The Roadmap to Prevent Cancer Recurrence Katrina Foe
I was nursing my fifth child when I found the lump. Nothing could have prepared me for finding out I had cancer. The most shocking part was that I honestly felt, from the bottom of my heart, like I had been doing ALL the right things for my health. “How did this happen to me?” kept playing in my head over and over… I knew I had to take action, quickly. My family had already used food as medicine to treat some health issues, and we had seen how powerful it can be. So, I knew right from the start that I wanted to try to address my cancer naturally first. But before I could start healing myself, I needed to dive down the rabbit hole of figuring out why I had gotten cancer in the first place. But this led to even more questions in the process, and I felt so isolated in my journey.
Have you ever felt like you were left to figure out your health issues on your own? Feeling left alone with these questions can be so scary: What if I get it wrong? Who do I listen to? What if I never find the right path? How do I order the tests I need? How do I know what to do with the results when I get them? What if there are things I just don’t know about that are huge issues for me? How do I know if a practitioner is knowledgeable and trustworthy? Then, I was kicked out of a cancer clinic for asking too many questions. After that, I finally found a functional medicine practitioner who finally listened to me, and I knew functional medicine would be my path to healing. We started by testing everything - things that I didn't even know could be tested. Through this process, we uncovered the root cause of my cancer, most of which surprised me. Seeing the functional labs helped me understand what was going on inside my body that I wasn’t aware of before my diagnosis. Things such as insulin resistance, hypothyroid, estrogen dominance, mold toxicity, unresolved trauma, genetic issues, gut dysbiosis, vitamin D absorption issues, amongst others. By addressing these issues - supporting my body to detox the things that were blocking me, and making sure that my body had all the nutrients in appropriate amounts - I was able to get my breast cancer into complete remission.
My body broke down and eliminated the entire golfball sized tumor itself! The most beautiful part is that this process also taught me a lot about myself. I discovered how to monitor my body continuously so that my cancer doesn’t come back, and how to optimize my body so that I could feel my very best at all times. My health journey also sparked my passion to help other women on their cancer journeys. And now, as a functional nutritionist who specializes in cancer, I want to share this roadmap so that you can prevent cancer recurrence. This guide will show you what to look for so you can: 1. Support your own healing 2. Understand why your cancer occurred in the first place 3. Prevent it from happening again. Did you know that the majority of us have cancer cells floating around our body right now? Our immune system is designed to address these rogue cancer cells, so they don’t develop into a tumor. But, there are factors that can overwhelm our immune system, preventing it from doing its job and allowing these rogue cells to progress into a tumor. And I'll give you a hint. It's never just one factor. We're looking at it from too simplistic of a view. That's right. We're all searching for the ONE thing that is weakening our immune system. But in reality, it’s usually a perfect storm of 6-8 factors that stack up to block and dismantle our immune system so that it can't do its job. This guide serves as a jumping off point for you to understand what factors may be overwhelming your immune system, preventing it from protecting you from cancer.
Before we go any further, let me introduce myself.
Hi! I’m Katrina Foe. I’m a Cancer Specialized Functional Nutritionist & Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist. After beating my own cancer 100% naturally, I made it my mission to empower women to uncover and address the root cause of their disease and help them step out from underneath the black cloud of cancer for good. I want to help you use food as medicine and make the lifestyle changes you need to help fight cancer and enjoy a happier, healthier life, free from recurrence.
The “Perfect Storm” There are 10 areas that you need to look at in order to make sure that the systems of your body are not hospitable to cancer. But remember, it's not ONE of these factors that's going to cause cancer. There will be many at the same time, forming a “perfect storm” that overwhelms your immune system and allows a tumor to form. It is important to evaluate ALL of these root cause drivers upfront, so that you know what you are dealing with. This will help you understand, strategize, and prioritize your next steps. You will also then have the insight into what areas to watch continuously in order to keep cancer from recurring. These tools and resources will help you live the life of your dreams, free from the black cloud of constant fear wondering: “Is it going to come back?” Let's go over each of these root cause drivers to learn a little more about them. Then I will give you the 5 steps to prevent a recurrence.
