What to Do After a New Cancer Diagnosis

“I just received a cancer diagnosis. Help! What do I do?”

I receive this question on almost a daily basis, and it breaks my heart every! single! time!

However, please hear loud and clear…I feel honored beyond words that I’m the receiver of such a question. I don’t take your “reaching out” lightly. I understand your fear of the unknown and feelings of desperation. And I’m here to answer that question for you!

Let’s start at the beginning, so we can be on the same page…

I remember my husband and I sitting there shaking, unable to hold hands, and filled with a complete hollowness. If you had poked me, I would have just deflated. All I could do was stare at our oncologist and wait…wait for him to tell us if our baby was ok.

After what felt like hours, he finally told us our son, Kicker, had Type B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia…and from that moment on, I heard nothing else.

Everything became distant, words were mumbled, and it felt like my body left the room. My eyes desperately searched the room for a trash can because I felt like I needed to vomit. And then, without warning, uncontrollable tears began spilling out of my eyes. I leaned into my husband, unable to hold myself up any longer.

Within seconds, our lives changed forever!

Can you relate?

I can’t tell you the countless number of people who have crossed our paths and shared their stories, and each and every time I hear of someone else receiving a cancer diagnosis, that same hollow feeling returns. It takes me back to that exact moment…and I hate it!

But here’s the amazing news…

We’re on the other side of the devastating diagnosis, AND I’m here to offer you hope and some specific steps we successfully used to help our son thrive.

Cancer CAN be done differently!

My son thrived through his journey! He was a healthy, happy, and active boy who rarely experienced any side effects. He maintained a healthy immune system with his ANC always being in the “normal” range of a healthy child, and he never needed a blood transfusion or platelets. In fact, he was never hospitalized during his cancer journey outside of the scheduled visits for treatment.

For 3.5 years, Kicker received daily chemotherapy by mouth, countless surgeries to put chemotherapy into his spine and an unbelievable amount of traumatizing port access’s to put chemotherapy into his body. By the end of his treatment, he was even receiving a significantly higher dose of chemotherapy than the average child on the same protocol because the oncology team believed “he was doing well and could handle it.”

You see, conventional medicine doesn’t often see people thrive through conventional cancer treatment. It’s uncommon to see stable, healthy blood work, to not experience the typical side effects, and to have energy and an appetite. So, there’s the belief that if the patient is “healthy,” then the treatment must not be working effectively. And as a result, the doctors will increase the dose of medication until the blood counts drop because that’s their only indication that the treatment is working.

Yes, it’s that ARCHAIC and that UNBELIEVABLE!

So, let’s break down what we did to keep him healthy and what we’ve shared with thousands of other cancer warriors…

It was NOT just “luck”, as our oncology team often stated. We took very intentional actions to help support true healing in his body alongside the conventional approach.

First, you must understand that cancer is NOT a chemotherapy, radiation or surgery deficiency, and as a result, you can’t use this as the only approach. You must look further into addressing the underlying problems that allowed the cancer to take over in the first place. Although I don’t know what caused my son’s cancer and I don’t believe we’ll ever know, I do know cancer happens when the body has a weakened immune response due to environmental toxins, dietary toxins, and emotional toxins. Some genetic dispositions can also play a role.

Therefore, I encourage you to focus on the following 5 pillars of health and support the body through each:

1. Nutrition – What you eat will either fight or feed disease. Therefore, you must be intentional about the nutrients you consume during a cancer battle.
2. Detoxification – It’s essential to push out the residual toxins from the chemotherapy, radiation, and dead tumor waste.
3. Cleaning Up the Environment – It’s important to not only clean up your diet and clean out your body, but it’s also critical to clean up the toxins in your surrounding environment.
4. Self-Care – Focusing on your soul care during a cancer fight is essential! It’s critical to participate in activities that help improve your mental wellness and your belief system.

I wish you were sitting right beside me at this moment. 

I would take your hands, look you straight into the eyes, and tell you it’s going to be ok!

I would encourage you with the truth that there are SO MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO to help your loved one thrive through cancer.

I would express my desire of how I desperately wish I could take this diagnosis away. However, because I can’t, I would empower you with education.

I would lock arms with you in this healing journey.

And then I would tell you to…

Download THIS step-by-step guide to help you navigate your “thriving through cancer” journey. 

You don’t have to do these steps perfectly, and you don’t have to do them all on the first day! Start with just one. Then, as you feel confident, add one more. The compounding benefit will be incredible!

And please just remember, you’re not alone! I’m here with you. 

So, if you have questions, are feeling isolated, or have a message of hope to share with other, I want to invite you to leave it in the comments below.

Let’s link arms together!