NATURE
Getting a cancer diagnosis is like getting hit in the side of the head with a 2x4 repeatedly and then being asked to make some of the most important decisions of your life. It's disorienting, it's confusing, it's paralyzing, and it's absolutely not the emotional place anyone would choose to be in when faced with these extremely weighty decisions. It seems like some sort of cosmic joke, to put us in a situation that would both undoubtedly cause this emotional state and also require logical and calm thinking to move forward through.
When at the start of all this, I had no idea what my path through it would be, what my decisions would be. But right from the start, I took an active role in my healing and, as I've mentioned before, became what I like to refer to now as a member of my own healing team along with my doctors and naturopaths, nurses and other healthcare professionals. I researched, I read, I watched, I asked endless questions, I'm sure sometimes to the chagrin of my oncologists and naturopaths. Funnily enough, it was the one thing I did automatically, without thinking, without agonizing over the decision; it came very naturally. And it was the best thing I could have done because it led me to my integrative path, which opened my eyes to the power of nature that was at my fingertips.
Nature is freaking AH-mazing! So many drugs have grown out of similar actions observed first in natural substances, and there are many natural compounds that can improve the efficacy of conventional drugs and treatments and reduce their side effects. And then of course there are so many anticancer, immune boosting, blood-sugar regulating, hormone balancing effects and more to be found in the world of natural medicine. It was an extremely empowering journey for me, to realize that there was so much that I could do not only to support and promote my healing from cancer, but also to support and optimize my health moving forward to increase my chances of it never coming back.
As I said above, there is an insane storm of emotions that a cancer diagnosis causes, not the least of which is overwhelming fear about your future and if you will have one. Taking an acti
ve role in my health, both during treatment and into my life afterwards, provided me with more mental and emotional support than I could have predicted. I have carried the fear of cancer around with me since I was 11 when my Dad was diagnosed with and passed away from pancreatic cancer. It has weighed on me like something physical for over 20 years. Of course I still feel that weight, but now, thanks to what I have learned about the power of the natural world and how it can work synergistically with the power of conventional medicine too, I feel that weight lift sometimes and I am free from fear. I feel blissfully buoyant in those moments, quite literally. That's the power of the natural world around us and our own power within us.
Quite often, everything we need to heal can be found around and within us, and we are so lucky that we have such an arsenal available to us in the Western world born from both science and nature. It's really quite incredible when you consider it. Orenda is a First Nations word that we don't really have an equivalent for in English, but it refers to the power that they believe lives within all of us, the power to change ourselves or change the world around us. And I like to think that that power comes from our connection to the world, the universe, each other, and to nature. It reminds me of another Anishinaabe code:
"Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family. Love our Mother the Earth waters, land and air. Her good life is our life."
Regardless of whether you take an integrative route that combines conventional and natural medicine or not, what I do urge you to do is call on your own Orenda. Tap into that innate power, that power that comes from somewhere deep within you, and take an active, positive role in your own health and healing, whether by researching and asking questions or by simply considering what you can do today to help take care of yourself. Trust me, that power is there, waiting for you; it's human nature.
Happy Healing