The 10 Root Cause Drivers Of Cancer
1.) Metabolism Metabolism has to do with your blood sugar, and because cancer is a metabolic disease it is crucial to consider. A deeper understanding of cellular metabolism was established back in 1931 when Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize for demonstrating the defining difference between cancer cells and non-cancer cells. He showed us that in cancer cells, the way they produce energy has changed from aerobic to anaerobic. Now, when cells are cancerous, they are producing energy anaerobically (without oxygen) which is much less efficient in the production of energy and therefore it needs much more blood sugar or glucose. Therefore, the cancer cells need much more glucose (aka blood sugar which is from any carbohydrates eaten, not just white sugar). Combine this with the fact that cancer cells are trying to grow rapidly, which makes them need even more glucose. When we look at cancer clients that have metabolic dysfunction, we will see markers in the blood, such as glucose, insulin, HbA1c, eAG, LDH, and IGF-1. This will be primarily moved and corrected through diet. However, there may be things in the other root cause drivers that are blocking the blood sugar regulation which must be dealt with as well.
2.) Hormones Sex hormones are an integral part of driving many types of cancer, not just breast cancer. For this reason, it is critical to evaluate and analyze your hormones. We start by looking to see if clients are taking any exogenous (not produced by the body – prescription or otherwise coming from the outside) hormones. The next step is to see what they are actually producing in their own body, which is best done through a dried urine test (DUTCH test) or saliva. We do not use a blood test to look at sex hormones, as this tests bound hormones which will not give as accurate of results. The lovely thing about the DUTCH test is that not only can we see the hormone levels, but we can also see how the body is metabolizing, or breaking them down, for excretion. Often with cancer clients, the metabolism of the hormones is inappropriate and can actually be causing major problems. Checking on these sex hormones – estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and their precursors – is key with a sex hormone driven cancer. Strangely enough, I've never come across a client whose oncologist had these tests conducted! Furthermore, some clients were taking hormones without their oncologists even inquiring about it, let alone advising them to cease. Recently, I had a breast cancer client tell me her oncologist wanted her to cut dairy from her diet because it had hormones in it. She had been taking estrogen for years without the prescribing doctor testing her levels, but her oncologist never asked about her prescriptions and never tested her sex hormone levels (blood or otherwise).
While conventional dairy may have extra hormones, let’s not forget that she was actually taking them everyday, which was not addressed until the functional work began. Another important hormone system is the thyroid and having a sluggish thyroid, or hypothyroid, is known to drive cancer. Thyroid hormones help energize all the systems of the body and thus are very important for healing. When looking at thyroid hormones, we look at them in the blood, and want to have the whole panel at our disposal, not just TSH. This would include TSH, free T3, total T3, free T4, total T4, reverse T3, and TPO and thyroid globulin antibodies (we'll talk more about the antibodies in the immune section). Why do we want to test all of them? Because in order to see where the thyroid problem is happening, we need to see everything that's going on in the thyroid process. We look at all of them so that we can see where the breakdown is happening and support it accordingly. And that doesn't mean it always has to be a prescription thyroid glandular. One more note: when looking at the hormones overall - insulin, sex hormones, thyroid hormones and adrenal hormones - there are two organs that are in charge of coordinating everything: The Hypothalamus is measuring the levels of hormones and then sends a message to the pituitary, which is like its assistant. The pituitary then tells the body what to make more of and what to make less of. It’s a very tight, self-regulating system. So, when we’re looking at the individual hormones, we can often see patterns that show that the problem is not necessarily with the actual hormonal organs, but rather the hypothalamus and pituitary which are overseeing them. This needs to be addressed by supporting the hypothalamus and pituitary specifically and clearly demonstrates the need to look at the hormones in the context of each other.
