This Time's a Charm:
Lessons of a Four-Time Cancer Survivor (Book Excerpt)

To quote a Chinese Proverb: "To know the road ahead, ask those coming back."  Over my six years during and post cancer, many people have asked me for advice for loved ones recently diagnosed.  I'm honored to be in a position to give them advice.  I'm going to end this book by giving you all of the advice that I have given others in hopes that you will apply it to your own situation.

1. Change the way you view your disease 
Release the fear you're holding inside.  Don't spend energy trying to understand why or how you got cancer.  Focus on the task at hand, getting better.  Spend time thinking about how incredible the anatomy of your body is.  How complex of a machine you really are.  Admire your own engineering. 

2.  Believe that you have the power to heal yourself with the right positive attitude
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, explained that the body, specifically the mind, is its own pharmacy.  He knew that patients had the power to heal themselves if they really believed they could.
That's why graduating doctors today still take the Hippocratic Oath.  In a nutshell, doctors pledge:  "Above all else, do no harm."  Hippocrates wanted to make sure that the medical intervention doctors give never interferes with the patient's own ability to cure himself.  That's a powerful philosophy that I believe has been lost in today's modern medicine. 

3.  Control any anxiety or stress you have
It's completely normal to have both stress and anxiety when facing a challenge like cancer.  But you have to keep them in check because they do not serve you.  Stress and anxiety wear down your immune system and allow cancer cells to flourish.

"What you're eating is not as important as what's eating you." ~ Dr. Patrick Quillin.

4.  Learn how to meditate and do it daily 
It only takes 10 minutes a day once you learn how to do it.  It rejuvenates you, mind and body.  It's better than a nap.  It soothes your soul.

5.  Know that cancer is NOT a death sentence