Why a cure, by our definition, won't be found: Fight, don't Feed, Cancer

People pray for a CURE FOR CANCER or wonder why in this day in age there isn’t one.

Now that I’ve learned so much about cancer it seems silly to even think of it in terms of ‘finding a cure’. Society trains us to think that every health condition should be coupled with a straight forward cure.  But like most diseases, if you take the time to understand what cancer is and how it grows/endures, you learn two things.

(1) It doesn’t happen over night. Overtime, our bodies have trouble removing cancerous cells and they spread. (We ALL have cancer cells—but we have “Natural Killer Cells” that destroy them.) Cancer is discovered when those NK cells are no longer destroying cancer at a rate they are capable of.

(2) Cancer either grows and shrinks based on what our bodies allow. Cancer becomes life-threatening by spreading and there are scientifically-proven REASONS it spreads. We may not know them all or why it spreads to certain areas of the body when it does, but we know a LOT about what cancer feeds on and the environment allows it to thrive.

Isn't it crazy that this was discovered nearly 100 years ago yet as a society part of "being healthy" isn't being sure we keep our bodies in an alkaline state?

We get frustrated that there isn’t an injection or a pill to swallow to simply wipe out cancer. We even try chemo as an attempt to “wipe it out”. That would be nice, but if you look at all diseases—like autoimmune issues—you see that the problem isn’t that there is a foreign invader in your body that needs to be destroyed, it’s that your body has lost control and is being overthrown by cells who are no longer playing their proper role. Our bodies attack themselves.

When you understand that you also realize there is hope. You realize there doesn’t have to be a CURE discovered, but that you have to instead take a new approach and say, “What does my body need to get back on track? How can I help the good guys take back over my body?” And the good news is… We know a lot about the answer to that question.  

****The information shared by Michala Peterson, Pharm.D, is incredible if you or someone you know wants to understand what things cause cancer to thrive or die. Take time for it. Someone you know needs this information. I am happy to share the recording.****

Purple: The Color of JOY

Thanks to a friend's recent post I found a new blog: Lil Blue Boo. Along with having a very inspirational story and great blog, she also sells extremely cute children's clothing and patterns to make your own. 

With many struggles in her life, including cancer and chemo, this individual has made a decision to "Choose Joy" in her daily life rather than dwell on the negatives. It seems like such a simple and logical decision but one so many of us pass up from one day to the next if that particular day isn't spectacular, let alone if something unfortunate happens.

She's selling "Choose Joy" bracelets in her store in packs of 20 at a non-profit cost. Not only do I love the message and do I feel that it fits the example I try to set out of my life, but they are purple.... Enough said? 

Photo from Lil Blue Boo

Please be in touch if you'd like one of my 20. As much as I love purple, I only intend to wear one, meaning I'll have some extras. Comment or hit me up by other means and I'll share the wealth!

Rite of Passage - Shaving my Head from Ashley Hackshaw on Vimeo.

The Healing Powers of Running

I suppose the title should actually say, "The Healing Powers of Whatever Type of Physical Activity You Enjoy Most" but that just doesn't have the same ring to it. Besides, although I am very biased towards running, being that it is my passion, I believe running itself does have a special ability.

I have been running for 12 years now. I have considered myself a true runner for probably ten of those years, starting when I began to run on my own outside of track season. This began the fall of my freshman year of highschool when I'd head to the track after school to do a solo workout of some sort. These workouts eventually inspired me to write a short piece I entitled, "These Eight Lanes" my sophomore year. I'll find a copy of it later and make a post out of it, but the bottom line of this short writing was that the track and the running I did there had become my sanctuary. My getaway. A place for me and only me. A place of clear-headed thinking and peace. The football team practiced on the field at this time, but somehow, even with them there, I felt in my own world.

I was going through a lot of internal struggle during that time in my life. (Come on... I was a 16-year-old sophomore in high school. Who isn't dealing with a lot of self-growth?) The best part of my day was when classes were over and I got away from studying, friends, gossip, drama, activities, sports and I had life to myself for an hour or so. The football players often times called me crazy but I told them it was relaxing for me. No doubt they thought that was nothing but crazy talk.

As I've grown older and been exposed to so many more runners and more running in general I now know that the relaxation I found down on the track years ago is a relaxation that so many of us can find through running. The older I get (and as I slowly become removed from the essence of running with a formal team) I am coming t know more and more people who run simply for themselves. Some are former high school or collegiate runners who can't give it up. Some are simply former athletes who still need that physical activity and fitness. However, many are people who were never runners. Maybe they weren't even athletes. But somewhere along the line, in defining their own life and the person they are, they have picked up running and I can help but see a trend of it happening to so many people at a time in their lives when they needed something new, rejuvinating and stable in life.

Running was the answer. Running continues to be the answer.

It gives you a sense of accomplishment. No matter how you felt before your run, no doubt you feel better afterwards. Even on the days when the run itself feels pretty crappy, you can feel renewed. Your head is cleared. It's just you and the path ahead of you. In the simplest terms I can find to describe what I find on my runs: it's a spiritual therapy.