Those 3 words: "You have cancer" - Dr Nasha Winters

This week's blog is written by Dr Nasha Winters who we interviewed on our radio show in June about her book “The Metabolic Approach To Cancer” which she wrote with Jess Higgins Kelley.

Coming up to my 26^th year out from a terminal cancer diagnosis, I am no stranger to the stigma, fear, overwhelm, confusion and paralysis that can accompany such a life-changing phrase: “You have cancer”. 

I am also hypersensitive to the impetus to jump immediately into treatment with no regard to the individual or to the origins of this process. The real medical emergency of a cancer diagnosis IS the diagnosis itself. How you respond and react to those three words can profoundly impact your therapeutic outcome. 

Rushing blindly in to a surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, alternative therapy, dietary intervention, etc. is a dangerous and slippery slope. There is no reason why you shouldn’t take a moment and breath. 

Those 3 words - “You have cancer”- are simply a light switch coming on. This is an opportunity to start using that light to illuminate what is happening in, on and around you.  What is this diagnosis trying to tell you? This is NOT the time to dive headfirst into any particular treatment approach. It is the time to start your detective work. 

A few life saving and life changing recommendations I would make for anyone on this journey - whether it is your first time or a recurrence, is this:

1)   Stop. Be still. Breath. Turn off the computer. Don’t immediately talk to everyone you know.  This is YOUR body. This is YOUR process. It is a sacred moment to get really clear on how you got here and where you need to go next.

2)   Get a second opinion. Even a third. And from different institutions. You will find, for the most part, the recommendations will vary. Find what resonates with you.

3)   TEST.  BEFORE someone starts any form of treatment get the following:

a.   If you had a biopsy that led to this diagnosis, have it sent off for molecular profiling to a company like Caris, Foundation One, Rational Therapeutics, etc.

b.   If you didn’t have a biopsy, and you want/need one, perhaps meet with an integrative oncology practitioner who can prepare your body for the biopsy to help keep the cells intact with things like modified citrus pectin or scheduling biopsy/surgery and scans around menstrual cycle as your hormonal levels will impact results, and the likelihood of metastasis is higher if biopsy/surgery done during the estrogenic phase. 

                                               i.     Example:  Breast MRI, ultrasound, mammography or thermography is best between day 5 and 15 of menstrual cycle (day 1 is the first day of your period) https://www.itnonline.com/article/breast-mri-all-about-timing

                                              ii.     Same holds true for any other biopsies or surgeries in menstruating women for any form of cancer http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/014067369192927T

c.   Get a liquid biopsy www.biocept.com to determine circulating tumor cell count and circulating fragmented cancer DNA along with molecular profile on actionable targets.  And use it often to assess your response to therapy and to monitor you AFTER completion of therapy.  This is an FDA approved, insurance covered test and validated for the following tumor types:

                                               i.     Lung

                                              ii.     Breast

                                             iii.     Gastric

                                             iv.     Colorectal

                                              v.     Prostate

                                             vi.     Melanoma

                                            vii.     Renal Cell (kidney)

                                           viii.     Ovarian

d.   You can also look into liquid assays to check for chemosensitivity and response to non-conventional therapies with RGCC out of Greece www.rgcc-group.com or BioFocus out of Germany www.biofocus.de

e.    I would also strongly consider the following tests to have as a baseline to assess your overall terrain and to bring to light triggers to your cancering process:  CBC with diff, CMP, GGT, Ferritin, CRP, Sedrate, LDH, Fibrinogen, Homocysteine, TSH, Total T4, Free T3, T3 Uptake, Thyroid Antibodies, 25-OH D3, HbA1C, Insulin, IGF-1, Serum Copper, Ceruloplasmin, Serum Zinc and any tumor marker testing appropriate to the cancer type.  This information will be useful to understand what patterns you carried prior to embarking on any treatment so you may start to address these drivers from the get go with other means like diet, lifestyle, supplements, etc. To learn more about testing I recommend Jenny Hrbacek, RN book:  “Cancer Free!  Are You Sure?”

f.     Assemble your team!  Your oncologist has likely had ZERO training in nutrition so VERY important to get a therapeutic nutritionist, who is well-versed in metabolic therapies/treatment with diet of cancer (this is often NOT a Registered Dietician RD).  You need someone to support your emotional body as well---a therapist, life coach, support group, or church.  And someone who can navigate the world of both conventional and alternative or integrative approaches such as an integrative naturopathic oncologist or someone well versed in how these paradigms should be woven together.

g.    And, take the Terrain Ten^TM Questionnaire at the front of our new book:  “The Metabolic Approach To Cancer” (available on Amazon here) to assess your terrain with regards to other exposures contributing to a cancering process.  The book can then guide you on how to make the changes necessary to support your whole terrain.

4)    And, once you have collected all the data, work with someone who can pull it all together and help create a focused plan of action that is specific to YOU! That might include conventional, non-conventional or combination treatments along with diet, herbs, supplements and lifestyle interventions to boost immune function, drive a cytotoxic (cancer cell death) process, encourage a metabolic overhaul, create better response to therapy and with less side effects while enhancing quality of life. 

Please know you are far more powerful than you are led to believe on this journey. Do your due diligence to take a thoughtful, researched approach to your wellbeing.  Know you are a divinely unique individual with particular epigenetic hiccups, biochemical processes and life circumstances that impact how you will respond to any given treatment and adjust accordingly.  And may you thrive, not just survive!

You can listen to Nasha being interviewed on our radio show here.