Natural Protocols To Support Healing Thyroid Cancer
November 7, 2019I slid into the passenger seat of the car, folding myself into a little ball, begging the heat to kick on. It was a grey and rainy day in Austin, and the weather accurately matched my mood as Ross and I headed to the thyroid specialist. Just last week my life had been turned upside down with an ultrasound that shouted at me: “Highly suspicious” “Mixed cystic and complex masses” “Potential malignancies such as squamous cell carcinoma or thyroid cancer” “CT scan or MRI needed for further evaluation.” Here I was, on my way for “further evaluation.”I walked into the barren waiting room and was greeted with a smile, but I was not in the head space for small talk. My husband, Ross, guided the conversation while I turned my back to hide the tears streaming down my face. From what I was reading on the internet, my symptoms were all directly in line with papillary thyroid cancer. Since the first time I noticed this bump on my neck four months ago, it had already doubled in size. Dr. Nichols walked into the room. She pulled up a chair beside me and asked me to tell her everything:Well, I began, my husband and I are avid travelers. When our son Cruz was four months old we moved from our cozy cabin in Montana down to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico to live and work remotely. Exhausted from what I suspected was just normal, new motherhood symptoms, I booked a full-body massage. After the massage was complete, the massage therapist let me know I had a lump on my neck that should be looked at. I had hardly looked at myself in the mirror since Cruz was born so I was not surprised that I hadn’t noticed it. I went to the local hospital in Playa Del Carmen for a scan and the ultrasound results asked for further evaluations via a biopsy. My Spanish was not strong enough to fully understand what I was being told, so I left the hospital assuming it was just something hormonal and vowed to watch it closely for any changes or growth. Four months later, now living back in Austin, Texas and while brushing my teeth one night, I noticed that it did seem bigger. I booked an ultrasound and now, here I am. Other than normal wake-up-all-night-long to breastfeed and soothe the baby back to sleep, I felt well. I suspected maybe there was some postpartum hormonal imbalance? But there were no red flags. We also discussed our travels; in 2017 we spent 14 months exploring the world, visiting Portugal, Spain, Italy, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada, and Peru. She suspected it could be Tuberculosis. “But,” she said, “Let’s have a look.” When she left the room to grab her ultrasound machine I decided I’d never been so happy to think I had Tuberculosis. “Not cancer,” I thought. Thank God.I laid back and she applied the cool gel to the front and sides of my neck. She moved the wand from side to side, and even before we got to the biopsy she said, “I’m sorry Carly but this looks like papillary thyroid cancer.” Cancer? I’m sorry, what?
I am a Health Coach and a yoga teacher. I eat organic food from the farmer’s markets. I teach others how to live well. There is no way this is correct. She then explained, “it looks like it began in your thyroid and has spread to your lymph nodes on the left side of your neck. We will confirm with a biopsy, but I’m confident that is what this is.”After the biopsy she began to explain the surgery to me. They wanted to get me in immediately to remove my entire thyroid and open up the left side of my neck where they would remove a cluster of lymph nodes. After surgery I would have radiation therapy to ensure all the cancer was gone. I would literally be radioactive and would need to be quarantined for four days. After that, I would be on a synthetic hormone; a pill I would take daily for the rest of my life. The doctor explained the very long list of potential challenges that may occur but assured me they are indeed rare. I had remained composed throughout this time but then, using her index finger, she drew a line from the far back left side of my neck near my ear across my throat to let me know where the incision was. And that’s when I lost it. The tears poured out and I could hardly muster, “this is too much, too fast. I cannot take all this in right now.” She softened and looked me in the eye promising me I was in good hands and everything would be OK. She let me know she would call me personally in a few days to confirm the results of the biopsy and led me to the front desk.The woman behind the desk asked me for available dates for surgery and between tears I let her know that I needed some time to process all this. I walked out the door shivering from the icy gusts of wind and the fear coursing through my body. I needed to get home and hug my son and call my mom. Those were the only two next steps I could handle right now.Three days later I received a positive biopsy that confirmed I had papillary thyroid cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes. It's now been 7 months since that diagnosis and my life has completely transformed. I am healthier, happier, and more aligned with my life calling than ever before. I have had zero growth and know that in time, I will see a clear scan. For those of you who may be personally going through a cancer diagnosis or perhaps have a friend or loved one navigating this new terrain, this post is for you. Here is everything I do to support my body in healing thyroid cancer:
the short list
Mindset: Reading books of others who have healed, tapped into the alternative healing world via social media, and only surrounded myself with people who were in support of my goals to heal naturally without radiation and surgery.