3.) Microbiome This area covers both digestion and the critters in your gut. Digestion is crucial because the body relies on it to obtain the necessary nutrients from food. These nutrients are essential for fueling various repair and detoxification processes. Additionally, proper digestion supports the functioning of systems that may have broken down, contributing to the presence of cancer. This means we begin at the source, the stomach, to ensure there's an adequate amount of stomach acid. The pH of the stomach needs to be between 1 and 3, which is quite low compared to neutral, which is at 7. Interestingly, stress and dehydration are two of the biggest culprits in having too much stomach acid. But when we’re thinking about cancer, stress and dehydration are common issues for most clients. Additionally, getting the stomach pH low enough also initiates all the other digestive processes - it’s like the first domino to fall in a line. But there is not a lab test for stomach acid levels. Instead, we slowly, let me repeat - slowly, titrate up to find the individual dosage needed at that point in time, as well as giving tools to adjust ongoing as needed. We will, however, test if clients need digestive or gallbladder support in functional testing. When we look at the stool panel, we will see if there are different pathogens that can disrupt the body. Things like H pylori, bacterial overgrowth, parasites, yeast overgrowth, and more, all need to be dealt with, as they can cause chaos in the gut and have serious implications for the rest of the body. If the gut has dysbiosis, meaning the balance of good versus bad gut bacteria is off, there can be high levels of an enzyme called beta glucuronidase present, which will be seen on the stool panel as well. This is a very important marker to look at when we're talking about hormone driven cancers. In the liver, excess sex hormones (think estrogen) are packaged up for excretion through the colon. If there are high levels of beta glucuronidase present, these estrogens will be unpackaged and can be put back into circulation. This can be a major driver for hormone imbalances, which can lead to hormone driven cancers.
Can you see the connection between the gut and cancer now?
4.) Stress Most people know what stress is and have some of it in their life. But to understand how your body is handling stress, we look at the adrenals and the cortisol curve over the course of a whole day. The best way to do this is to look at dried urine testing or saliva samples over the course of a whole day. Getting these measurements will show us the circadian rhythm, which refers to the interplay between cortisol and melatonin that helps regulate our sleep and wake cycle. Sleep problems often indicate issues with the circadian rhythm, which must be addressed as they can significantly impact the body, especially concerning cancer. When the circadian rhythm is dysregulated, it is imperative to delve into what is causing stress. Causes can include things such as relationship stress, work stress, infections in the body, blood sugar imbalances, inflammation, and more. Unfortunately, cancer patients are typically under a lot of stress. Therefore, it's important not only to address the adrenals, but also to try to minimize the amount of stress experienced during this whole process. This is where it is key to identify ALL sources of stress, not just the outside forms.
5.) Epigenetics We were brought up with the idea that cancer was caused by genetics. However, only about 5-10% of cancers are actually caused by genetics. Instead, we have learned that epigenetics are even more powerful than genetics. Epigenetics are the diet and lifestyle choices that we make every day. They have the power to turn on and turn off the genes and how they actually express themselves. This is profound and means that your genes are not your destiny. Making intentional choices about your food, supplements, and lifestyle can have a massive impact on your health and your chances of developing cancer. Using a genetic test that looks at the low-penetrance genes, which are genes that are most affected by diet and lifestyle, we can make tweaks to your diet, lifestyle, and supplement recommendations so that you can function better and compensate for genetic hiccups. For example, many hormone-driven cancer clients have a slow COMT. This means that they don't process their hormones quickly, leading to estrogen dominance. To combat this, many people turn to blogs and online resources that recommend drinking green Matcha Tea, because of the ECGC in it. However, this would actually exacerbate this problem by slowing down their slow COMT even more and further increasing hormone levels. On the other hand, if someone has a fast COMT, they can drink matcha to slow down how quickly their body processes out their hormones. This is just one example of using Food as Medicine. I’m sure by now you can see that it's not a one size fits all when it comes to cancer protocols. Every person is unique and needs to be looked at as such. This is about bioindividuality!
6.) Immune System We've talked about how important the immune system is by design. One of its most important, but under-recognized, functions is actually to go around and clean up rogue cancer cells. However, if the immune system is not running optimally, that mechanism can be thrown off and tumors allowed to grow. Therefore, it's important to make sure that we support the immune system as much as possible. This means getting any autoimmune conditions into remission, as well as looking at other markers that show stress on the immune system, such as vitamin D levels, viral activation, and white blood cell differentials. It is interesting to note that many people will start taking mushrooms to support their immune system when they have cancer. However, if they have mold toxicity that could actually be driving the mold further. Therefore, we want to be strategic here and make sure to look at everything so that we can have a better idea of what to prioritize when we see the test results in the context of each other.
