From Overwhelm to Empowerment

When cervical cancer struck in 1994, I was drowning in medical jargon and overwhelmed by a system that felt rigid and impersonal. After losing my mother in 1996, I realised the standard script wasn't enough—I had to take control of my own journey.

In this episode, I share my 30-year story of battling cancer, from the devastating diagnosis that stole my fertility dreams to finding remission through a combination of conventional treatments and repurposed drugs like metformin and statins. I'll explain why most oncologists don't know about these affordable, effective options and how I worked with open-minded doctors who were willing to think beyond the guidelines.

You'll learn about the "metro map" approach I developed, the importance of metabolic therapies and why emotional support should be as vital as chemotherapy. Whether you're newly diagnosed, supporting a loved one, or simply want to understand how to advocate within the medical system, this episode offers hope and practical strategies for taking charge of your health journey.

Resources mentioned: How to Starve Cancer book, online course, and community support at: https://www.howtostarvecancer.com/

Transcript

When cervical cancer crashed into my life in 1994, uh, I was engulfed by a storm of overwhelm. It was like being thrown into a churning sea. No chart, no lifeline, no life jacket. It was just raw fear and this ticking clock and the medical jargon hit me like a tidal wave as well. Metastasis, angiogenesis, apoptosis.

These are words I'd never needed, and they suddenly became my reality overnight. And then appointments were swallowing my day, scans, biopsies, consultations. I was exhausted, terrified, and expected to make life or death, uh, decisions in this haze of confusion. And then cancer isn't just one disease with a clear answer.

It's a shapeshifter. It changes and it's elusive. Even to the doctors who were trying to save me, the answers weren't clear. Uh, I, I felt so lost, so powerless. So, um, I did what normal people do. I just followed the basic script. I had surgery, chemotherapy. Radiotherapy. Um, and it was a path laid out and I trusted it.

I clung to it like a lifeline. Uh, but then in 1996, my world chatted again. My mother died. Her death was a stark reminder that the standard script, the script of chemo radiotherapy, uh, just wasn't enough and it lit a fire in me to question, to dig deeper, to take control, to feel more, uh, that I was in the driving seat and not just a passenger.

These treatments had already taken so much out of me. Um, the hysterectomy had stolen my fertility. I was only in my thirties. I was dreaming of children, the laughter filling the home. Um, that future was just erased in one brutal moment. And the grief was a tidal wave drowning me as I fought to survive.

Um, they offered me counseling, which I took, but uh, it really was a constant focus, a sort of like a wound reopening with every session and I was still battling to stay alive. And so I know so many of you feel this, the dreams that cancer steals from you, uh, the personal losses it bears and it's okay to grieve.

It's okay to feel broken. But let me tell you, you are stronger than you know, and you don't have to face this alone. So after my mother's death, um, I saw the oncology world with new eyes and I trusted the standard script, but I could see it wasn't enough.

So I added. Uh, I added lots of complimentary treatments like intravenous vitamin C, but when I discussed these with the doctors, I, I was normally given blank stares or polite rejections. It was infuriating because cancer is so individual. Um, yet treatments are based and leaned on statistics. So, um. It was very hard to personalise what was happening to me, and oncology is very slow to change, and doctors are tied to the guidelines.

And these guidelines are built from big trials, often funded by pharmaceutical companies with absolutely no interest in cheap generic drugs like the ones that I eventually put together for treating myself, they're overstretched. There's no time to explore beyond the norm. And there's fear, fear of liability on the doctor's part, fear of straying from the approved path.

Um, but I feel like things are shifting and with a bit more personal care emerging, but it's not fast enough for those of us who are actually in the fight now. But I was fortunate because I had an oncologist. She was, she was a rare find. She was open-minded and she was also curious. And she'd also been investigating statins, and these are cholesterol drugs with anti-cancer potential, and she was willing to think.

Beyond this, um, normal script. And, uh, this alliance was just a lifeline. She was like a beacon in this storm. And these open-minded oncologists are very hard to find. I know just how lucky I was. But it was also my integrative doctors who truly transformed my journey. And they saw where the oncology world was failing, stepping in with a willingness to prescribe these drugs that I'd asked about.

Like dipyridamole. This is an anti-platelet medication. It has, um, strong anti-cancer properties and metformin, which is a diabetes drug. Um, so these all have very powerful anti-cancer effects. And these integrative doctors understood that con uh, that cancer has got this complexity. And they were bold enough to act outside of this conventional box.

