Preview Natural Strategies For Cancer Patients – Dr. Russell Blaylock – Part 1 of 4
In 2016, Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton was diagnosed with a brain tumor for the third time. But, after some drastic lifestyle changes and a renewed faith, Hamilton claims he was the recipient of an undeserved miracle.In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Hamilton explained that the pituitary tumor he had been diagnosed with has shrunk without any treatment.
“The nature of them is to grow, and without treatment, they have no reason to shrink,” the 58-year old said. “So I was the recipient of a spectacular miracle. I’m keeping an eye on it, and there’s no treatment needed at this time.”
Hamilton’s healing left many wondering what changes he made to his lifestyle that would have helped things along. The Olympic gold medalist revealed that one thing he did was clean up his diet.
“I realized things like that love to feed on sugar, and I go, ‘I don’t really want to do anything to give it anything it wants.’ So I just decided to give up sugar,” Hamilton said. After three months of clean eating, a new scan showed that the tumor hadn’t grown. “So I stayed with the program, eliminated all the unhealthy stuff.”
In addition to improving his diet, he focused more on his faith, increased his water intake, and added supplements and essential oils to his routine.
“It was quite miraculous what happened. I never anticipated that at all.”
Even the doctors had no explanation for Hamilton’s improvements.
When he asked his surgeon to explain what had happened, he only had a one word reply.
“‘God.’ That’s it,” Hamilton said. “I was just a blubbering mess, like, ‘I’m not worthy of this.’ There’s so many other people out there who could benefit from this miracle.”
Thereby, Scott Hamilton Refused to Let his Third Brain Tumor Diagnosis to Keep Him From Enjoying Life!!! Outside of his family, Hamilton has been touching the hearts of thousands through motivational speaking engagements and his Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, which raises funds for cancer research and provides support and resources to cancer patients.
“The Cares Foundation started out here in Cleveland as a Cares Initiative. What I to do was thank the Cleveland clinic for giving me my life back,” Hamilton explains. “But he knew there were gaping holes in the cancer community. So he went online to find out what I needed to know about testicular cancer and all he found were medical journal papers with twelve-syllable words, five to a sentence …
So he created ChemoCare.com, which is everything you need to know about chemo therapy in 8th grade English and Spanish. Every drug is listed. With Every side effect is listed. It’s an amazing accomplishment. Also Its sister side is RadCare.org, which is everything about radiation therapy.”.Hamilton fought testicular cancer in 1997 and had been previously diagnosed with two other benign tumors in 2004 and 2010..Additional support: http://www.cancercare.org/services
🏼
🏼
🏼
🏼
I Credit Hope Dealer: @ Mallory Davenport
Welcome to the Hope Dealer series! The super-heroes featured in this series are incredible people who have chosen fortitude over fear and grit over giving up.
Very often, they’ve also chosen laughing over lamenting. When the s*** hit the fan
and came tumbling down, they picked up a shovel and got busy.
Today I share with you Mallory’s incredible story. Mallory and I met in 2014 at “cancer camp” ( First Descents ) where she was know as “Poot” and I was known as “Happy Feet”. We’ve been fast friends ever since.
Always radiant Mallory!
Take me back to the moment you heard the words that forever changed your life: “Mallory, you have cancer”.
I remember that day so vividly. It was September 15, 2011. My husband Jack and I used to travel all over the U.S with our jobs, and we happened to be working in Frederick, Maryland at the time. I had been sick for a while but thought it was stress due to the high demand of my job. I mean – at 26 years old you don’t expect to get a call telling you you have cancer. But, that is exactly what happened. It was a Monday and I had already been told the previous Friday by the doctors office they couldn’t find anything on the biopsy they had taken.
The doctor explained that they had another pathologist look over the biopsy results and abnormal cells were found. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer cells to be exact. I had no clue what lymphoma was! My first thought was “What do I need to do to fix this?” I didn’t cry at the time because I don’t think I really grasped what I was facing.
I had to go back to work after I was diagnosed. I remember not wanting to tell anyone because I didn’t want pity or to be treated differently by my friends and colleagues.
It was a few days before I was scheduled for my scans. During that time I Googled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma all day everyday. I wanted to understand what I was up against.
Aside from the shock of that moment, can you tell me about the hardest thing you had to power through physically? Mentally?
In the beginning the hardest part was that I had JUST married my soul mate. We had a beautiful wedding. I had a great job for someone my age. We traveled all over the place. My life was just beginning. Then the cancer diagnosis came along and was ripping it out of my hands.
I was very scared that Jack would not want to be with me because I had cancer and I would lose my hair during treatment. I felt like he didn’t sign up to have to take care of a sick wife. He reassured me, even to this day, that he didn’t say our vows just to say them. He meant them – He would be by my side in sickness and in health.
I was also scared that I would die and miss out on life with my husband. That I would pass away and be forgotten. That was probably the hardest thing mentally that I had to overcome and it took a long time to conquer it.
