

I believe that a newly diagnosed person like me, still in generally good health,  could safely put off  chemotherapy for eight weeks to see if five pounds of carrots daily, as juice, will halt the growth of cancer. If the carrots work, one might continue postponing chemo as long as the carrots continue to arrest cancer and, one hopes, eventually eliminate it entirely. My latest CT scan  (July 30, 2013) proves this has happened for me.

The carrot cure also worked for Ralph Cole’s squamous cell cancers. I think they probably will work against a wide range of cancers. The effective ingredient in the carrots is falcarinol, which has been proved effective against cancer in lab experiments with rats and mice done in Denmark and the UK. Using carrots or falcarinol, Dr. Kirsten Brandt and colleagues in the UK have retarded by a third the growth of tumors in lab rats injected with a carcinogen. They have fed the rats and mice what proportionately in humans would be a pound and a half of carrots.

Drinking the juice from five pounds of carrots daily, as Ralph and I have done, is a human equivalent dose more than triple what Dr. Brandt gave the rats. I hope that many people and organizations will help fund her work, which so far has struggled to find strong financial backing.

This testimonial appears on www.chrisbeatcancer.com. It is used here by permission.

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