7.) Inflammation In cancer cases, inflammation is a prominent factor, and we have several markers to closely track it. These markers are invaluable, as they can indicate any deviations or flare-ups in cancer activity before they become apparent through scans, offering a valuable means of monitoring progress. On a monthly basis, we look at a combination of hsCRP, SED rate, and LDH with isoenzymes, so we can immediately see if something is out of the ordinary. There are many other inflammation markers that we watch as well, including the ferritin, homocysteine, iron markers, and calcium. While anti-inflammatories are very helpful, it is imperative to address why the inflammation is there in the first place - which is often due to the toxins, infections or even some typical cancer treatments.
8.) Emotional/Mental Health This is the area that people often skip, and the hardest for which to get concrete results with testing. We use the ACE test (adverse childhood experiences) to gauge the extent of childhood trauma our clients may have endured. Additionally, we assess the OAT test (Organic Acid Test) to understand the status of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which play a crucial role in fostering contentment and joy. Addressing depression and anxiety at the onset of cancer treatment is vital, as an inability to make necessary changes can significantly impact the treatment outcome. What we've observed is that in the year preceding a cancer diagnosis, most clients have experienced a trauma that significantly impacts their emotional well-being. These traumas can range from the loss of a loved one to career setbacks or divorce. Sometimes, clients are acutely aware of the trauma, while in other cases, some introspection is required to uncover the underlying emotional distress. Dealing with these traumas is essential, and it requires a comprehensive approach to enable genuine healing of the body, mind, and soul.
9.) Angiogenesis and Metastasis Let's start by defining these terms. Angiogenesis = the development of new blood vessels around a tumor. Remember when we talked about how cancer tumors are using a metabolic system that is very ineffective, they need more blood to get more sugar to feed the field? Well, the way they accomplish this is to create new blood vessels to supply even more blood and therefore more glucose. So, they create more blood vessels to bring them more glucose (blood sugar). There are certain markers in the blood that show us if this is going on - things like VEGF, Copper, and ceruloplasmin. We can then address this issue to prevent the tumor from getting more of its fuel. This is a key component that is often not discussed or addressed, and it can really affect how fast tumors grow. Metastasis = the spread of cancer to a different area of the body. We can keep a close eye on tumor markers to monitor any developments, and we also utilize Prenuvo scans in our assessments. What's great about Prenuvo scans is that they don't require a doctor's prescription. They also offer exceptionally high-definition imaging without the need for contrast dye or exposure to radiation, making them a completely non-toxic option.
10.) Environmental Toxins The growing issue of toxin exposure is likely the biggest area I cover with clients. This problem continues to escalate due to our increasing contact with various toxins in our daily lives, including mold, heavy metals, non-metal chemicals, and glyphosate. For most of these toxins, the most effective testing method involves using a first morning urine sample. However, when it comes to testing for heavy metals, we examine a hair sample. It’s also highly advisable to assess your liver enzymes because when the body is under significant stress from toxins, the liver is often the primary site of impact. Given that the liver also performs vital functions in conjunction with other systems, including blood sugar regulation and hormone processing, an overloaded liver can have significant repercussions. To support the liver in its role of detoxifying the body and eliminating toxins, our emphasis is on the process of detoxification. Our bodies are naturally designed for ongoing detoxification. But in our modern world, we face a constant influx of new toxins that can overwhelm our body's natural processes. Plus, if you have any genetic predispositions, keeping up with detoxification can be particularly challenging. Your current environment, your ongoing exposures, and your early-life environmental experiences significantly influence the toxic burden placed on your body, impacting its overall functionality. Each cancer client possesses a unique toxin profile shaped by these factors, combined with their genetic makeup, which ultimately contributes to the development of cancer. We are talking here about known carcinogens – chemicals and substances that scientific research has confirmed cause cancer. It's perplexing why, when someone is diagnosed with cancer, there's often no exploration or assessment of the carcinogens present in their daily environment. It's evident that without the removal of these carcinogens, they can persist and potentially foster the recurrence of cancer.
In simpler terms, addressing these carcinogens is crucial to preventing cancer from recurring. The first thing is to make sure that you slow or completely stop the inflow of toxins to your body. This may take some detective work to discover where they are coming from, but it is crucial to start here. The next thing is to start to get the toxins that are in the body, out. This can often be done with protocols using modalities such as infrared saunas, coffee enemas, dry brushing, rebounding, and more. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to minimize your daily toxin exposure. This entails measures like testing your drinking water, opting for nonstick pan alternatives, selecting non-toxic cleaning products and personal care items, turning off Wi-Fi during night time, and incorporating organic foods into your diet. These strategies are essential in reducing your overall toxic burden.
