In our new documentary, the Hope for Breast Cancer, we walk alongside Angie Lima as she battles breast cancer. During this journey, we learned many valuable insights into the business side of cancer treatments and what patients must do to protect their lives.
During today’s episode, we’ll share the second and final part of our findings and we’ll cover everything from preventative mastectomies, reconstruction complications, implant illness to the power of journaling, the importance of using natural therapies and how to customize a cancer prevention & healing journey
We hope that today’s episode will give you hope and provide important strategies to beat breast cancer one and for all.
Table of Contents
Listen Here
Episode Highlights
- The Hope for Cancer Documentary (1:39)
- Intro and diffuser reveal (3:05)
- Our thoughts on celebrating Halloween (6:53)
- Testimonial time (9:58)
- Will you be ministry partners with us? (14:08)
- Lessons learned: preventative mastectomies (22:02)
- The impacts of mastectomies and implants (28:51)
- Is fear driving your decisions? (34:00)
- Exploring your options after mastectomy (41:47)
- Walking out YOUR healing journey (48:55)
- The untapped power of journaling (53:14)
- The Ultimate Breast Cancer Bundle – your educational empowerment tool (55:37)
- The cancer journey from the caregiver’s perspective (58:01)
- Using natural therapies and customizing your healing journey (1:02:05)
- Resources for you: Samaritan Ministries and the Hope4Cancer Clinic (1:07:36)
- Natural living tip and episode wrap (1:12:02)
Quotable Quotes
“We always have to be thinking about cancer with prevention in mind, which means limiting the things we know cause inflammation. That’s one of the things that we have control over.” – Mama Z“If you’ve elected to have your breasts removed, either prophylactically or because you were diagnosed, you are still at as much risk as before if your lifestyle hasn’t changed.” – Dr. Z“If you’ve had a mastectomy, or are praying about it, you do not need reconstruction. You’re truly lovely and wonderful in God’s sight.” – Dr. Z
“Only 0.1% of all cancer cases are significant emergencies. Other than those, after a cancer diagnosis, give your body some time, pray, and try natural therapies. But if you don’t get results, you’ve got to consider all the other methods.” – Dr. Z“You are unique. When God made you, He threw away the mold. We all are very individual and that will dictate what our treatment needs are.” – Mama Z
Resources We Mention
READ TRANSCRIPT
The contents of this presentation are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This presentation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
[0:00 – 1:00] Prelude
Chris: He can walk someone through the healing process and do an amazing work at the same time.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: And what do those survivors say? Remember at the clinic? And what did Angie say? She found purpose, her life purpose, a mission. And what did other people say? “I had no idea I was on a road to destruction until I got . . . Folks, one thing I’ve seen, and it was wild. The first person I ever helped, actually it was coaching them, that said “cancer saved my life,” was someone who recognized that cancer was that red-light sign that comes up on your dashboard that says, “Hey, something is wrong with your engine.”
Now, that doesn’t happen after the engine dies. It’s like, “Hey something is up.” It’s a warning. The engine is going to die unless you do something. And people that get it, they get it. They understand it. They just allow God to do a work in them. They see the cancer diagnosis as that wakeup call that shakes them, that hopefully will propel them to a much better, fruitful, healthy life.
[1:01 – 1:38] Intro
Dr. Z: Hi! This is Dr. Z.
Mama Z: And Mama Z. And welcome to episode 41 of the Natural Living Family podcast.
Dr. Z: Each week we invite you into our home to talk about how you can master the art and science of natural living. And we share the same tips our family uses every day to enjoy an abundant life. And you are going to love today’s talk.
Mama Z: So, come on in and get comfortable. After all, you are one of our family, our natural living family.
Dr. Z: But before we dive into all the fun, we’re excited to invite you to a special event.
[1:39 – 3:04] Special Invitation: Hope for Breast Cancer
Mama Z: Within the past few years, we’ve lost Eric’s grandma, as well as my aunt, brother-in-law, and one of my best friends to various forms of cancer.
Dr. Z: All the while, several of our closest friends and family members received that horrifying diagnosis everyone dreads to hear.
Mama Z: So, we’ve decided to partner with our friends at Cancer Tutor to do our part to help you not go through what we’ve experienced.
Dr. Z: For the past eighteen months, Natural Living Family and Cancer Tutor have been busy working on a film project to bring awareness to people that there is truly hope for cancer. We sponsored a stage 2 breast cancer patient to receive non-toxic therapies for one year and have documented her progress along the way.
Mama Z: This story gives a candid look at her journey through integrative cancer treatments. And we want to give you a special access pass to watch the movie before we submit it to film festivals and online streaming services.
Dr. Z: We cordially invite you to a special screening of the global premiere that will air this coming November 6.
Mama Z: Simply go to HopeforBreastCancer.com (that’s h-o-p-e-f-o-r breast cancer, dot com) to reserve your spot today. And you’ll get instant access to some of the behind-the-scenes footage and some other amazing goodies.
Dr. Z: We believe there is hope for breast cancer. And we invite you on our mission to help stop this epidemic.
[3:05 – 6:52] Diffuser Reveal: Fall Leaves
Dr. Z: Well, hey there everybody! It’s episode 41, part two, of the Hope for Breast Cancer —Lessons Learned and Truths Revealed.” So, when we filmed the Hope for Breast Cancer documentary, we started about a year-and-a-half ago the whole process. We had no idea where the journey was going to take us.
And the last couple of episodes have been bringing you up to speed, the why, the how, the back story. The last episode, episode 40, was about the lessons that we learned and some of the truths that were revealed to us as we’ve researched breast cancer and gone through this journey with Angela Lima. And I actually can’t wait to be featuring her next week. Next week, we’re going to be featuring her in a special interview.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: That’s the first time we’ve actually had an interview on the podcast. And last week was the first time that Chris actually had a mike. I know Chris has chimed in. He says something once in a while. But Chris is actually miked up. And we had a wonderful conversation yesterday. So, Chris, thanks so much again for joining us.
Chris: Yes, sir; thanks for having me.
Mama Z: And you should actually see him, because he has like his clipboard. He has his microphone, his earphones.
Dr. Z: We should have a picture.
Mama Z: I mean seriously.
Dr. Z: Chris is managing three cameras, audio, and he has a mike and sound.
Mama Z: And lights and all the other stuff, too, and making notes in the process.
Dr. Z: Chris is one of the producers and one of the primary editors and sound mixers. And he’s just a jack-of-all trades on the documentary, which is exactly what he does for Natural Living Family. He pretty much single-handedly manages everything when it comes to the podcasts. And we have Zach who helps him editing and with filming. But Chris is the main guy. And Zach, we love and appreciate you, too, man. We know that you have a lot of work that you do on the back end. Unsung heroes!
Mama Z: Whoo hoo! Yes.
Dr. Z: People don’t know, and people don’t appreciate that enough.
Mama Z: I mean can you imagine me behind there? Oh man!
Dr. Z: I can’t imagine it either.
So, I’m excited because we’re going to start this one on a very controversial note. We’re going to talk about preventative mastectomies. But before we do, what’s in our diffuser.
Mama Z: Yes. So, I call this one fall leaves. Or, you could call it the bonfire blend. But it’s . . .
Dr. Z: How do you come up with these names? The “bonfire blend?” It smells like smoke?
Mama Z: It kind of has just like an earthy, smoky smell to it.
Dr. Z: I don’t like it as much as I did the last one.
Mama Z: I know.
Dr. Z: The other one was like chai.
Mama Z: Yea, it was homey and it was chai. But this is homey in a different way.
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: So, when I come up with these things. So, we name everything, whether it’s like my pictures that we take for headshots, or whether it’s like the gowns that I wear for certain things. We have nicknames for everything. So, I find it . . . We do, we really do.
Dr. Z: I know.