Today, I am dealing more with the physical than when I was first diagnosed. Treatment was very hard on my body. I went through a lot of chemo, high dose chemo, and a stem cell transplant. I’m a very active person. I don’t think there is a day where I don’t have aches, pains, or numbness somewhere. My 30 year old body feels 60. However, I take everything as a challenge so I work hard on overcoming any obstacle my body gives me.
Fighting hard
From where did you draw strength?
Getting diagnosed with cancer started my journey through the dark night of the soul. I didn’t understand why God was putting me through this. Jack gave me a book called “St. John of the Cross- Ascent to Mount Carmel” while I was going through chemo. I really didn’t read books of that nature because I could never understand the meaning behind the words. One night I couldn’t sleep so I got up and randomly started reading this book. The words spoke to me, like they could see inside my soul and knew how I felt and what I was going through. After that night, I knew God was preparing me for something bigger than I could understand at that time. All my strength through this entire journey has come from the Lord. He has blessed me beyond belief!
Did you find humor anywhere? If so, tell me about it.
Humor is the best medicine for anything. Jack and I find humor in very dark places! I wish I had kept a notebook from my chemo days because I don’t remember all the stories due to my chemo brain. I think having a sense of humor and good attitude really make a difference when you are fighting a deadly disease.
Was there a particular moment when you chose fortitude over fear? Or did you just have continued grit throughout?
Yes, there is a particular moment my journey took a different direction. It was 2014, I was 2 years out from my stem cell transplant. I went to MD Anderson for my six-month scan. I’ve always had that stubborn tumor under my arm that did not go away and chemo tends to aggravate it. However, my team of Doctors at MD Anderson ,,, were hopeful the stem cell transplant would take care of what the chemo couldn’t. Also My doctor became concerned because this tumor was starting to slowly grow again.
They did another biopsy to determine whether it was still Hodgkins Lymphoma, which it was. Then they discussed more treatment and another stem cell transplant but this time with a donor cell. I had already made my mind up months before that I would not do any more treatment. My body was really struggling from the treatment I had already been through. I was under 100 pounds, there was no way my body could make it through another transplant.
I didn’t want to do that kind of intense treatment ….for this one small spot that would only become more aggravated by the chemo. I really had to think about my quality of life. Radiation and surgery were not an option due to my age and the type of cancer I have. My mom was with me for this appointment and she already knew that I wasn’t going to do any more treatment. I had been researching alternative treatments since the beginning of my diagnosis. I explained to my mom that I was going to try a natural protocol and see how it goes.
I guess I should have been more upset that they had just told me I still had cancer and needed more treatment, but I wasn’t. I wanted to put my research to the test. I also had a cancer survivors rock climbing trip coming up ( First Descents ) and I wasn’t going to let cancer get in the way. Thank God I didn’t because thats when I met the most amazing person, who has turned into a role model for me, the creator of this site- Natalie.
That was my turning point. I know longer feared cancer.
Mallory and Jack
Was there a particular moment when you realized, “Yep. I am a badass.”?
I spent over a month in the hospital during my stem cell transplant. There was one night that I turned for the worse. My nurse found me unresponsive on my hospital bed. My oxygen level was at 47 percent. I remember waking up to numerous nurses surrounding me. They had hooked up all these wires to my chest and they were giving me oxygen.
I had no idea what was going on and I couldn’t speak. The chemo had caused my mouth and esophagus to swell so bad I was unable to speak, eat, or drink for almost two weeks. About two years after my transplant when the chemo fog lifted, I was thinking of my time in the hospital and what I had been through. It was hell, but I had made it through. That was the moment I thought, “I made it through hell…I’m a badass!” I almost didn’t make it out of that hospital but I did. I refused to give up.
Did you have a helpful prayer, mantra, or meditation? A fight song or playlist?
I had all at some point during my journey but to get me through the really hard times – I listened and read all of Sir Winston Churchill’s speeches. I treated everyday like I was going to war because everyday I was fighting to live. Prayer of course was a huge part of my life as well. Meditation came after all my treatment was over and has been a huge help mentally and physically.
Tell me about anything in your life that is better because you once heard, “Mallory, you have cancer”. Was any light able to seep in because of those cracks? Did it illuminate something you didn’t know was there before?
Honestly everything in my life is better since being diagnosed with cancer. When I look at pictures of myself pre-cancer days, I just don’t know that person anymore. I’m totally different. The old me was focused on unimportant material aspects of life and not actually living life. I don’t take life for granted like I did before. I’m actually living and enjoying every little thing life throws my way. I even enjoy the hard times that test me, because it helps me continue to grow into a better person.
Is there any effort that you would like to highlight?
Yes, a fundraiser for my friend Cierra who is facing a lymphoma recurrence.
Click here to read more and support her family: Cierra’s Go Fund Me
Preview Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs –
Go Rest High On That Mountain (Live)