Nutrition: Alkaline, plant-based diet focused on raw foods for the first 90 days + 64 ounces of organic vegetable juice daily. Nutrition includes daily supplements and herbs (outlined below).
Detox: Vitamin IVs, parasite cleanse, oxygen therapies, enemas, colonics, nightly castor oil packs, chelation (heavy metal detox)
Energy Healing: Faith, energy work, reiki, journaling, meditation, and past life regression work.
Dental: Root canal + implant removal. Cavitation surgery on all four wisdom teeth with a holistic dentist.
Movement: One hour daily movement. I walked for one-hour daily but after my dental surgery even 5 minutes was a victory. I did the best I could when I could. When I was feeling strong it was an hour walk or hour yoga class.
Emotional Clearing: Forgiveness, heart opening, letting go, surrender, re-prioritizing.
MINDSET
Your thoughts create a vibration that permeates out into every single aspect of your life. Thoughts of love, healing, self-care, abundance, grace, and empowerment are exactly what will serve you most on a healing journey. This, of course, does not mean that feelings of fear do not creep in - they 100% do - but the key here is that you have the tools and resources to connect you back to a place of loving thoughts quickly. Love heals, and kind, forward-moving thoughts are what anyone on a deep healing journey must work to master in the beginning.For me personally, it began with FAITH that what I had set out to do was not only possible but probable. I told myself over and over again, "it's not if, it's when." I don't know if I will see a clear scan in a month, a year or 10 years, but I KNOW it is coming. I know I have the resolve, the dedication, the desire, and willingness to heal. If it has ever been done in the history of time (which is has time and time again) I can do it too.Jesus said “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” And so it is.
November 17, 2019"I gave myself a day to grieve a cancer diagnosis and then I turned to massive action. The “how is this possible?” narrative was strong and can creep back in if I don’t crowd out those thoughts with feelings that empower me; gratitude, love, and reverence. Right now, my priority is flooding my body with organic, raw ingredients from the Earth and gifting myself the space to cleanse physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Despite feeling like there were no outward problems before this situation unfolded, I am on a fact finding mission to discover what’s underneath so I can live an even more radiant life from this place forward. Whatever and wherever you are on a healing journey, I am right there with you. Props to every person showing up to do the hard, deep, challenging work. We got this." (Excerpt from my journal)
There was a book I read during the height of my healing journey by a surgeon who worked with cancer patients. He was, of course, in support of surgery to remove cancerous tumors but he also wrote something that will stick with me my whole life. He said, surgery, chemo, and radiation (focal components of conventional cancer care) will buy you time, but then it is up to you to heal. Friends - we cannot outsource our health. Healing, fully and completely, is up to you; and it starts with your mindset.Begin with the first 10 minutes of your day. The first moments of your morning offer an opportunity to lay the foundation for the energetic vibration of your day. For me, I open my eyes and the first thing I say is, "thank you." "Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for another day to show up, to love my family, to heal my body, and share my gifts." I believe that if the only prayer we ever say is "thank you," that would be enough.
Open your eyes with a morning statement of gratitude for another day on this planet. Plant your feet on the floor and stretch your arms overhead as you let your body breathe and open after a night of rest.
Follow with morning prayer, meditation, and some quick movement. I opt for 10 minutes jumping on the rebounder which supports cleansing of my lymphatic system and gets my energy moving in an empowered and intentional way. I follow that with my Green Light drink (recipe under "Nutrition" below) and morning supplements and then I'm up and running for the day.
This morning routine supports me in feeling grounded, empowered, aligned, and ready for the day. THIS is empowerment. THIS is self care. And THAT is the mindset we need for full and complete healing. Your morning routine may look different from mine and that's perfectly fine but please do start your day with a 10 - 30 minute morning routine that serves, supports, and strengthens your body and mind.Some gems from my therapy sessions at the clinic:
Vulnerability is strength.
