When it comes to cancer, we cannot act as a spectator looking on and wait for others to decide for us. If you've been handed a cancer diagnosis, it's time to get off that bench and be an active player in what is the biggest game of your life.

If you've spent anytime researching your disease on the Internet (and I'll bet you have) then you already know how quickly that grassy playing field turns into a minefield. At times, it feels safer to stay seated and do what you're told. Whether you are looking for a preventative, active or palliative nutrition approach to addressing cancer, you need to be an active player in the game.

Are you creating an environment where cancer can thrive and grow or offer an environment where cancer cannot survive? Are you keeping your immune system and pH balanced, inflammatory markers down, providing the body with nutrient rich foods, sleep enough and control stress levels? Health does not happen by chance and bad genes only represent 2% of your outcome. The other 98% is your diet and lifestyle and your overall toxic load. Did you know that a PET scan is an imaging test that allows your doctor to check for cancer “hot spots” in your body? The scan uses a special dye that has radioactive tracers. These tracers are injected into a vein in your arm. Your organs and tissues then absorb the tracer to show areas where cancer cells are concentrated. Guess what are these tracers? Crystalized sugar!! Cancer cells love sugar, actually they need it to survive. Cancer cells need about 18 times more sugar than healthy cells to stay alive. Now…what if we ate a “high healthy fat ketogenic diet” and cut the main energy source to cancer cells, sugar?

Some cancers are getting great response to chemotherapy and radiation when in stage 1 and 2 due to early detection,…this is great, but not without great expense to the body. If you develop cancer, there’s an imbalance in the first place and chemo/radiation will not restore that imbalance nor will your cancer be gone after treatments. We all produce on average eight cancer cells per hour. On top of that, chemo and radiation cause cancer and it is even more important to be diligent in reducing the toxic load and improving your chances of not having a secondary cancer after treatments are over.

• Reduce sugar intake and overall carbs

• Include supplements to boost immunity

• Monitor your body’s pH

• Increase healthy fats

• Sleep for your body type – yes there are sleeping types

• Include stress reducing techniques

I have been using a ketogenic diet for years with clients…actually I was first introduced to this way of eating as a bodybuilding competitor 25 years ago. If you are looking for a specific prevention or active plan to follow, not sure which supplements are best and safe to take for your type of cancer or how to monitor your pH balance and would like guidance in developing a strong prevention/active plan, please visit Services for further details. I look forward to hearing from you and please SHARE this post to bring awareness that you can be an active participant either during or after your cancer treatments or as prevention. Let’s change the growing cancer statistics!

Marie-Josée Brown, CHCP, ROHP

Certified Holistic Cancer Practitioner