Introducing Tips for Holistic Health
Knowing where to start with tackling serious health problems can be tricky. It seems there are two schools - conventional (drugs, surgery, treating symptoms) and holistic medicine (healing approach that considers the connection between mind, body and spirit). Unfortunately, they’re not always on the same page but over time I’ve learned that keeping an open mind and then following my intuition is where I’m most comfortable.
When first diagnosed in 2016, I started with the conventional approaches of chemotherapy and surgery. My main focus was to keep my spirits and weight up and basically get through each day with help from friends and family.
After a grueling year of treatment my scans came back clear, but then three months later nodules metastasized to my lungs. My oncology team was only able to offer a few unconvincing clinical trials and I was forced to take matters into my own hands. What followed was a brutal period filled with paralyzing uncertainty, doubts and stress.
Countless hours were spent on the computer trying to get a sense of all the angles. How were others healing themselves? Where were the success stories?
Books were hit or miss. Some offered valuable insight but most of the time the pace of delivery bored me or I was scared straight from horror stories and daunting statistics. I also researched expensive private centers that offered hope of natural healing methods. They sold it the best they could (they hadn’t seen many osteosarcoma cases) but with enough digging around I came across stories related to fraud or legal battles, and nothing was guaranteed. Would you risk your entire savings under those circumstances?
Online health influencers provided a clear blueprint for how to succeed. I learned about their specific diets, regimens, and survival stories which finally inspired belief that I could figure this out. The downside was they came across as being so perfect that I felt awful about myself whenever I couldn’t match the high level of execution. I became overwhelmed with the pressure of drinking 64 oz organic carrot juice every day, sticking to a raw, organic diet and making sure to soak beans or sprout almonds overnight… all while juggling countless other regimens.
Each morning for breakfast, Kori witnessed me struggle trying to get down the Budwig Protocol, a nauseating combo of cottage cheese and flax seed oil that took about 30 minutes to get through. Some days I threw on noise canceling headphones and blasted Hip-Hop (Jay-Z, Tupac or Drake depending on the mood) just to pump myself up for the challenge of each bite.
And for the love of god, I didn’t want to give up my morning coffee.
I eventually came to terms with letting go what seemed impractical and kept every other health boosting hack I managed to fit in a day. This included looping in a functional medicine doctor who boosted my nutrition levels through detailed blood tests and supplements. She also introduced me to other specialists who helped me detox using colon hydrotherapy and shared knowledge essential oils and infrared saunas. Thus began a snowball effect of learning more and more about optimizing health.
My goal when starting othercword.com was to write from the heart and pass along what I’ve learned along the way. Whereas I’m my biggest critic, friends and family always ask what I can share with them and describe me as hyper disciplined and fully committed to healing… Self perception can be funny like that.
I’ve decided to put up a new section breaking down the gist of different holistic health areas to get across what I believe is most important as a starting point to act on or do further research. This is where I’m at today. I hope you find the newly added Tips page helpful whether you’re fighting cancer or just looking to feel better every day. Please contact me with any questions or suggestions.
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