And their support was absolutely pivotal for me. They gave me the tools, uh, to work harder and fight smarter with the cancer. Um, and I had a hunch. Early on that there was a synergy between these drugs, that metformin statins, the dipyridamole would actually multiply each other's effects, and that hitting cancers pathways from multiple angles to solve it more effectively would be a really good strategy.

And researchers later backed this up, showing how these drugs can actually work together to disrupt cancer's, fuel sources like glucose and glutamine, not just G Glucose. And my integrative doctors. And my oncologists. Um. With them. I, I kind of fought this constant battle for a whole 10 years. Um, 10 years of research, trial, persistence.

Uh, but since 2004 I've been in remission a testament to what is possible when you refuse to give up. So metformin is a prime example of the system's blind spots. It's safe. Affordable. It's been used for decades to manage diabetes and studies like uh, one from the University of Texas in 2018 show it can starve cancer cells by disrupting their energy supply.

And that improves outcomes. And they've shown it in cancers like breast and colorectal, um, and is now being trialed to help prevent AML, which is an aggressive type of leukemia, yet it's rarely prescribed for cancer. So why is that? Um, no drug company can fund a trial for a generic drug when they can't profit from it.

So it's not the, uh, doctors, it's actually, I think more the system that is the problem. So most oncologists aren't actually trained to see cancer's, metabolic weaknesses. So of course, metformin and other drugs like it just gather dust. It's heartbreaking because I know these tools exist, but they're ignored because they don't fit the system.

So I could have let the overwhelm, the grief, the systems rigidity defeat me. Um, but my mother's death in 1996 pushed me. To think differently, and with my oncologist, my in integrative doctors by my side, I built my metro map, which some of you may be familiar with, blending conventional treatments with repurposed drugs.

Uh, and that alongside with diet and lifestyle changes as well, of course. And with supplements and, uh, I brought studies, asked questions, and forged partnerships with the doctors trying to make them feel we were part of a team together, uh, but not every doctor was open and I kept pushing. And after a decade of battle, I've been in remission for over 20 years, so I know you're out there.

Lost in that storm. Grieving your personal losses facing a system that feels unyielding, but hear me. You can change. You can take charge. Start small. Take a breath. Just breathe slowly. Let yourself feel the pain, whether it's fertility, loved ones, or you feel like you've got time stolen from you. Then arm yourself with knowledge.

My book How to Staff Cancer is not just my story. Uh, it unravels Cancer's Biology helps you build a framework on how to use these repurpose drugs safely, and then you can take those peer review studies to your appointments, ask Could this work for me? If your doctor dismisses you, don't stop. Seek a second opinion.

Finding an open-minded oncologist or an integrative doctor can change everything. So I've got some resources and you can start with my website, how to staff cancer.com. It's got my book, my online course, which helps you understand how cancer behaves. And then join my community of fighters who are sharing their strategies online.

Check out the hashtag positive progress reports of patients diagnosed with stage four. And a great many of them are now reaching NED, that's no evidence of disease and incorporating these repurposed drugs into their treatment. So join us. You've got other resources as well. The anti-cancer funds, my Cancer Navigator Service, which researchers repurpose drugs for you.

Um, and then you've also got Heal. Navigator. Uh, you've got repurposing drugs in oncology database that lists over 280 non-cancer drugs with anti-cancer potential like metformin, statins, mol. There's also ivermectin, doxycycline, mebendazole aspirin, obviously all backed by studies. So for these doctors open to integrative care, please visit my website and.

Drop down in the menu button, you'll find a list of doctors who are actually using repurposed drugs. And you've also got centers like the Integrative Medicine Center of West Colorado. They're now looking at Ivermectin and fenbendazole but they need more clinical evidence, and I believe they would work better if they were prescribed at a lower dose and in a better cocktail.

And I don't. Believe they fully understand the, uh, synergy, um, of starving the cancer. Always consult your medical team if you are going to do this and before you try anything new and always be cautious. Drugs like ivermectin lack robust human trials for cancer. So I dream of a day when oncology sees you.

Your losses, your unique. Uh, cancer your voice a day when repurposed drugs are used synergistically with other combinations, and metabolic therapies are standard when emotional support is as vital as chemo. And we're seeing glimmers, more trials on metformin. More doctors like mine embracing new ideas, but we must keep pushing.

You are not a statistic. You are a fighter, a survivor. You are still a story still being written. So take my hand visit how to solve cancer.com. Connect with my online communities. Find that rare, open-minded oncologist or integrative doctor who will fight with you. You don't have to face this alone. I've walked through that storm, felt the grief of my mother's death in 1996, battle for 10 years to reach remission in 2004.

I'm here to help you. And find your way to hope healing to life. You've got this.