I want to give you an example of one of my clients: Tessa came to see me after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, driven by her desire to pursue natural solutions. Cancer, as you're beginning to understand, doesn't arise randomly; it's fueled by different systems and factors in our bodies that must be diligently addressed to achieve remission and prevent recurrence. So, we ran a series of tests to see what was imbalanced for Tessa. One of the surprising things that came back was an extremely high level of benzene. Benzene is an organic solvent that is a byproduct of industrial processes and combustion. It comes from things such as vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, and outgassing of synthetic materials. It is mutagenic and carcinogenic, and something we definitely wanted to investigate further. While benzene is usually cleared out of the body within two days, we had to figure out where it was coming from, so that we could stop the inflow. Tessa lives out in the middle of the country. There are no flight patterns above her, no highways, no exhaust fumes, and no huge number of synthetic materials. No one around her smokes, and nothing else pointed toward benzene. Benzene can come through the groundwater, but Tessa already had good filters and after testing the water twice - with and without the filter - we confirmed it was not the source. We needed to put on our detective hats because we were stumped. About two months after we started trying to figure this out, the tailpipe fell off Tessa’s Jeep. When she took it to the mechanic, he told her that the pipe that was connected to the tailpipe had several holes in it which were opening up into the cabin of her car. Bingo!
We had found the source, and it had been mitigated. There wasn’t a strong enough odor for Tessa to be able to detect the benzene, but it had been a constant inflow of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals that she never would have known about if we hadn’t run that test. This was one piece of the puzzle for Tessa, and as we clicked her puzzle pieces together, she started to feel better. One of the things that Tessa focuses on is heavy detoxification, including coffee enemas, infrared saunas, dry brushing, and rebounding. Getting her lymph flowing is imperative to helping her body rid itself of toxins and the excretion of the tumor breakdown. Let me explain this with a metaphor: As blood circulates through your body, everything, except the red blood cells, exits the blood highway via the capillaries’ off-ramps. In the intercellular space, this plasma delivers the nutrients and picks up toxins, such as benzene, to be eliminated. It gets back on the blood highway by way of the lymph vessels. There are many lymph nodes on this path, which are like checkpoints for the truckers on our highways. There are lots of white blood cells, which are like the cops, that will look for and address any bad actors or toxins that are lurking about to ensure that they don’t hurt your body. The lymph highway merges back into the blood highway around your heart, and from there, the toxins get filtered out by your liver or kidneys for excretion. Given this understanding, I was very glad that Tessa had not had surgery to remove those precious lymph nodes, or she wouldn’t have been able to put the toxins we had found in containment. It would also have hindered her body in the detoxification that needed to happen. This is an example of addressing one of the areas that is being hindered by a toxin. It takes some detective work to uncover the root cause drivers of your cancer, but it gives you tools to make lasting changes so that you don’t end up in the same situation.
5 Tips For Preventing Cancer Recurrence Now that you understand the big picture, I want to give you 5 things that you can do to prevent a cancer recurrence. Whether you are just trying to be healthy, in the throes of cancer, or on the other side and wanting to make sure that you stay in remission, these 5 tips can help you. And just so that you know, these tips are excellent for anyone in your family! Keep in mind that the tumor is not the problem. The tumor is merely a symptom of your body being imbalanced - so that's where you want to focus, dialing in what is off for you personally.
1.) Dial in Your Diet When we're talking about cancer, a clean, organic diet that focuses on low carb, moderate protein, and high fat is imperative. Now, this is not what the standard of care or our government nutritional guidelines advise. But the research is showing, and clinically we are seeing, that a ketogenic diet will starve the cancer cells by moderating the blood sugar and have a therapeutic effect with the ketones. By doing this, the metabolic root cause drivers will be addressed and you will see those lab markers shift. I start with my clients just with this basic guideline: get the carbs out. Then try to increase the quality. Real fresh, organic food without the chemicals and preservatives. As they start to get the hang of this, then we dial it in. This means that the majority of your diet is going to be very low carb, nutrient dense veggies – things like dark leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cucumber, brussel sprouts, etc. with a little grass-fed meat and covered with lots of good organic fats in the form of rich sauces. Keep in mind that the fat is where animals store their toxins. Therefore, it's very important to get high quality fats, especially since 80% of your diet is going to be made up of them. Now this may be a little shocking and unfathomable to you if you grew up like I did, hearing the fat was bad and trying to eat as little of it as possible. But this is what is going to give your healthy cells fuel without fueling the cancer cells. As you're transitioning, it may be hard to get enough fat. During this time, I recommend some fun fat bombs and you can even have sweet ones if you have sweet cravings.