When the body is in harmony, disease cannot exist.
Fear prevents me from healing.
This is an opportunity to wake up.
I am here for my healing.
We are not dependent on outside sources for our healing or our chaos.
Practices:
Visualization
Meditation
Journaling
Morning movement
Ask yourself each morning: "why is this happening FOR me...not to me. What am I meant to learn here?"
Empowerment, choice, and willingness to show up again and again. A willingness to do the hard and necessary work.
Take massive action
NUTRITION
Food is medicine and filling your diet with nutrient rich vegetables and fruits is absolutely critical to whole body healing. As always when it comes to the conversation of nutrition, there are a lot of options and a lot of opinions. From my research, it looked like there were two main contenders in the cancer/nutrition equation: the ketogenic diet or a plant-based diet with a focus on raw foods and juicing.Every single body is different and every single body will need something different. I cannot tell you what to eat, that is up to you to experiment with and work with your practitioner on, but I can share what I did and what worked for me.Before my diagnosis I was familiar with the Gerson Therapy, a dietary-based alternative cancer treatment which includes upwards of 100 ounces of organic vegetable + fruit juice per day. When I received the call with a positive biopsy, I intuitively turned to a raw food diet with a heavy focus on juicing. The Gerson Diet felt beyond my capabilities to do at home so I looked to Chris Wark's program Square One as my food guideline. I HIGHLY recommend this course to anyone on a cancer healing journey. It is $150 and is truly a wealth of information. It covers everything from nutrition, supplementation, herbal medicine, mindfulness, and a variety of other healing therapies. If the keto diet feels more suited for you, I recommend Dr. Nasha Winter's book The Metabolic Approach To Cancer.This is what a typical day looked like for me:✔️Upon waking: 1/2 tsp. bentonite clay in purified water. I use Living Clay Co.✔️Jump on rebounder (mini trampoline) for 10 minutes to get my lymphatic system moving.✔️@pureformulas Beta Gluten for immune support, @pureformulas selenium and @_pure_synergy Vitamin C (I take 7500mg daily - so, a lot!)✔️10 - 20 minutes meditation/prayer/Healing Codes✔️Green Light drink courtesy of @chrisbeatcancer: 20 oz. green tea stepped overnight, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp. amla powder, 1 tsp. moringa powder, 1 tsp. @_healthforcesuperfoods Vitamineral Greens✔️Morning supplements + juice until noon: @standardprocess Burdock Root, Turmeric Forte, @ancestralsupplements Desiccated Beef Liver, Lugol's iodine, magnesium, Vitamin D3, and 2 sprays oral zeolite TRS. If I'm really hungry, I'll have a bowl of plain oats with blueberries.✔️Lunch is a raw salad with greens, sprouts, sunflower seeds, avocado, kalamata olives, broccoli, and apple cider vinegar + olive oil. Sometimes I'll steam or roast some veggies.✔️Juice until dinner and/or a smoothie with wild blueberries, water, hemp seeds, apricot seeds, spirulina, barley grass powder, romaine lettuce or spinach, and chia seeds. Lunch supplements: @standardprocess General Health Pack, CoQ10, zinc.✔️Movement: 1 hour daily. 1 hour walk, 1 hour @orangetheory, or 1 hour yoga class✔️Dinner is another raw salad, steamed veggies with avocado, or a homemade soup (miso is a big favorite around here). On a couple special occasions we have gotten the Thai vegan curry from @picnikaustin with veggie rice. So good!✔️Dinner supplements: @standardprocess probiotics, Burdock Root, Turmeric Forte, an herbal tonic for my lymphatic system, pH Adjust potassium and sodium bicarbonate for alkalinity, Quinton Isotonic water, 1 spray oral zeolite TRS.✔️In the evenings, I sleep on a an infrared Bio Mat to increase circulation and support immunity while also reducing inflammation. *I also use magnesium oil, drink magnesium water, and take magnesium baths several times a week.*Each day includes a minimum of 32 oz. of fresh vegetable juice, ideally 64 oz. daily. It takes about 45 minutes each morning to juice for the day. If you are local to Austin, I have since launched an organic, cold-pressed juice delivery service to support those on a healing journey, as well as, anyone looking to feel better. You can find ordering information here along with my recipes.The smoothie below can serve as a meal replacement or as a boost of hearty nutrition any time of day. It's a powerhouse!Cancer Crushing Daily Smoothie