Mama Z: We had this picture where Eric was behind me. And we called it “Prom.” And everybody who sees the picture is like, “Oh my gosh. It is. It looks like a prom,” you know.
Dr. Z: And then when you won your pageant, photogenic, you called it “Best Friends.”
Mama Z: Oh yea, we called it “Best Friends.”
Dr. Z: It looked like you were just like the best friend next door.
Mama Z: Yea, I loved it.
Dr. Z: Anyway, we’ve got bonfire.
Mama Z: Bonfire.
Dr. Z: Let’s do it.
Mama Z: Or my fall leaves blend. So, it’s four drops of frankincense. And you can play around if you have different kinds of frankincense. You can play around with what you put in that. Or, if you have just a frankincense that’s a blend of different kinds of frankincense, it all works well. Two drops of pine and two drops of cedarwood.
So, it just is a very earthy tone, but it’s a good focused blend. And it just reminds me of being like outside in the fall air, outside. And especially in Michigan where there’s lots of leaves, and they all fall, and they’re green and stuff like that. It just kind of gives it that homey fall leaves.
[6:53 – 9:57] Our Thoughts on Celebrating Halloween
Dr. Z: And it’s three days before harvest celebration fun stuff. We’re not big Halloween people here. We do not . . . Don’t tar and feather us. I don’t like my kids trick or treating. It’s something that God really convicted me when I became a Christian, that we’re not going to dress up as ghouls and goblins and do anything that get to that borderline. And so, that’s something that was really on my heart in a real strong way, because I used to get into that stuff a lot. And a lot of the stuff is demonic. Some of it is just like, haunted houses? Are you kidding me? What are y’all trying to do?
But I really appreciate those of you who participate in trunk or treats, those of you who have harvest festivals at church. Man, I love that stuff. And our kids are going. We take them. They dress up. And we all dressed up as “The Incredibles.” And if you’re on our weekly newsletter, you saw a picture a couple of weeks ago. We were at Disney World during their “Halloween Spooktacular,” whatever they call it.
Mama Z: It was a not-so-scary party that they had, and even the characters.
Dr. Z: Yea, they call it “Spooktacular,” though. It was cute.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: Again, it was all Halloween-ish. And we’ll do that. We’ll have fun. But I just say that to say “Happy Fall Harvest Day” in a couple of days, because it’s just a couple of days from now, because it’s October 28. And we love you and we appreciate you.
Mama Z: Oh, you know what that means.
Dr. Z: What?
Mama Z: I’ve got to get your artwork off the door and put mine up.
Dr. Z: Ah! Good! Every other month.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: It’s one of the things . . .
Mama Z: You’re getting kicked off.
Dr. Z: Date night, artwork.
Mama Z: You’re going to the back door.
Dr. Z: So, a special shout out, though. A special shout out for those of you who participate, because I mean some of these trunk or treat festivals at churches and places are way creative and super fun. And I just want to thank you for your service, because Alex and Kayla, our nanny/babysitter, they host. They have their own little trunk. And they’re dressed up.
Mama Z: Actually, we’re going to be part of it this year.
Dr. Z: Says who?
Mama Z: We are.
Dr. Z: Why didn’t you tell me these things?
Mama Z: Well, because we’re part of Toy Story now.
Dr. Z: I’m Mr. Incredible.
Mama Z: You are Mr. Incredible, let me tell you.
Dr. Z: Listen, you’ve got to consult with me before you sign me up for stuff.
Mama Z: Well, they need other characters for their trunk. So, we’re going to be part of it. However, I do have . . .
Dr. Z: Anyway, thank you for your service! And happy Harvest Festival. And, hey, stay tuned, because we have some really, really key, special podcast episodes coming up, all around helping you have healthy, happy holidays, because the holidays throw people through a loop, by and large.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Diet, emotional wellness, mental wellness. I mean holidays are hard for a lot of people. And we’ve been hosting this holiday keeping you healthy and sound in the abundant life with “The Healthy Holiday Class” for several years now. And it’s usually just our most popular class.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: And we just want to share a tidbit with you.
[9:58 – 14:07] Testimonial Time!
Dr. Z: So, before we get into our episode today, I want to thank you, all of you who leave a review on our podcast. We really, really appreciate it. And we just had, one of our newest reviews is from “Gymnastics Mats.” I love these names, by the way. Her name is Shea, she says here. The title is “Definitely Not Too Long Podcast.” That’s probably because I was a little concerned, and “Hey, we’re getting on an hour and ten minutes here.” But she left us five stars. So, thank you, Shea. I appreciate that.
Mama Z: Thank you!
Dr. Z: And thank you to all of you who have left us a review.
Mama Z: Yes, please leave a review, if you have time.
Dr. Z: Please. We appreciate it. You know why we love the feedback? It’s because it helps guide, and it helps validate things that we’re doing right, or maybe not so right. And so, we’ve made some shifts. And by the way, we are planning on making some shifts in our season two, which starts basically in a couple of months. Can you believe we’re almost at a year? Whoa!
Mama Z: And you know what? I have a bunch of devotionals that I wrote that I haven’t even gone into yet, and stuff.
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: So, we’ve always got plenty of different things to talk about. But if there’s something specific, too, that people want to hear us talk about or rap about, we’re always interested to hear what you want to hear, too.
Dr. Z: Amen. And then we’re believing God. And we’re going to ask you to pray for us before I even share Shea’s review. Just in my spirit, I just feel God telling me to ask you. We need your prayers right now and the next week.
And I know you heard the advertisement. You heard the sponsor. Go to HopeforBreastCancer.com. And this is legit. I mean this is a self-funded project. And it’s starting a movement, and it’s powerful. And the potential here is profound. Like God is starting to give me the vision. And if you listened to a couple of episodes ago, I shared that with you.
I don’t know where this is going. I don’t know what it’s going to do. But please join your faith with us, and that this launch, this global premiere that anyone in the world can watch for free for five days–I mean five days to watch this movie for free—that this starts a domino effect of awareness, of education, of inspiration, and most importantly that people realize that there’s hope.
And I’m praying and I’m believing God that there’s going to be churches that are going to open up their doors for free screenings, that could lead to health and healing ministry time, for worship. I believe that this is going to open up doors so that people individually can be sponsored, because donations hopefully will come to help continue this work, more people, more clinics, more patients, more movies, and that this will be well received by film festivals.
We’re submitting this right now to film festivals around the country. And I’m just asking you to join us. And thank you for this. Thank you for your support, for your love. The feedback that we’ve gotten has been nothing but humbling, nothing but humbling. And maybe you’ve seen the teaser clips. Maybe you’ve seen the trailer. But watching the film from start to finish can truly make an impact on someone’s life. And so, may God get the glory. Amen? Thank you for praying for us and with us and being partners with us in that sense.
So, Shea, I want to thank you for leaving this review, because it was super sweet. She goes, “Hello, Dr. and Mama Z. I just started listening to your podcast, and I absolutely love them. I love your little “snickers” at each other, on down to the detailed stories. Please don’t change a thing.
I also would like to say thank you for inviting us to be with the Lord with you, because I have strayed away from Him,” she says. “I’ve really been feeling the urge to find a church home again. And I know it’s what’s been missing in my life. So, thank you for reminding me that I could have Him back in my life. I look forward to continue to listen and learn from you both. Many blessings to you and your wonderful family. And may you continue to have the strength and happiness to continue down this journey.” Wow!
[14:08 – 22:01] Will You Be Ministry Partners with Us?
Dr. Z: Something, there was a shift. There was a shift. And when we first did this podcast, we had never done podcasts, like really ever. We didn’t know how this worked. And there’s a science. There’s a business with this. We don’t make money on this, by the way. We do this. This is our service. And people do this professionally. And some people make beaucoup bucks. And there’s this whole business model behind it.
Mama Z: Whoa! You mean you’re not going to pay me for this? I’m just kidding!
