People are forever asking me questions about my unusual past regarding my health and what I learned and if I can help anyone, I’m delighted to. I’ve decided the most practical way to do this is to answer your questions here so that more people might benefit – rather than answering every question individually. Recently a woman asked the name of the book I followed after I got breast cancer in 2009 from the radiation damage I got in 1994 which was a side effect from treatment I had in 1987 for an inoperable, fast-growing life-threatening brain tumor.

I told her the book I used was Cancer Free by Bill Henderson, but her question got me thinking afterwards. Today I’d recommend looking for an updated version of this book or some other treatment that’s since been discovered that may be even better. And because we’re all individuals with different bodies and needs, I’ve never believed the treatment I chose for myself is for everyone. No one treatment will successfully work for every person. It is important that people have faith and be comfortable with whatever treatment they choose for themselves and that their friends and family support their choice even if it’s something they wouldn’t have chosen for themselves. Bill Henderson’s protocol required that I eat a vegan diet and 80% of what I ate had to be raw. Not everyone is willing or able to follow a diet like this. (I did this with no doctor’s help which I would NOT suggest.)

Using a method described in the book, every eight weeks I tested myself which allowed me to see that the cancer was decreasing. In just five months (!) an MRI and a mammogram showed no cancer. (And my doctor’s had wanted me to have a mastectomy?!) But the home test I took myself still showed I still had some cancer. I thought that this was probably because it was more sensitive, so I continued the diet for another year and a half until I met Dr. Jaime Lee, (who practices in Groton, CT. 860.884.8628). She tested me using a thermography test and suggested I get an ultrasound just to be safe. No cancer was detected or has ever been since.

Why would I suggest using the help of a doctor when trying to overcome cancer if I had success without one? For one thing, raw foods are difficult for our stomachs to digest. This is where I hold my stress which made digestion even more difficult. It took me years – working with Dr. Lee – before my stomach felt normal again. And because we are all individuals, someone like Dr. Lee can identify and address our specific needs and give us the help our individual bodies require. I’d also use a doctor to get a specific kind of thermography test (that Dr. Lee offers) and get tested at least once a year (which I still do for many reasons.)

Following Bill Henderson’s book wasn’t the only thing I did. After I’d been diagnosed with the brain tumor and told by five neurologists I’d soon die, whether I lived or not, I decided I wanted to live the rest of my life being as authentic as possible. I wanted to live whatever life I had left being who I was created to be. Following where love guided me put me on a spiritual and a healthier path. Embracing this helped me to make tough decisions. I think I must have known intuitively that striving to be more authentic improves our health: I got the rest I needed and avoided other people’s dramas (as best I could). I created a consistent daily self-care practice, ate healthier foods, got more exercise, meditated, and chose to only see doctors who knew I was in charge of my body and my healthcare – not them.

I also identified and addressed my core deficiency stories – those false beliefs we all have about ourselves such as “I’m not good enough” or “I’m unworthy or unlovable” or “I have to be perfect.” It was important that I stopped myself from seeing the world through these deeply rooted self-defeating beliefs. I grew to appreciate things I used to take for granted such as gravity that keeps us from falling off the earth and rain that freely falls from the sky that we need to stay alive, and the fact that trees give off oxygen for us to breathe.

Much of what I did helped me to not just appreciate but to trust the world and the non-stop support it always gives us. I had to stop resisting life like a two-year-old having a tantrum if anything didn’t go the way I wanted. I’ve learned the importance of allowing life to simply unfold. Since I’ve been repeatedly given proof that I can trust the world, God and the Universe, and I’ve learned that our immune systems work best when we’re happy, it became abundantly clear that our responsibility to ourselves (and our loved ones) is to take good care and enjoy our lives.

If you’d like to ask me a question, feel free to email me at sandi@sandigold.com, and I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can. Know that I’ll be choosing those that will help the most people.