You just want to make sure they're made with keto friendly clean sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit, and/or allulose (not artificial sweeteners!). When I first started keto, I was really against it. I thought it was dangerous. And I did not want to give up my bread. But I was very motivated, so I tried it anyways and I was blown away by what I discovered. Not only did I feel better on keto, in terms of my energy and my brain function, but I also realized that it can taste really good! This is a steep learning curve though and I find that getting yummy, simple recipes and connecting with others that are eating this way is extremely helpful for my clients. The important thing to know is that it's not just grabbing a whole bunch of random keto recipes and putting them together for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When you're talking about cancer, we need to get into a therapeutic state of ketosis and that requires intentionality and a little math. Not only do we want to get the carbs down, but we actually want the ketones to be made by your body so that they will help with the metabolic rebooting and encouraging apoptosis, which is tumor cell death. This may take some individualization of the keto diet to your specific body and needs.
And don’t forget that you want to be well hydrated! You want to drink half your body weight in ounces each day, and extra to offset any diuretics (coffee, tea, sodas, alcohol, processed juices, energy drinks, even many herbal teas). This simple, but often overlooked aspect, is key to all the other steps below. This seems like a good time to mention that while I agree that conventionally raised meat can cause cancer, telling my clients to go vegan is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. First off, if you aren’t eating animal products, it is impossible to get into a ketogenic state without just fasting, which is obviously not sustainable. Second, you are not getting the same vitamins. For example, there’s a lot of talk in cancer circles about getting lots of vitamin A, so people are juicing carrots. Keep in mind that there is NO vitamin A in carrots. It is betacarotene, which is the inactive form of vitamin A. About 30% of the population genetically has issues activating beta-carotene into vitamin A, and this is often those with cancer. Eating well raised meat means that you are allowing the animal to activate the nutrients for you. When fighting cancer, you need every bit of help you can get, so say thank you to the animals and only eat organic, free-range, grass-finished animal products.
One of the most popular diets with cancer clients is the alkaline diet. Its fundamental concept revolves around the idea of avoiding acidic foods, as it is believed that cancer struggles to thrive in an alkaline environment. Sounds good, until you unravel the science. We just discussed how cancer cells are metabolically different from regular cells. Well, the shift to an anaerobic state metabolically not only affects the blood sugar intake, but also creates a lot of acid. What you find, then, is that there is always an “acid cloud”, if you will, surrounding cancer tumors. It is not that the acid environment caused or allowed the cancer to proliferate, but rather that the metabolic shift of the tumor is creating lots of acid. It is also important to mention that the different organs and blood of our body all have different pHs that are kept in tight check. If we eat food that is acidic, it is still going to be made even more acidic by the stomach acid as the first part of digestion. Trying to affect change of the pH around a tumor through what you eat is completely ineffective. The original research that spawned these diets is based on injecting baking soda (very alkaline) at the site of the tumor, not by eating baking soda or alkaline food. Another popular diet aspect when dealing with cancer is juicing. We already talked about how important it is to have the blood sugar in tight check. When you drink juice, while you are getting a nice dose of nutrients, you are also getting a huge surge of carbohydrates which will become glucose in the blood. When you take the fiber away from these fruits and vegetables, it speeds up the spike to your blood sugar in addition to removing the valuable fibers that are food for your microbiome. Also keep in mind that many of the nutrients are better absorbed in the presence of fat. While it is good to get low carb veggies in, it is much better to chew them or blend them, not juice them. What will shift your health status is to eat a clean, ketogenic diet that is well digested. This will get the body the nutrients it needs for healing, keep out any additional toxins, shift the metabolic terrain, and allow the body to produce therapeutic ketones to help the healing further.