Dr. Z: Chris gets paid. I don’t get paid. You don’t get paid. I pay you with massages. I massage your feet.
Mama Z: You did a great job, too, by the way.
Dr. Z: You get an hour massage. You fell asleep. An hour last night.
Mama Z: It was awesome! Thank you, by the way. That was very nice. That is my love language.
Dr. Z: So, when we first launched this podcast in February 2019, which is almost a year now, we had no idea. We put it like under the alternative health section. And we didn’t know. We knew we were going to give a very Christ-centered focus of what we do. And we talked a little bit about this, a little bit about that.
But it became abundantly obvious that we needed to label this as a Christian show, because we’ve had some people tell us, “Hey, I wasn’t expecting so much preaching. I don’t believe in God. Can you tone down the message?” And some people have been polite, because they appreciate what we do in the essential oil space.
And some of our Inner Circle members actually did that. And one lady was super sweet. She was super sweet in one of our private groups. She said, “Hey, I really love and appreciate what y’all do in helping people use oils. But do you have to be so preachy on the show?” And my answer is, “Yea.” This is our ministry. Quite frankly, this is our outlet to the world through The Healing Power of Essential Oils, The Essential Oils Diet.
Mama Z: Hey, which was just picked up in Poland.
Dr. Z: We’re in like ten languages now.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: The Natural Living Family website has a lot of different things to it. You know, our Master Classes, Mama Z’s cooking classes, a lot of these things, we did this to help you truly live a natural life. But there are so many more aspects to that when it comes to your emotional and your spiritual component.
And the more we’ve done, especially in the context of the lessons that we’ve learned from this documentary, it really all goes down to the heart. And something, I’ll preface this by saying, one of the most shocking things I learned helping film this and produce this documentary was Angela said emotional recall healing was the most impactful thing she did.
Mama Z: And I remember what she said when she walked in there. She goes, “I had a happy childhood. My family was together. I really don’t need this.” And ten minutes later she was like bawling. We all need it. And you mentioned Shauna last podcast. But when it comes to that, the gist of our friend that talks to people is that everybody has hurts and everybody has places that they have to heal on their journey. And it’s about finding those areas and cleansing ourselves, because it might be just what’s holding us back.
Dr. Z: Yep. And so, that’s why we’re asking you to join us in prayer. I mean be ministry partners with us. And we covet your prayers more than anything.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Because God is guiding us on this journey. And God is directing this whole documentary path. And just something has been stirring in my spirit.
Mama Z: We have had some pretty cool mail, like snail mail that we get. Now it’s been on a regular basis of encouragement.
Dr. Z: Sister Emmanuella, who is our monthly donor, she’s been giving to us. It’s so sweet. We love you, and we appreciate you.
Mama Z: Oh my gosh. She’s so cool. Yes.
Dr. Z: Every nickel, every dime you send your love notes.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Just to sow into the ministry. And we don’t have a non-profit ministry, y’all. I consider what we do a for-profit ministry.
Mama Z: We were told that was the best way to go to give us the freedom to say what we do.
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: But I remember one of our fathers in the faith just saying, “Preaching God’s Word is one of the most expensive things to do.” And I remember thinking at the time, “Oh, I’ve never thought of it that way before.” But then he listed all of the things that are available free to people, but that have a cost.
And I remember in business school, of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody is paying for the lunch at some point, whether it’s ingredients, whether it’s the service, whether it’s all of those things. And so, we truly appreciate your prayers, your love, your support, and all that you sow into our ministry.
Dr. Z: And that the body of Christ catches on to this. And on this note, we’ll transition to the lessons learned. I shifted the category, kind of going back to what I was sharing. We had no idea what we were doing when we started this podcast. And so, we were in this like natural health thing. And then there’s a sub-category of alternative health called self-help. And we were like a top-ranking podcast in that area. Yet, we found that people were looking more for DIY. They weren’t looking as much for the message that we were sharing.
Mama Z: We were kind of like DIY/DIY for life.
Dr. Z: That’s it. And it truly is self-help.
Mama Z: I don’t know if we have DIY self-help. But I mean it really is a combination of just all of the things. And both of us with our past, just our walk with faith and our experiences, we have such a vast just things that have happened to us.
Dr. Z: There is no self-help category for “spirituality/religion.” So, I stepped out in faith several months ago. And I’m like, “Let’s change this. Let’s categorize this as a Christian audience” because were a top-ranking podcast in self-help and alternative medicine and alternative therapies, and we hit new and noteworthy all the big things you do as a podcast. And now it’s like, “You know what? Let’s really shift and help the body of Christ, because that’s really what the focal point of this podcast is.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: If you are a Christian, you are in our heart in a very special way for this particular avenue. This podcast is for you.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Now if you’re not a Christian, we love you. And we invite you to accept Christ. We invite you into the family. And this podcast is for you, too. Yet, I don’t want you to feel alienated because we share Bible verses and we pray. And you’re like, “Well, I’m not a Christian. I can’t receive this.”
Mama Z: And I’ve actually had people say that have reached out, that said, “I’m not a Christian. But I really enjoy your messages.”
Dr. Z: Yea.
Mama Z: Because everybody can get something out of the message.
Dr. Z: And so, that’s where we’re asking you to join your faith. I’m telling you, whether it’s through this podcast, or through the documentary, or through the website, there are other men and women of God around the world doing what we’re doing. And there’s a movement. And the bottom line is Satan cannot steal our salvation.
But what’s happening is a lot of people are being tricked to not think twice about their food, not think twice about their toxic overload, like we mentioned last episode; and cancer is developing. Alarming rates of people are getting breast cancer, dying from breast cancer and other cancers and other diseases. And this is preventable.
And as much as you may have faith that God will transform your McDonalds into something healthy, it doesn’t work like that. This is a message of you reap what you sow. And we are on a mission to help extend your life. Because preacher, pastor, minister, Sunday School teacher, your ministry ends when you die. And we do not want to see that prematurely. We want you to live a long life.
[22:02 – 28:50] Lessons Learned: Preventative Mastectomies
Dr. Z: So, with that said, we are about to, in about one week, we are on the heels. We’re not on the heels. We are kind of on the heels of, we are just ahead of the global premiere of the Hope for Breast Cancer documentary. And there are several things that Chris and Sabrina and I were talking about that we’ve learned. And I want to start this off with the heavy topic of preventative mastectomies.
And Chris, I’m going to throw this at you. Do you remember that scene where the doctor is like, “Okay, you have cancer, and you need to remove your breasts.” Do you remember what Angie said, like her rationale that she was thinking through this?
Chris: Yea. She said, “Well, you’re telling me that the cancer has shown up in my breasts. And so, that’s a trouble spot. So, let’s remove it.”
Dr. Z: Yep.
Chris: But she said, “You’re also telling me that there’s a good chance that it’s going to come back somewhere else and manifest elsewhere.” And she’s like, “So, if we remove my breasts, and then it shows up in my arm, are you going to cut my arm off? Where does it end, basically at that point?”
Mama Z: That’s right.
Dr. Z: What are your thoughts about that, man? Again, as a filmmaker—like you’re not an oncologist. Like this is why I really value your opinion here. Like that’s a bomb. Like wow! What do you think about that?
Chris: I think it’s like, at least in my limited experience with hearing about cancers, especially breast cancer; it’s like that seems to be the go-to the first time anyone is diagnosed. “Well, you have breast cancer. Remove it.” Right?
Dr. Z: Yep.
Chris: And so, I don’t think people really stop and think through that rationale that Angie did. You know, it’s like, “Whoa!” If we remove that, then if it spreads to another body part and we remove that, and it spreads to another, it’s like people don’t really stop and think about it.
Mama Z: Where does it end?
Chris: Exactly.