Homemade nut milk/filtered water/ or home brewed herbal tea
1 tbsp. Bee pollen
1 tbsp. Hemp protein
8 oz. aloe vera gel (aloe1.com)
¼ tsp amla powder
2 tbsp ground black cumin seeds (can leave this out of the taste is too strong)
1 tsp moringa
15 apricot seeds (optional)
1 tsp. Green powder
1 cup of kale or arugula
1 cup of spinach
½ tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp flax seed oil
1 cup organic frozen berries (blueberries and strawberries)
½ organic lemon with peel
DETOX
Often, people will ask me what I feel was the most valuable part of my healing journey. The answer is 2-part: colonics/enemas + juicing. You can putting the best stuff IN: alkaline food, loving, empowering thoughts, tons of water and juice, but if you are not also simultaneously detoxing (cleaning the body of toxins) you are not serving your healing journey.At the holistic cancer clinic I spent 9 weeks at (Utopia Wellness in Tampa, Florida) we were directed to do one colonic weekly and 3 enemas weekly. Colonics are a form of deep colon cleansing that are done with the support of a practitioner. Sessions take about 1 hour and the most intense sensation you'll experience is some belly cramping, like right before you have a bowel movement. My mom was a colon hydrotherapist in NYC for 9 years so we recorded a Q & A all about colonics that can be found here. Enemas on the other hand, are done at home. They take about 20 - 30 minutes and are an easy and inexpensive way to clear toxins from your body. We were directed to use coffee enemas because the coffee, when inserted into the colon, stimulates glutathione production in the liver. Glutathione is a master antioxidant in the body that promotes detoxification and healing. I have an Instagram story highlight showing you how to do an enema here, as well as, an enema Q & A here.
November 22, 2019"Detox. That one word can sum up my entire healing journey. I'm detoxing with vegetable juice, colonics, rebounding, infrared saunas, herbs, and therapy. I'm detoxing painful memories and disempowering thoughts. There's very much an essence of rebirth, of beginning again. I don't think anyone handed the big "C" word doesn't stop and take a good hard look at their life. I don't know, maybe not everyone. But I sure have. I'm viewing this as one of the greatest opportunities of my life to press the pause button on absolutely everything that does not serve my highest good; everything that does not support me in healing deeply and profoundly."
Other detoxification therapies I used, and still use today, are:
Vitamin IVs: During my time at the clinic, I did daily IVs that were custom created for me. I was doing upwards of 75 grams of Vitamin C per week. At home, I found a local wellness clinic where I could get 30 grams weekly. I did that for a few weeks and now do a mix of food based and liposomal Vitamin C at home daily.
Parasite cleanse: I work with a Doctor of Chinese Medicine who gave me Cellcore Para 1 + Para 2 to cleanse my body of any parasites. Many cancer patients do have parasites. Please work with a practitioner who can help you find the best product for you.
Oxygen therapies: For three months, I did a weekly hyperbaric oxygen session. You can easily find these at wellness clinics around town. Here is the example of where I found one in Austin. Often, you will be able to find an infrared sauna, cryotherapy, and hyperbaric oxygen chamber all in one place.
Nightly castor oil packs: Hello, liver cleanse! Castor oil packs are done with an organic piece of cotton soaked in castor oil and laid out over your liver for 30 - 60 minutes. A quick Google search of "castor oil packs" will show you exactly how to do them. I did them nightly for several months and now I do about once a week as maintenance.
Chelation (heavy metal detox): At the clinic, I used an IV for chelation and now at home, I use a product called TRS. You can purchase here and learn all about it through the associated Facebook page.The Medical Medium's books also offer recipes for a Heavy Metal Detox smoothie. Check out Life Changing Foods and Thyroid Healing.
ENERGY HEALING
As you may be able to tell here, nothing was off the table when it came to my full and complete healing. I worked with reiki practitioners, pastors, past life regression therapists, energy workers, and therapists. When you really start to dig into alternative cancer care, you cannot get five minutes into the research without seeing the immense focus on the emotional aspect of healing.