2.) Improve Your Digestion Now, if you're eating all these high-quality foods, you certainly want to make sure that you get all the nutrition from them, right? If you've spent years consuming a relatively low-fat diet and then make a significant shift to a high-fat diet, like the ketogenic diet, you might encounter digestion issues. Therefore, it's crucial to take steps to support your digestion of fats effectively. Proper fat digestion will not only help you to make good use of those high-quality fats you are eating, but also help you absorb many of the nutrients and vitamins that you will need to heal. All this is going to begin up in the stomach with your pH. The pH of the stomach needs to be very, very low in order to allow the minerals to be absorbed and be the catalyst for all the other digestive functions. Therefore, we always start with the HCl challenge. HCl is stomach acid, and most people don't have enough of it. Low HCI is usually caused by stress and dehydration, both of which are rampant in American society. Keep in mind that getting a cancer diagnosis is incredibly stressful in itself, and will usually result in a decreased stomach acid production, which does not help the situation. Going through the process of slowly titrating up your stomach acid to make sure that you have enough to do exactly what your body needs is important. Usually, after you're past the climax of your healing journey, this will be tapered down and not as needed because the body will have started to produce more itself.
3.) Detox Detoxification includes two main factors as mentioned above - reducing the toxic exposure and removing the toxins from the body. Let’s talk about why these toxins are such a huge problem. Every one of our bodies is born with a limited capacity to deal with toxins, kind of like the limited ability of a glass to hold water. Some people have larger quart jars and some have smaller shot glasses for their toxin capacities. The question then becomes how quickly can you get the toxins out so that it doesn’t overflow? If you happen to have a genetically limited detoxification capacity and your body eliminates toxins at a slow pace, but your environment bombards you with toxins faster than your body can cope, it's like your glass overflowing. This overflow then manifests as symptoms, which can ultimately pave the way for chronic diseases like cancer. One of the first things that I do with cancer clients is to have them examine their life and gradually purge all the toxins they can. Here I am going to go through some things that everyone should investigate as they are able. Check all makeup, toiletries, and personal care products for toxic ingredients on www.ewg.org/skindeep. Replace with nontoxic alternatives as you finish what you have Get a reverse osmosis water system at the minimum to filter out toxins Have any amalgams and root canals removed by a biological dentist Turn off your Wi-Fi at night – even better, have your internet hardwired in Keep your cell phone off your body during the day and out of your bedroom at night Eat organic – or at least choose wisely from the Clean 15 and avoid the Dirty Dozen www.ewg.org/foodnews Replace non-stick pans with stainless steel or glass Just getting these toxins out of your body, even if they aren't huge issues for your body specifically, will take some of the workload off of your precious liver which is already overburdened for most cancer clients. Every bit helps!
4.) Heal Your Heart We have observed that individuals facing a cancer diagnosis often have experienced some form of trauma. As previously discussed, it's not uncommon for a significant event to have occurred within a year before the cancer diagnosis, leaving a profound impact on the individual. Recognizing and addressing this trauma at a deep level is pivotal for long-term well-being and resilience. This can look different for each person. It can mean journaling, going to counseling, removing toxic people from your life, reframing your self-talk, reconnecting to your spiritual beliefs, reading the Bible, prayer time, working through forgiveness, energetic work, etc. While it may look different for different people, do not neglect this crucial component.
5.) Determine Your Drivers The best way to uncover your particular root cause drivers of your cancer is through functional testing. This is not just doing some blood work with a CBC and metabolic panel. This is diving deep and looking at much more in the blood, as well as hormone testing, gut testing, genetic testing, toxin testing, etc. There are some general guidelines(for example - breast cancer tends to be hormonally driven so the sex hormones are probably “off”) but we exhaust all options and make sure that we are on the right path by doing the testing. These tests guide us on how to effectively restore balance within the body. Particularly with challenges like toxin exposure, the testing doesn't just illuminate how to address the issue, but it also helps us understand the nature of the problem itself. For instance, the approach for dealing with mold is markedly different from addressing heavy metal contamination. One piece of advice I stress for everyone is not to overlook any potential contributing factors. Often, these areas may not produce noticeable symptoms, yet they still exert pressure on the body, hindering its ability to combat tumors. Many toxins can lurk undetected without testing, serving as the initial puzzle piece to discern precisely what your body requires to thrive on your healing path.