Mama Z: One of the other things that we also have to note that she said was, “That’s not going to fix the problem. We have to look at the root cause.” But she also said that “unless you’re walking this out, you don’t know what decisions that you’re going to make.” You might say, “I would never choose this or that.” But then if something happened, then you wouldn’t know unless that was a decision you had to make.
And I think we always have to be thinking with prevention in mind. And true prevention, really limiting the things that we know cause inflammation, the things that we have control over. Because if we live life in the American standardized way, then it’s going to affect us a lot more. We have a lot more likelihood of getting some form of cancer, some form of chronic disease, if we do things in a standard American way.
I mean look at our statistics, true statistics. And I think that we do have to look. We have to think with the end in mind always. I mean every day that we’re on this Earth, we’re walking towards Heaven, not away from it. And I think we have to be intentional about how we live.
Dr. Z: So, when Angie was going through this—and this is in the documentary, too. This was pretty powerful. And she’s debating whether or not, what to do. And she’s praying about it. And the doctor says, “Well, if you get one breast removed, we can remove the other one so it’s consistent.” Like that was it.
It’s like a two-for-one deal. It’s like, “Hey, you buy one and you get one free.” It’s kind of how they presented it. It’s like, “Hey, while we’re doing one, we may as well do the other. That way you look level. And things are cosmetically appropriate. And maybe it could help the spread.”
My mind started going towards prophylactic mastectomies. That’s basically preventative mastectomies. And here’s something that’s shocking. I want to share a couple of things with you. Like this again in the context of “Lessons Learned and the Truths Revealed.” Researchers have pointed out that more and more younger women are choosing contralateral prophylactic mastectomies over lumpectomies plus radiation. But only a third of these women have one or more of the risk factors that actually put them at risk of developing cancer.
So, a couple of things about this. This is for people that have not been diagnosed yet. This is for people that “have a gene.” I want you to give some serious thought, if this is you, from following the trend of having breasts removed preventatively, because you think something might happen in the future. This has happened.
And it’s no criticism to Angelina Jolie. But she almost single-handedly created a movement. And this was about six or seven years ago now. But Angelina Jolie decided in 2013 to remove both breasts. Two years later, she had her ovaries and her fallopian tubes removed. And she has been coined by media and medicine alike as a hero. Like, “Hey, I have a gene. And I want to make sure that my kids don’t have to worry that I’m going to die of cancer.” So, she’s going to have essentially almost everything of the organs in her body that define her as a woman removed systematically, one by one by one.
And the reality is prophylactic mastectomies have more than tripled in the last decade. And this is a fact from breastcancer.org. And I’m reading right now from a study: “Studies have shown that removing healthy breasts do not improve survival.” So, if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, let’s say first of all, and you have cancer in one breast, removing the other breast has no bearing whatsoever on your survival. All right?
Now, I’m not talking cosmetic. That’s a whole nother… I do want to talk about reconstruction, though. But if you’re just thinking. If you have healthy breasts right now, and if you’ve been diagnosed with a gene, or it your mother just died or your sister, and you feel like you’re at risk, getting your breasts removed has no proven efficacy, no proven efficacy.
And this is the key, because we want to essentially protect your body. Because like Chris said, what happens then? Are you going to remove my arm? Are you going to remove all of the lymph nodes? Are you going to remove all of the other organs? And you go down a trail where you’re going to end up there’s no end.
[28:51 – 33:59] The Impacts of Mastectomies and Implants
Mama Z: But if you have had this, we want you to know there’s no condemnation. And we want to help you live the best life, your best life now. And there are other preventative things that you can be doing.
Dr. Z: There’s no condemnation. But let’s kind of wrap this up. It’s really important. This is from Johns Hopkins—Johns Hopkins Medicine Research Clinic. Here’s a myth–if I had a mastectomy, I cannot have breast cancer reoccurrence. That’s actually false. There is a very small chance that residual breast tissue or cancer cells can reoccur in the cell wall. And again, this is “having a mastectomy or bilateral mastectomy does not reduce your risk of developing a cancer occurrence elsewhere in the body.”
So, like you said, there’s no condemnation. But here’s the two-fold purpose. This is a lesson learned. If you had your breasts removed, you’re not out. Like you can’t think you’re safe now. Like you can’t think you’re safe. Again, this isn’t condemnation. It’s like, okay, if you elected to have your breasts removed, either prophylactically or because you were diagnosed, you are still at risk as you were before, if your lifestyle hasn’t changed.
Mama Z: Right. And remember what Angie said. This is a different book. This not a different chapter of your life. It’s a different book. And it is.
Dr. Z: Yes.
Mama Z: Because if you already are in the situation with cancer or in a pre-cancerous situation, then you have to get to those root causes. And there aren’t as many—it’s hard to even put it into words. But there are not as many opportunities as you have to make more mistakes when it comes to your lifestyle. You have to be very systematic about how you live in order to make sure that your toxic bucket isn’t overfilled all the time.
Dr. Z: It’s kind of like getting your breasts removed is like a get out of jail free card in Monopoly. You get one or two of those.
Mama Z: Well, it’s hardly a get out of jail free card.
Dr. Z: No, but think about . . .
Mama Z: I mean, that’s a very painful process.
Dr. Z: It gives you a clean slate for a second. But you’re right. I mean that’s the key. It’s like, okay, you have a clean slate for a minute. But what happens five years later? Like we’ve spoken . . .
Mama Z: Right. And this is the thing.
Dr. Z: This is the concern.
Mama Z: This is going to start what we don’t know, right? Because these things, Angelina Jolie, this is a few years back, and that became a movement. But people weren’t doing that before, like preventatively.
Dr. Z: You know what we’re seeing now, though?
Mama Z: And this is what I’m saying. Now we’re starting to see the fruit of what comes of that.
Dr. Z: What’s the fruit?
Mama Z: You’re going to have reoccurrences other places.
Dr. Z: Well, implant illness. This is huge.
Mama Z: Well, that’s the part that I was going to, breast-implant-itis.
Dr. Z: Breast implant toxicity. It’s a known diagnosis.
Mama Z: Right. And so, I’ve read so many of these studies, okay, online. And I’ve seen pictures. And so many people who either opted to have breast implants that did not have cancer, or had them removed and then had, and it’s very painful process from expanders.
Dr. Z: It’s a package deal. It’s like, “Hey, get both breasts removed. Get reconstruction. You’re in and out.” It’s like the way that they make it sound, it’s super easy. It’s super quick.
Mama Z: Some of them are. But I’ve known people who have had to go through the expansion process and the pain of that. I’ve known people who their nipples could not be saved. So, in order to have a nipple like be put on, it had to be done in a certain way so (inaudible; 32:37) looks the same; tattooed in that area so that it looks more natural. And it’s not. And I’ve talked to so many people how they felt about it. And it’s a very big process.
But whether it was silicone or saline, all of those things, above the muscle, below the muscle, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t discriminate. You’re still putting a foreign object in your body. Even if saline is in your body, our body makeup, it is still in a sleeve that is then put into your body. That is still a foreign object. And your body can fight itself against what’s being put in there. And just some of the stories that I read from people having all of these autoimmune type responses to their body. They couldn’t describe it.
Just like black mold, people having all these different issues. They couldn’t describe it. But when they pinpointed back to where it started and then the process of getting those things removed from their body, then the transition period, some of these stories are heart-wrenching.
Dr. Z: They are. They are.
[34:00 – 41:46] Is Fear Driving Your Decisions?
Chris: Well, and it seems like when you talk about prevention, if people are getting these surgeries as a means of prevention, it seems like they’re putting forth their efforts and their focus into the wrong type of prevention. It’s like wouldn’t it be better instead of like starting to lop off body parts, wouldn’t it be better to actually focus on what Sabrina said a bit ago, the root cause of what’s causing this?
