October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, a cause that is very dear to me because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 15 years ago.  I’m happy to say she is healthy and cancer free, and we now look back on the experience with gratitude for how it changed our lives for the better.

In honor of my mom and the hundreds of thousands of women, mothers, daughters, sisters, wives… who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, I wanted to share my personal experience with my mom’s illness, my own personal prevention strategies and why I so strongly believe in a holistic approach and that we need a stronger message of prevention.

When my mom was first diagnosed it was the scariest time in my life. I was in my third year of University and couldn’t imagine my life without her in it.  I was terrified. The logical, solution-focused part of me wanted answers. Unfortunately the general message from the doctors was only that “no one knows why this happens”.   We decided to educate ourselves in an effort to better understand the illness and what else we could be doing to increase my mom’s chances of recovery.  In the process of learning about holistic and alternative treatments, we began to feel empowered and hopeful.  And with what we learned, we changed our eating habits and lifestyle permanently. More

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is a cause that is very dear to my heart, as my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer twelve years ago. I am happy and grateful to say that today she is healthy and cancer free. She made a personal choice to pursue a holistic approach to her treatment. She is my hero – her courage, dedication and faith will forever inspire me. It is because of my mother that I know anything is possible, in health and in life.

As you can imagine, that experience changed my life in so many ways. It taught me to cherish each and every day and never take loved ones for granted. It also opened me to the world of holistic nutrition and the amazing ability of our body to heal itself when given the proper nutrition and support. Most importantly, it was an education in prevention. While no one can pinpoint the exact cause for cancer, we do know that a large percentage of the contributing factors are lifestyle related. Studies show that genes account for 15%-20% of all cases, which means we have some influence on the remaining 80%.

None of us have complete control over what will happen to us during the course of our lives, but we do have the ability to control how we eat, how we live and how we treat our body. There is no better method of prevention, than a combination of nutritional and lifestyle factors that support the body and the mind. More