His dire prediction of only two years to live turned into nearly nine by our being proactive and changing our lifestyles. This is an easy-to-read account of our journey that takes the reader into the trenches as we battled together to fight Tommy’s cancer. Here’s the Deal about Cancer is a straight forward conversation that empowers the reader with knowledge and peace to make difficult and scary decisions.
The book presents a unique and practical perspective of what to do when faced with a cancer diagnosis. Knowing that this is a fearful and confusing time in a person’s life, this book offers workable ways to deal with cancer. The book shows you that it isn’t easy, but that it is doable. At the end of each chapter there is a checklist summary of what we learned at each stage of the journey. The book concludes with specific advice ranging from how to insure a productive medical appointment, to the best way to successfully integrate alternative therapies with conventional medicine. No one chooses to have cancer, but once the diagnosis is received, fighting it will become the most important mission of a person’s life. Doctors tell you what they can do, but no one tells you what YOU can do. That’s where Here’s the Deal about Cancer comes in. It fills a much needed gap for patients, survivors, and their concerned loved ones. It walks them through the thought process of how we discovered a new lifestyle to ultimately create and maintain quality of life.
To take a peek inside the book, let me give you a few examples of the straight forward approach to Here’s the Deal about Cancer. Tommy was a type “A” personality and never slowed down. He was a bear if he did not get to work out. His diet was not the best. His idea of a good snack was a Happy Meal from McDonald’s. He got very little sleep and was in a high stress job with the Navy flying F-14’s. Here’s the deal: Even though he had quarterly physicals and looked like the picture of health on the outside, he was not healthy on the inside. His body was creating the perfect environment for disease.
After diagnosis, and getting through the initial shock, we learned that educating ourselves about the disease and treatments helped reduce the fear. Here’s the deal: Do your research on your disease, get a second opinion, build your health team, and you will make good, informed decisions.
As time went on, we went through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Tommy retired from the Navy and we moved back to Atlanta to be closer to family. We just wanted to get back to “normal” and we never missed a beat. Here’s the deal: We didn’t make the connection between lifestyle and cancer, much less diet and cancer. We made life changes but not lifestyle changes.
When the tumors returned three years later, we had another wake up call. This time, we did research on how the body could heal from the inside. We wanted Tommy to be able to tolerate the treatments and have a good quality of life. Here’s the deal: You are what you eat! Alternative is not a bad word! When your body is broken, you need to give the cells what they need to function properly and to create an environment in which disease cannot live. Integrating treatments and therapies supports the whole body and improves quality of life.
What makes my book different from other stories about battling illness is that it outlines what we did -both right and wrong – during the course of his surgery, treatment, and therapies. I went from being an uninformed and devastated spouse to becoming a certified health coach, contributing columnist, and public speaker. I have also become a nationally certified massage therapist specializing in lymphedema therapy, oncology massage, and mastectomy therapies. Those same memories that propelled me to train and educate myself have culminated in creating the Body of Health and Life Clinic in Snellville, Georgia. The clinic integrates therapies to get to the root of the problem. Chronic pain, swelling, post-surgery, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and many more conditions are safely addressed at Body of Health.
The book can be found at Body of Health and Life, 1780 Oak Road, Suite A2, Snellville, Georgia 30078, or Amazon.com, or just go to our website at www.bodyofhealthandlife.com. Thank you for letting me share my story and passion with you. I look forward to helping you with your health needs.