It seems like people do what the media tells them to, or their resources or whoever, because they don’t know. So, if they’re hearing from people that are in prominent places in the media, i.e., Angelina Jolie, that’s who they’re getting their information from. But it may help in some cases. But it looks like to me, if I were the one in their shoes, I personally would like to explore some other options. Like what is the root cause of cancer? What causes it? Is it diet? Is it lifestyle? Is it just genetic makeup? I know it’s a combination of all of those.
But your genetic makeup, you’re born with that. But there are some things that are in your control and in your power to affect. You can make positive changes with your diet. You can make positive changes with your lifestyle. And those definitely affect your percentage—not your percentage. But those definitely affect your risk of getting cancer or not. So, I personally would choose to make those kinds of adjustments before I would go to the extreme option of removing a body part.
Mama Z: Well, and the thing is that if nothing changed except for the surgery, we’re not doing anything to have it not come back. You know what I’m saying?
Chris: That’s right.
Mama Z: And we have to think outside of the box, because we have to make changes. Just like Angie said, a different book. And that’s why when in talking to her, one of her doctors said, “You can eat anything you want.” And she’s like she picked and prodded that comment, because we know that’s not true. And I understand that he’s probably thinking in terms of, “You may not feel like you want to eat. So, eat whatever you can just so that you don’t excess amount of weight.”
Dr. Z: That’s what they’re concerned about. They’re concerned about you losing so much weight that you become cachexic, that you just waste away. And that’s a valid concern.
Mama Z: It is a valid concern. But at the same time, she talked about a plant-based diet. And he basically looked at her like, “Yea, of course, that’s going to be great. But that’s almost unreasonable because people won’t do that.”
Dr. Z: You know what he actually said? And this is a deleted scene, by the way. If not, we’ve got to make this a deleted scene, Chris, one of our special bonuses.
Mama Z: Chris is like, “Oh man! I’ve got to put this on my to-do list.” Oh boy!
Dr. Z: Angie said this: “We know. We know plant-based is best. But like you said, “But who can do that? It’s so hard.”
Mama Z: And the thing is, even going through the process of The Essential Oils Diet with so many people, our book, which is how we eat, that was the number one take-away. People said that even doing the first thirty days in a fast track format, where there was no meat, many of the people who did the thirty days, the first thirty days, decided even though they could add some meat back, they decided not to, because they were really surprised that they didn’t miss it.
And with all the factors that go into raising animals and all the things that we don’t know and don’t have control over when they do it, it was really interesting to hear people say, “You know, I really thought that was going to be hard.” Like people who had been through it, who were talking to other people, “I thought that was going to be really hard. But actually, I don’t miss it. I don’t really want to go back to it.” Because we give you that option. And we give some recipes that use meat and other things like that.
But I applaud Angie, because she is an extremist. And she was very strict. And we need to be that militant about our health in a lot of different ways. And I think it’s a good lesson to learn for people, too, because we need to be that passionate about our health in our own life. She did it because her life depended on it. But so does ours.
Dr. Z: So, before we take a quick break here, we have some other fun little things. Some are more serious. This is a very serious note. And I mean spoiler alert. Like Chris mentioned, Angie had a CO2 laser mastectomy, which is maybe the coolest that happened—coolest meaning like, “Whoa! I never heard of that before.”
Mama Z: And she was pregnant.
Dr. Z: Outpatient.
Mama Z: No pain.
Dr. Z: No pain. No general. I mean can you imagine? It was just shockingly amazing to me when Dr. Tony was talking about the benefits of CO2 laser mastectomy. He said, “Yep, no pain, no local anesthesia.” And I was like, “That can’t be. That’s impossible.”
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: But no, it’s possible. It’s awesome.
Mama Z: And just on one side.
Dr. Z: So, this is not a condemnation at all, like Sabrina was sharing.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: We never ever want to come across in a way where someone is like, “You’re judging me. You’re stoning me. You’re condemning me for the decision I made.”
Mama Z: And if you’re feeling that way, then maybe it’s really God tugging at your heart to put some of these other things into practice.
Dr. Z: The purpose of what I wanted to share before we transition into some other interesting things about the documentary that we learned and some truths revealed is that just trust me. I mean I quoted you some of the most reputable cancer-based research institutions in the world.
These aren’t my words. This isn’t Eric Zielinski, director of the breast cancer film. This isn’t Dr. Z, your essential oils guru. This is a researcher telling you preventative mastectomies are unproven. And they’re being done in an alarming rate because of fear-based propaganda. And that’s all I’m trying to say. Let’s not let fear drive us to make an irrevocable, can never take it back type of decision.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: You can never take this one back. I mean you could divorce somebody. You could return your car. You can make a lot of changes. You cannot reverse this change. It’s extremely important that we pray for our friends and family members who are being faced with this decision because they were just given a death sentence.
They had a genetic test, or whatever it might be. And they’re like, “You’re going to have cancer. You may as well just prevent it now.” It’s not proven. It’s still a gamble.
[41:47 – 47:48] Exploring Your Options after Mastectomy
Dr. Z: And by the way, I want to leave you with this, too. If you elect, like Angela… And there’s a lot to Angela’s story, and back and forth and how she was convinced she never would want this surgery. And then she ended up having it. There’s a lot of emotion behind this. And we support her. We love her. She made the decision that was right for her, right?
Mama Z: Absolutely.
Dr. Z: If you have had a mastectomy, or you’re praying about it, I want to also raise the concern that you do not need reconstruction. You’re lovely. You’re beautiful.
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: And your husband, your spouse, they’re going to love you just the way that you are. I do not want you to feel . . . And how can I say this, right, over the airwaves of a podcast? But let me share something significant. It gets deep into your soul. If you decide to do this, the risks far outweigh the benefits. And you’re truly lovely and wonderful in God’s sight.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: And so, I want you to fall in love . . .
Mama Z: And to your spouse.
Dr. Z: With your body. Fall in love with who you are.
Mama Z: Because your spouse didn’t marry you because of your bra size.
Dr. Z: And if he did, you married the wrong guy.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: I mean just flat out, right?
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: And I’m telling you something, and this is the whole mastectomy piece.
Mama Z: I mean even you’ve said it. And this is like being real.
Dr. Z: Hold on a second. Are you sure? This is PG. This is actually family friendly. This is a Christian show.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: Okay.
Mama Z: I have had a lot of children. I have nursed all of them. Things happen between point A and point B to your body. What did you, did you call my breasts like tools, or what did you call them? It was like they are tools.
Dr. Z: I mean they sustained my four children for a decade.
Mama Z: Seriously. And the thing is that your body changes, even in those periods of time. I remember one of my girlfriends was just very unhappy with how her chest looked. And it’s not going to be the same as it was ten years ago or four children ago. You know what I mean? Like some things happened over here. And we have to remember that that’s kind of part of the season of our life. And it comes with the territory.
And so, we have to kind of grow with our own body and know that we’re going to age, and there’s going to be different things. I know I shared this many, many podcasts ago. But my grandparents, they laughed about the changes in the breasts. I remember my grandpa saying, “Oh, what’s the difference between a twenty-year-old and eighty-year-old’s chest?” And he said, “Oh, there’s a belly button between them, because things are in nature heavier. And they grow in a certain way with gravity.”
So, we’re all changing. And we have to be comfortable with our bodies, whether it’s we’re getting grayer hair, or we have . . . We all have to walk out our own aging process.
Dr. Z: I mean this is a big deal. I get it. How am I going to look in a bathing suit? There’s a lot. I get it. There’s a lot, especially the larger the original breast is. Like if you have D cups, it’s more noticeable than if you just had A’s. And I understand that.
But all I’m trying to say is this. I want to leave you with this note, and then we’re going to break. Unless you go completely non-toxic, which there are now becoming more and more options. So, just don’t do regular implants. Please don’t. Just don’t. You have to go look to more of an alternative, natural, non-toxic approach.