When I started on this journey, this part was tough for me. Yes, I was an exhausted new mom who had worries, fears, and doubts but there was no MAJOR issue. I had a sweet and loving upbringing with my parents and three siblings, went to my dream school for college and married the love of my life. What issue could possibly be that big to cause cancer in my body? Turns out, a lot.
After our first group therapy session at Utopia Wellness, I began to see that just perhaps there were some things I needed to look at deeper. I imagined myself as an archeologist, digging and digging to find the artifact. What was it that caused this? At the end of the day, it was not just one thing - it never really is. They say cancer is a perfect storm and it looks like my storm was a rampant dental infection caused by an accident I had in college, inflammation from a lack of sleep and poor nutrition as a new mom, and some emotional blockages with family members and past friends that needed clearing.
When I put in the work to cleanse my body, heart, and mind, my life transformed. I feel so much gratitude for the healing that has unfolded in my life.
Tools for your toolkit:
Morning mediation: 5 - 10 minutes of quiet breath and stillness.
Past Life Regression: https://www.yvettedoudle.com.au/
Energy Healing: Seta setaarazshah@aol.com
Reiki: https://www.theenergysynergist.com/
Journaling: Let It Out by Katie Dalebout
December 23, 2019
"I had a great conversation with my therapist Dan today and he nailed it when he called me out for my affinity for “doing;” planning, staying in action, moving forward, striving, researching...anything forward moving. But do you know what that robs from me? This very present moment, and a deep okayness with being with things AND MYSELF as they are right here, right now.
The most fundamental teaching of this clinic is the importance of putting yourself first - just like on the plane when they tell you to put your own air mask on first. (I voted the song “I Love Me” by Meghan Trainor their theme song). I thought I did that but I now see that in my striving I was in a race against myself...kinda like putting my future self ahead of my current self. More focused on where I am going, what I was becoming, what I was planning next that the Carly who lives in the now got neglected. No more! I love that girl with my whole heart and I am ready to heal on the deepest, most cellular level.My greatest opportunity and perhaps largest hurdle is in redirecting my time researching online, sharing, creating, watching documentaries and reading, and channeling all that into being introspective; writing in my journal, meditating (without an app or guided meditation), taking slow walks, and doing yoga. It sounds simple but that does not make it easy, especially not for me. My work: practice the art of being over the art of doing.
DENTAL WORK
During my freshmen year of college, I fell and knocked out my two front teeth and broke the bone in my mouth. I spent 7 years doing reconstructive work to get where I was when I was diagnosed which included two root canals and an implant as a part of the rehabilitation.During my first week at the cancer clinic, I went to see a holistic/biological dentist and he found infection in both root canals and no bone growing in front of the titanium implant. He said he often sees a correlation between front teeth root canals and cancer of the head and neck (but also all cancer). The solution to clear the infection was remove the implant, remove the root canaled teeth, clean with ozone therapy and replace the titanium implants with ceramic (zirconia) implants. Additionally, they wanted to clear the infection from where all four of my wisdom had been removed. My mouth was a complete mess and to this day I am convinced that was the root of the cancer. Below are some Q + A's directly from my IG page during this time.Root canals can trap infection in the mouth leading to chronic illness and disease. The mouth is not isolated, it is intricately connected to the rest of the body (upload tooth chart here).The best place to start if you are on a healing journey is to visit a holistic/biological dentist and request a CT scan to see if there is any infection. From there, you can move forward to clearing and cleaning. I now have a permanent bridge in my front teeth and all root canals have been cleaned and implants removed.Book RecommendationsMedical Medium Thyroid CureMedical Medium Liver RescueChris Beat CancerCancer And The New Biology of Water Thomas CowanCancer Is A Symptom Dr. GarciaStop The Thyroid MadnessThe Body Keeps ScoreThe Dental Diet Mantras: "I am creating a new body where cancer literally cannot live.""I am healthy. I am healed. I am well.""I have everything I need to heal fully and completely.""Every day my mind and body are stronger." DocumentariesThe Truth About CancerThe Root CauseCancer Can Be KilledThe Game ChangersRun From The Cure There are three big contributing factors to cancer: diet, lifestyle, and environment. I changed ALL of those and then some.I am wishing you peace and an abundance of love and prayers for a full, complete recovery. Trust in the process.