April 16, 2025 • 36 mins
In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Believe in Progress, the podcast presented by the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation, host Mitch Stoller sits down with Chef AJ—renowned plant-based chef, bestselling author, and host of the popular YouTube channel "Healthy Living with Chef AJ." With over 47 years of experience in whole-food, plant-based nutrition, Chef AJ has long championed the power of healthy eating.
But in early 2023, her journey took an unexpected turn with a stage 3 lung cancer diagnosis—an experience she publicly shared for the first time in November 2024. Now, Chef AJ is using her platform to speak candidly about cancer, nutrition, and what it means to live with purpose through adversity.
This conversation explores:
• Chef AJ’s transformation from “junk-food vegan” to whole-food advocate
• Her surprising cancer diagnosis and the emotional aftermath
• The evolving role of nutrition in cancer prevention and healing
• How community, mindset, and hope fuel her journey today
• What she’s learned from survivors, support groups, and sharing her platform
Whether you’re navigating cancer, exploring a plant-based lifestyle, or searching for stories of resilience and hope—this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
Don't forget to visit Chef AJ’s website and YouTube channel, to explore her books, including "Unprocessed" and "The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss," and access her “Thriving in the Face of Cancer” video series.
If this episode moved you, here’s how you can make a difference:
• Support cancer research by donating at AACR.org
• Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen
• Share this episode with someone who might benefit from hearing Chef AJ’s story
Also see:
Chef AJ's Bestselling book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JC8LHLZ?...
Chef AJ's Amazon store: https://amazon.com/shop/chefaj
Chef AJ's Social Media:
Instagram: / therealchefaj
Facebook: / chef.aj1
X: https://x.com/therealchefaj
Production Credits:
• Host: Mitch Stoller
• Guest: Chef AJ
• Executive Producer: Anthony Lopes
• Executive Producer: Michael Leary
• Associate Producer: Heather Holland
• Director: Anthony Lopes
• Creative Director/Director of Photography: Michael Leary
• Editor: Michael Leary
This episode is produced by CollegeCast LLC.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chef AJ (00:02):
I have all these photos of all your polyps, their size, their location, and now there's nothing there.
So how did this happen if you didn't have surgery?
And I said, well, you know, I changed my diet.
He goes, well, that's impossible.
Mitch Stoller (00:13):
Welcome to Believe in Progress, the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation Podcast.
Join us and be inspired by the incrediblestories of those who have faced cancer with strength and resilience, and the medical
professionals who are working tirelessly tofind new treatments and ultimately a cure.
Believe in progress isn't just about the science ofcancer, it's about the human side of this disease.
(00:37):
Together we can make progress in the fight againstcancer and bring hope to those who need it most.
What happens when a celebrated plant-based chefwho has spent decades teaching people how to heal with food finds herself facing cancer?
How does someone who has spent her lifeadvocating for health navigate her own diagnosis?
(01:01):
These are the questions we'll explore intoday's episode of Believe In Progress,
the podcast brought to you by the AmericanAssociation for Cancer Research Foundation.
I'm your host, Mitch Stoller, chiefPhilanthropic Officer at the A A CR.
Today we have a truly inspiring guest, chef aj.
She's a renowned plant-based chef, bestsellingauthor, and educator with over 47 years of experience in whole food plant-based nutrition.
(01:28):
You may know her from her hit YouTube channelHealthy Living with Chef aj, or from one of her many books, including Unprocessed, how to
Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weightand the Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss.
For decades, chef AJ has been a championfor health eating, providing that food can be nourishing and delicious.
But in early 2023, she was diagnosedwith stage three lung cancer, a reality she publicly shared in November, 2024.
(01:55):
Now, she's using her massive platform,not just to share her signature.
Salt-free, sugar-free and oil-free recipes.
But to talk about cancer, health andresilience, we will include links to Chef
AJ's books, website, and social mediaaccounts in the show notes for this episode.
So please go to the show notesif you want to follow Chef aj.
(02:15):
We're interested in one of her books.
While you're in the show notes, make sure youalso subscribe to this episode and maybe share
it with a friend or family member who mightbenefit from listening to our conversation.
In this episode, we'll discuss Chef AJ's personaljourney from junk food vegan to whole Food advocate.