And just don’t take my word for it. Type up right now on Google, “breast implant toxicity.” Type up “breast implant illness.” And you know when it gets legit when insurance companies are covering these explants. And right now insurance companies are covering explants, like when they remove the implant because of toxicity.
You know when the medical institution will start paying for stuff that it’s validated. So, again, it’s not me. I just want to say, don’t go the conventional route on this one. If you choose to have a breast removed, really give your body some time to heal.
And that’s one thing I love about Angie. She didn’t run right into reconstruction. She is giving her body time. Even today, she hasn’t done reconstruction. Praise God! And if she chooses a route, I hope and pray that it’s more a completely natural, non-toxic route. And we also need to be demanding and asking and seeking out that the research be done to produce a non-toxic, because what we have is not good for you.
Mama Z: But like you said, the thing is, it’s your body. And they have other ways of making things look even. It doesn’t have to be something . . .
Dr. Z: Yep.
Mama Z: It doesn’t have to be something that’s a permanent thing. It really doesn’t. And don’t feel pressure to do that either way. You should never feel pressure to go under the knife for any reason. And always take a step back and pray about it. Really, if you look at the pictures online along with the things that he has asked you to Google, it is alarming.
Dr. Z: It will shock you.
Mama Z: It will.
Dr. Z: All right folks, Hope for Breast Cancer —Lessons Learned, Truths Revealed.” We’re going to take a quick break. Then we’re going to go right at it.
[47:49 – 48:54] Special Invitation: Hope for Breast Cancer
Mama Z: More than half of you listening to this will be affected by cancer at some point in your lives, either personally or through a loved one.
Dr. Z: The first thing that goes through your mind is dread, fear, and the never-ending question, can this be cured?
Mama Z: My dear friend, Angie, went through this exact experience, a wonderful mom and wife. She was the picture of health. And a breast cancer diagnosis in 2017 shocked her to the core. It changed everything for her.
Dr. Z: The Hope for Breast Cancer documentary follows her story as she navigates the maze of cancer therapies to uncover some shocking truths about herself, her faith, and about her health.
Mama Z: Visit HopeforBreastCancer.com (that’s h-o-p-e-f-o-r breast cancer dot com) to reserve your seat for the upcoming global premier and to be the first to watch the free viewing when it airs.
Dr. Z: We promise tears, laughter, and most of all, hope.
[48:55 – 53:13] Walking Out YOUR Healing Journey
Dr. Z: All right, welcome back to episode 41 of Natural Living Family Podcasts. This is part two of “Lessons Learned, Truths Revealed” from the filming of “the Hope for Breast Cancer documentary. Chris, I’ll pass out the mike to you.
Chris: Yes. I wanted to mention something about healing. And this is coming from the perspective of a believer. So, that’s the perspective that I’m bringing to this. But I know that God is able to heal instantaneously, and He does do that. He did that for me one time. He miraculously restored hearing to one of my ears. I had some hearing damage from going to a loud concert. So, it’s true it happens that way.
But healing doesn’t always happen overnight instantaneously. And my wife went through a process of healing. She went through a healing journey in another area. And it wasn’t overnight. It wasn’t instant. And it was work, you know?
Mama Z: Walk it out.
Chris: She had to walk it out. And so, it’s been neat to see this with Angie, too. And so, it’s been really cool to see Sabrina and Angie kind of team up as prayer partners. And it’s all through the documentary. It’s so cool. Every time something happened, they prayed, right?
But even still, in the midst of that, God didn’t instantly remove that tumor and heal her miraculously in an instant. It was still a process. And she had to walk that out, right? And she did chemo. She did the natural therapies. And it all worked together to bring her to a place of healing now, where she is cancer free. So, I just wanted to put that out there for someone who’s listening who maybe if they didn’t receive that instantaneous healing, don’t lose faith and don’t lose heart. A lot of times God will work things in us to draw us closer to Him.
Mama Z: That’s right.
Chris: And so, I’m not going to say that He’s the one that gave her cancer. I’m not going to say that. I personally don’t believe that.
Mama Z: Yea, that’s not the case.
Chris: But He can walk someone through the healing process and do an amazing work in them at the same time.
Dr. Z: What do the survivors say? Remember at the clinic? And then what did Angie say? She found purpose, her life purpose, a mission. And what did other people say? “I had no idea I was on a road to destruction until I got . . .”
Folks, one thing I’ve seen, this was wild. The first person I ever helped, I actually was coaching them, said, “Cancer saved my life.” That was someone who recognized that cancer is that red light sign that comes up on your dashboard that says, “Hey, something is wrong with your engine.”
Now that doesn’t happen after the engine dies. It’s like, “Hey, something is up.” It’s a warning that the engine is going to die unless you do something. And people that get it, they get it. They understand it. They just allow God to do a work in them and see a cancer diagnosis as that wakeup call that shakes them. That hopefully will propel them to a much better, fruitful, healthier life.
Mama Z: Absolutely. And we know for people who are still waiting for their journey, we talked about this before. But we know that you have to have faith in the whole process. And we know that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” But we also know that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
And so, for people who are still believing for their healing, never lose sight of your hope, because God is not done yet. And we won’t ever know, and I heard this at a funeral once, and I know it. But we don’t know will we get our healing on this side of Heaven or the other side? We don’t know exactly how our journey will completely be walked out. But we do know that “by His stripes we are healed.” And we have to walk out our journey. And that’s in every area of our life.
[53:14 – 55:36] The Untapped Power of Journaling
Chris: And you know, it really is a walk of faith. And one thing I want to touch on, I know in the previous podcast episode, Sabrina mentioned journaling with respect to particularly like a health journal and that type of thing. But I would also encourage people to do like a spiritual journal. So, like life happens to everybody. We all go through ups and downs and hard times and challenges.
But when you start journaling those things, and once you get some years under your belt and you get way past those things, then those become really neat points that you can look back on. And you can see how the Lord just walked with you and guided you through each and every one of those things. He’s not going to let you sink in the middle of it, right? He’s going to help you through.
And so, once you get on the other side of it, then you have the ability to look back, because hindsight is twenty/twenty. So, then you have the ability to look back and see exactly how He led you through this little maze to get where you are. And you also begin to realize the work that He’s done in you through taking you through that journey.
One of the neat things that I did maybe about a year or two ago, is I made a list of different milestones that had happened in my life, where there was a big change that happened, a directional change, or a real challenge that He brought me through. And it was really cool. It was almost like looking at a roadmap, where you could look back and you could pinpoint and say, “Ah, this is how He brought me here.” And it’s such an amazing thing.
Dr. Z: It’s the altars. Every time something happens, God is like, “Hey, stop here. Put some stones together. This is an altar.” And now we’re still talking about this three, four, five thousand years ago. That was physical. That was their version of a journal, right?
Chris: Exactly.
Dr. Z: And now we do have a journal. I mean what do you think the Bible is, y’all? The Bible is a journal.
Mama Z: That’s right.
Dr. Z: I mean that’s really what it is. It’s God saying, “Hey, write down this. Journal it down. Write the vision.”
Mama Z: And we know that “the trying of our faith works patience.” And we talked about that in a previous podcast.
Dr. Z: Yep.
Mama Z: And we have to realize that what the Devil meant for bad, God will always use for good, especially if you have a purpose, too, as well. And so, I applaud Angela, because she has, and she will continue to use it to inspire other people.
[55:37 – 58:00] The Ultimate Breast Cancer Bundle – Your Educational Empowerment Tool
Dr. Z: So, one thing that we put together for people that watch the free screening of the Hope for Breast Cancer documentary is an “Ultimate Breast Cancer Bundle.” And it includes a lot of the information, not all of it, but most information that was compiled through expert interviews and research and all the things that helped empower Angie to make the decisions that she did. And one piece, Chris, is that devotional journal.