After receiving your test results, you might require assistance in deciphering their significance and determining your next steps. It won't take long to identify the specific areas, among the ten we previously discussed, that serve as the root causes in your case. These are the aspects you'll need to monitor consistently to prevent the cancer from resurfacing throughout your lifetime. Your cancer diagnosis wasn't a random occurrence, and now, equipped with these tools, you can proactively recognize when things are veering off course, long before a tumor has a chance to form. Once you have your test results, we can work together to create personalized protocols to address your unique needs—detoxing harmful toxins, eliminating pathogens, replenishing depleted resources, and enhancing functionality based on your individualized lab results. Then your body will be supported so that it can do the hard work of healing your cancer.
How I Work With Clients While this work is very powerful and effective, I do not want to hide the fact that it is also difficult. I respect my clients immensely as I watched them dig in and become their own hero. I guide them, answer questions, and help them understand their labs so that they can help themselves. At the end of the day, I don't heal cancer. I'm simply guiding my clients to support their body so that their body can do the work of healing their own cancer. As Dr. Nasha Winters says, “we test, we don’t guess”, and when the clients say, “But I'm doing everything right” we dig in and see what is not right for them, what are we missing. My clients are typically well-informed individuals who have already tackled most of the readily achievable health improvements. They're not coming to me eating the standard American diet. They just don't know how to tweak things for themselves. And that's what the testing is going to show us. Now, just to clarify, because there's a lot of confusion out there about alternative health care, and I'm making that term vague on purpose. This approach isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and it differs from many alternative medicine practices where they essentially take a trial-and-error approach without conducting proper testing to pinpoint the root cause. In those cases, it often feels like guesswork. I frequently get asked, "Katrina, when was your last scan?" But the truth is, I don't rely on scans. Instead, I keep tabs on my health using functional tests and monitoring my symptoms. This proactive approach allows me to spot any issues early, often before cancer even has a chance to develop. And that’s exactly what I help my clients do.
Moving Forward You have the power. You have the tools. And now you have the understanding. You just have to choose what you want and be proactive. I understand that this is hard work. I want to validate that you’ll be going against the grain – often for these reasons people aren’t willing to do the work until they have enough pain to motivate them. That was Amy. Three years ago, she had received her “all clear.” She had done chemo, radiation, and surgery for her breast cancer. We had a consultation, but she didn't choose to work with me. I think she felt like she didn't really need it. She'd been told by her doctor she was fine, right? She wanted to be done with all the focus on cancer and rearranging her life around it all – she just wanted to be a “regular” person again. Unfortunately, she circled back around recently, because her cancer had come back and this time she wanted to address it by looking at the root cause drivers. She understood that until these were addressed, it would just keep coming back. I just wished she had done that 3 years ago when she and I had first talked and saved her from this heartache and scary situation. But I'm really excited to work with her because now she understands how this works and is motivated to do the hard work to keep her in remission for good. For me, I’m in remission and I’m motivated to watch my functional tests, take my supplements. and change my diet so that I don't end up with cancer again. It's not the path most traveled, but it is possible and I want to get the word out there that there are choices and options.
12-Month Cancer Freedom Program Because this journey is complicated and overwhelming, I have created a program to help those with a history of cancer to navigate the process of discovering their personal root cause drivers and prevent recurrence. The 12-month Cancer Freedom Program includes all the functional tests that are mentioned in this e-book, so that you can find those smoking guns all at once. The course takes you through how to interpret your labs and shows you how to tailor our protocols to you personally. And throughout this process, you are never alone! You will have biweekly Q&A calls with myself and our Cancer Freedom practitioners. You’ll get your questions answered as well as be part of a vibrant community of women that are also on a healing journey. As a bonus, those in our program get all their supplements at cost. At Cancer Freedom, we believe it is a conflict of interest for us to make money off our recommendations. While we will try to get you discounts anywhere we can, we do not do any affiliate kickbacks. If this sounds perfect for you but you want to have 1:1 sessions, please ask about our VIP Cancer Freedom Program. Additionally, we also have Cancer Freedom Retreats – check our website for upcoming dates and locations. We’re excited to help you find the root cause drivers of your cancer so that you don’t have to live with a black cloud over your head, always worrying if it's going to come back. We want you to enjoy Cancer Freedom! CLICK HERE TO WORK WITH KATRINA