So, I wanted to just plant a seed in y’all. When this thing opens up next week, and when you can and if it’s within your budget, buy this package. And make sure you get the platinum package, because we’re going to give you a bonus. That’s the journal. It’s a devotional prayer journal that we put together.
And there’s one aspect. I kind of glossed over it earlier on. But Angie talked about one of the most impactful things that happened of all the therapies was the emotional recall healing. And she really was able to go back and just be ministered to on a very deep spiritual level, and forgive and let go and just let God heal her spirit. And part of that was her journaling.
And so, she also kept her devotions, though. And we all should. She was in the Word of God more than ever before. And she was praying, and she was seeking. But when you combine that, when you combine the devotional, when you combing the journaling, when you combine the prayer aspect of it, something wonderful happens. And it becomes a very healing experience.
And so, that’s one thing that we want to give you all for joining that and supporting the mission. Just to remind you, we funded this. And with the help of our friends at The Independent Cancer Research Foundation and Cancer Tutor, this thing was completely self-funded, from all the treatments that Angie received, to the documentary, to now giving everyone free screening, to this podcast. All this stuff costs money, and God provided.
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: So, we want to invite you to join us and partner with us in that sense. So, yes, partner with us in prayer, like we mentioned earlier in the show. But if you can afford it, partner with us.
Mama Z: You know what? Definitely partner with us, because we would like to do more of these types of things.
Dr. Z: Buy a package for a friend. I mean, you could buy two, three, or four of these things for all of your friends and family members who have been diagnosed and people that need to watch this movie. And get the devotional prayer journal and all the things that you have.
[58:01 – 1:02:04] The Cancer Journey from the Caregiver’s Perspective
Mama Z: Even some of the extra things that you have about being a caregiver and all of that stuff, I think that after watching different people tell me in the process of going through this, “I didn’t know even what to do, and I had to figure it out.”
Dr. Z: Yep.
Mama Z: And to have tools to help you, so many people I know wish they would have had those kinds of tools.
Dr. Z: Amen!
Mama Z: Yea.
Dr. Z: And that was one of the key take-aways that I took away towards the end of the film. Chris and I call it “The Manifesto Section.” It’s like everyone is giving their manifesto. We’ve got manifesto music. And Sabrina is like, “This is what you do as a friend.” And moms, “This is like what you do.”
And Felipe, Angie’s husband, says something that really, I never thought of it this way. It really like stopped me. He goes, “It’s as hard for the spouses as it is for the patients.” He goes, “You need support.” And if you’re a caregiver, if you’re a spouse, a loved one, a partner, family member, and if you’re living with someone especially, you need to get counseling and support.
Mama Z: Yes.
Dr. Z: And that’s another drop, a little take-home drop-bomb I’ll leave you. If you’re listening right now, and if you’ve been affected by cancer through a loved one, you need to take care of yourself. And I won’t forget. I was shopping actually a couple of years ago. And I was at TJ Maxx, getting some luggage, whatever it was.
And one of my professors from college, I saw her. And I had never seen her out in public. And I asked her how she was doing. And she told me she actually became a caregiver for a loved one who was dying of cancer. And she literally forced herself to leave to go shopping just so she could have some “self-time and self-care time.” And she was like, “I just needed to get out.”
And between work and care, work and care, you need to get out. You need to find a babysitter. You need to do whatever you’ve got to do so you can breathe. And we actually include a whole guide, and there’s a lot, how to schedule, how to manage. But there’s a lot of stuff, y’all. There’s a lot of stuff that we learned through this experience. Unless you personally go through it, you don’t think about those little things.
Mama Z: Right. Well, I think it’s important, too, because when you are a caregiver, and I’ve watched this, a lot of times you’re stuffing a lot of your emotions down, because you don’t want to affect the person who’s going through the healing journey. And I’ve seen people leave the room to release emotion and other stuff like that.
And I think it’s really important that your self-care has to be important, too. You don’t want to get into the same situation. But in the end, you want to walk away from it still in a healed state, too, and not regret anything. You need to keep yourself free and cleansed.
And make sure that you make time to also spend with God, too, because if you’re pouring yourself out that much, you need to be filling yourself up with the right things. Get some preaching MP3s and some other Word in you, even the Bible on tape. You need to have those times away.
There are many, many times that watching loved ones and family members go through this that they were pretty depleted. And the thing is that you have to be in that place so that you continue giving care, too, because sometimes you don’t have a decision of whether you are able to give care or not. And it’s important to make sure that you are able to be as sensitive to their needs as you are also to yours, too.
[1:02:05 – 1:07:35] Using Natural Therapies and Customizing Your Healing Journey
Dr. Z: All right, y’all. Let’s do a quick rapid fire before we get into a part three situation here. Let me tell you one thing I learned and I’ve always known. But I really reinforced what I learned. You always use natural therapies. It is virtually never ever contraindicated to eat well, ever. It’s not contraindicated to diffuse your essential oils. It’s not contraindicated to do your body good. Get some vitamin D. Go outside and get some sun and exercise. Hang out with your family and friends. Always, always improve your health.
Do not listen to the doctor if she or he tells you, “You can eat what you want.” Don’t listen to them if they say, “Hey, you know . . .” I mean what’s wrong with eating some high vitamin fruits and vegetables and getting out and getting some vitamin D or diffusing your essential oils? I’m telling you something, it’s not contraindicated.
I’m not talking targeted medicinal supplements that could affect your physiology. I’ll leave that to the experts. I’m not giving medical advice here. But I’m telling you something. It’s very common sense that was very much expounded upon in the documentary through the experts, but also Angie. And her doctor was like, “You’re right. It can’t hurt you.”
But one part of the documentary we cut out. Again, there was so much we had to cut out because we could only fit an hour and forty-five minutes. The doctor was like, “Look, we don’t really know what’s going to happen. So, we just recommend not to.” Like, wow! Are you kidding me? That’s medicine currently. So, at the end of the day, you always improve your lifestyle. It’s always what you want to do. Whether you choose chemo or radiation, that’s up to you.
The other thing, and then I’ll leave it up to Chris and Sabrina, so they can wrap up their round robin here. How long do you wait? Here’s a question you have. Angela gave natural therapies six to eight months to do its work. And then the cancer didn’t improve. And, in fact, it started to grow, and she got really afraid. And so, she decided on chemo. If Angela would have waited twelve to eighteen months, twenty-four months, would natural therapies have worked? I don’t know.
But you know, I’m not going to judge her for doing what she did. But one thing I learned is she waited as long as she could. You have to wait. You have to give your body a chance to heal. And here’s the thing. She didn’t run to surgery first. She didn’t run to chemo first. She did what she knew how to do best at first, right? And according to what she shared, I mentioned what she shared in the last podcast, she holds the mammogram very much responsible for the cancer spreading. And maybe; we don’t know.
So, how long do you wait? You’ve got to give your body time until the point that you feel uncomfortable. And you don’t want to get into the situation like Felipe was freaking out. He was like, “Look! Enough is enough. You’re not feeling good. You’re getting sick. This thing is growing.”
Mama Z: She had been on her bed for four days.
Dr. Z: You’ve got to do something, right? Well, that was after chemo, though. I mean the tumor was growing. If your tumor is growing to the point where you’re uncomfortable, your family is uncomfortable, and if you’ve given it some time, maybe that is when you start to really consider going more of the medical route.
But that’s the question that I kept on asking myself. How long do you wait? How long would I wait if I were diagnosed with cancer? I’m not going to go to my deathbed not doing anything I can, not doing everything I can to save my life, right?
Mama Z: Right.
Dr. Z: But the bottom line is this: you have time. And like Dr. Tony shared, like 0.1 percent of all cancer cases are significant emergencies. Bowel obstruction, esophageal obstruction… You have to poop. You have to breathe. Other than that, you have time. And so, give your body some time, pray, do natural therapies the best that you can. Seek out an integrative oncologist if you can. And then once you reach that place like, “You know what? I’m not getting the results when I want it.” You’ve got to consider all the other methods.
But I just want to encourage you, though, there is time. But there also is a breaking point. And I know people that have juiced their way to death. You don’t want to do that. I mean there are documented cases out there of people out there who wouldn’t do surgery, who wouldn’t take a drug, and they juiced themselves to death. And you know what? I don’t know that’s wisdom. I give Angie credit for customizing her protocol in a way that was not the all-in-one approach that everyone is taking.
So, anyway, that’s what I got. A couple of things about natural therapies. How long do you wait? Chris, a couple of last-minute tips? And Mama Z, what have you got?
Chris: Yea, I think what was very interesting to me as well was all the different alternate therapies that are out there. I would encourage everybody to get the documentary and check it out, because there are some really cool things in there as far as like alternate therapies. Some of them are photodynamic therapy, hyperbaric chamber therapy, laser light therapy.
Dr. Z: That was interesting.
Mama Z: Yea.
Chris: Infrared therapy. So, just a lot of different things that I had never heard of. I had heard of hyperbaric, but that’s about the only one. So, there are other options out there to kind of assist as well with good diet and exercise that really make a difference.
Dr. Z: You have something else, though. What else do you have? Another one? I thought you had a good one. We were talking about it at the break. Anything else? I’m putting you on the spot. You crossed everything off your list? That’s good.
Chris: Yea. The other thing . . . Oh! The other thing . . . Thank you for the reminder, sir.
Dr. Z: I knew it.
[1:07:36 – 1:12:01] Resources for You: Samaritan Ministries and the Hope4Cancer Clinic
Chris: The other thing was there is a group called Samaritan Ministries.
Dr. Z: Yes, thank you.
Chris: Samaritan Ministries. It’s a health . . . I don’t what it’s classified as. A health share organization?
Dr. Z: Yes, it’s a health share, health share of medical expenses.
Chris: Yea. It’s not insurance. It’s health share. And so, I didn’t realize that they actually cover some of these alternative methods of therapy. You don’t hear about that. Typical insurance, there’s no way in heck they’re going to cover that, right?
Dr. Z: Yea, especially sending someone overseas and paying for their treatments for a year.
Chris: Yea.
Dr. Z: And we met how many people? And we have it in the survivor stories. Several people have gone to the Hope4Cancer Clinic and a hundred percent was covered by Samaritan Ministries.
Chris: Yes, wow!
Dr. Z: That was a shocker.
Chris: Yea. So, check them out guys.
Dr. Z: And check out Christian health care services like Samaritan. Mama Z, a couple of last-minute things? What have you got?
Mama Z: Yes. So, Angie asked me, “What would you do if this was you?” And one of the things that I loved about the Hope4Cancer Treatment Center, not just because I know the people that own and run the center, but the environment that it offered. And I know that there are other places similar. But all of the different types of treatments and modalities that they have there that they offer under one umbrella, it’s made very customizable. And you are unique. When God made you, He threw away the mold. And we all are very individual. And so, it’s what our needs are.
And I think it’s really important that if you find that you are in a situation where your doctor is not on board with you, that if you’re doing poorly and they’re not willing to change the kind of care that you’re getting, then you are their patient, but you are also the one that’s paying the bill. And you need to make sure that you have a relationship with your health care provider or providers that you feel comfortable with, and that they do care for you.
You’re not just a number. You’re not just stuck in a hospital room and on the twenty-four-hour clock. You feel like you are the individual person that God created, that you are cared for and loved. And you need to be able to feel that. And you need to able to understand about your care, what is the program, so that you understand, so that you can be feeling better, and that you’re not just walking out what you’re doing, not knowing if there’s an end in sight.
And the other thing is that in the process, and I don’t know if this is in the deleted scenes or not, but during all of Angela’s treatments, she listened to praise music, and all different kinds of praise and worship music. And sometimes our victory is in the walking it out. But sometimes it’s really turning our praise back to God.
So, find where your praise is. And sometimes our victory, like that song, “Joy Comes in the Morning,” find what really moves you spiritually. And really give honor to God. He’s the one that created you. He has the power to heal your body. And really focus your praise to the Lord.
Dr. Z: Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, my love, I appreciate you. Brother Chris, love you, man.
Mama Z: Yep.
Dr. Z: This has been a lot. I mean we could easily make this into a part three and part four. But you know what? We’re going to let Angie speak for herself next week. That’s it. Mama Z, we have a special natural living tip for you.
Mama Z: We’re going to pray. All right.
[1:12:02 – 1:14:29]
Mama Z: Heavenly Father, God, I just pray over each and every person, whether you’re in a healing battle, you’re a part of a family that’s in a healing battle, or you’re a caregiver, or you’re a healthcare provider. God, we just pray over each and every one of you.
First of all, we pray for healing. We pray for healing in people’s bodies that need it, from the top of their head down to the soles of their feet. We just thank you, Lord, that by Your stripes we are healed. And I just thank You, God, for perfecting those things that concern us in our bodies, about our care, every area. God, you wipe away all the tears.
And so, I just thank You, Lord, for being with us, to walk us out through each and every experience, healing journey, and all that we are going through, because life happens. And I just thank You, God, that you’ve been at our side throughout these things as well for us and our family.
And I just pray over each and every person, that God, You would just shield them with your favor, that you would guide them and lead them to their perfect mix for what you have for their healing journey, that You would help customize your plan for their life. And we just commit all those things to you, God, because we know that whatever has happened, Lord, you will use it for good. You will use it to reach people and souls.
And we just thank You, God, for your healing power. We know that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead does live within us, God, through Your Holy Spirit. And we just thank You, Lord, for healing people, even right now listening to this message. God, I just pray for healing power and strength for those going through the battle, Lord.
And for people that are caregivers, God, be the wind beneath their wings, Lord, to lift them up when they feel down. And God, help each and every one of us. Lord, your grace is sufficient. So, we just thank You, Lord, for supplying all of our needs. And we thank you, God for what you’re doing in and through each and every one of these people’s lives hearing this message now. And I thank you, God, for what You will do in the future, and for all of Your healing power. In Jesus’ name.
Dr. Z: Amen.
[1:14:30 – 1:15:05] Special Invitation: Hope for Breast Cancer
Mama Z: Don’t forget, the free screening of the Hope for Breast Cancer documentary starts November 6.
Dr. Z: Simply go to HopeforBreastCancer.com (that’s h-o-p-e-f-o-r breast cancer dot com), and you’ll get instant access to some behind the scenes footage and some other sweet goodies while you wait for the film to premiere.
Mama Z: And please share this with a friend. The information and hope shared in this film could be a world of difference for someone in need. God bless!
[1:15:06 – end] Episode WrapUp
Dr. Z: Well, folks, we appreciate you, and we love you. And we thank you for listening and tuning in. And we invite you to stay tuned next week, where we’re going to be interviewing Angela. And it was a pre-recorded interview. And it’s going to be super sweet. And if you have a chance, make sure you go on You Tube, because she’s real cute. She’s got a little baby bump. And this is what now, six months ago, I think, right? Five months ago?
Mama Z: It was in May.
Dr. Z: Yea, so about five months ago, actually almost to the day five months ago that we filmed her. So, be sure to tune in. And also, if you like this show, leave a review. Go to NaturalLivingFamilypodcast.com. Pick up the transcripts and the show notes. And join our private Facebook group, because this is what we’re about. We’re just about community, about helping, and about loving y’all. We appreciate you. Thank you so much for tuning in. And as always, this is Dr. Z.
Mama Z: And Mama Z.
Dr. Z: And Chris, our special guest the last two episodes. Our hope and prayer are that you and your family truly experience the abundant life. God bless y’all. Bye, bye.