Her cancer diagnosis has reshaped her mission,the role of nutrition in cancer prevention and recovery, and how she's using her platform to
(02:43):
educate and inspire others facing health challenges,the mindset and lifestyle changes that have helped
her navigate this new chapter, chef AJ's storyis one of passion, purpose, and perseverance.
Whether you're interested in plant-basedeating, seeking inspiration, or navigating a health journey of your own.
This is an episode you won't want to miss.
(03:04):
Chef aj.
So nice to have you here.
Chef AJ (03:06):
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Mitch Stoller (03:08):
I really would like you to talk a little bit about, you know, how you got started, you know, as, as Chef aj, I.
Chef AJ (03:15):
Well, I think I got started as chef aj, uh, when I was eight years old.
That would've been 1968 because Ireceived an easy baked oven for Hanukkah.
Okay.
And I was just fascinated with, uh, Iactually became a pastry chef when I did, after graduating culinary school.
Not like an executive chefthat was making savory foods.
I, I just thought that was the coolest thingbecause there's, with baking more so than
(03:38):
cooking, there's like science involved, youknow, like the way things rise and just like.
Well, first of all, I've always loved dessert,but like being eight years old, you could
look in the little window and this lightbulb like a cake would like magically appear.
And so I really think that that's kind of what startedme out being Chef AJ was getting this easy baked oven.
But then when I was 11 years old, I usedto live in the south side of Chicago and my parents wanted to move to California to be with
(04:03):
all of our other relatives, but it took a lotlonger to sell the house in my dad's business.
So for a year, my sister and I livedin California with an aunt and uncle.
And my uncle, who was my mother's brother,married a lady who was French Swiss, and
her mother, who's we called Meme, livedwith them and Meme was a cordon blue chef.
She had a five star restaurant in Switzerland.
(04:24):
She didn't speak English, but she madethe meals every single night from scratch.
She never wrote down a recipe and it was so sadwhen she passed away, we didn't have her recipes,
but I watched somebody actually make a mealevery single night from scratch, and it was so.
Fascinating because she didn'tuse any processed foods really.
(04:44):
I mean, she went to a store, there's a storestill there in North Hollywood called Gelson's.
And you know, she, she'd buy the freshstuff and, and, and, and at 11 years old I was eating things like leeks.
I mean, what 11-year-old eats leaks.
Right.
But she, she, she made, and it was very rich.
It was French food.
And it was the most delicious.
It was literally like eatingin a restaurant every night.
But it just fascinated me watching herbecause she didn't use recipes, and that's my favorite way to cook or bake.
(05:09):
I, I, it was so hard for me to writefour books because people wanted recipes and I'm like, I, I don't use recipes.
It's kind of like intuitive.
But she, she would just take ingredientsand then a pair G would appear.
And so I think that just kind of.
You know, it instilled in me that how fun cooking was.
A lot of people think it's a chore, and I,I do think there's certain parts of it, like
(05:30):
chopping onions, but nowadays you can buychopped onions that are kind of tedious.
But I think it's a, just a beautiful art form.
And, and the best thing about it is like, unlike otherart forms, if you make a mistake, you get to eat it.
So.
Mitch Stoller (05:42):
Right.
Chef aj?
Um, I'm, I'm based in Philadelphia.
I'm just curious, where'd you go to culinary school?
Chef AJ (05:48):
I went to culinary school in California.
It was a raw, vegan, culinary school called,uh, living like Culinary Arts Institute.
But believe it or not, I went to Penn
Mitch Stoller (05:55):
early on.
You went there for, for a coupleyear or did you go all four years?
Chef AJ (05:59):
I, I only made it until, I think I, I went there freshman year, sophomore year, and part of my junior year.
Uh, do they still have the frog there?
That was a really fancy, finerestaurant in Philadelphia.
The fraud,
Mitch Stoller (06:09):
I don't.
If they do, I, I'd have to ask my guys here, butI'm not really sure if, if they have that or not.
I asked you about the culinary school, 'causeI know in Poughkeepsie there's a big, a famous Culinary School of America, I think it is.
Um, nice.
Nice.
There's there's a
Chef AJ (06:22):
few of them.
Yeah.
What about book binders?
Is that still in Philadelphia Book binders?
It's,
Mitch Stoller (06:26):
it's it closed, but I think they're trying to perhaps reopen it.
Why plant-based?
Why did you want to go in that direction?
Chef AJ (06:33):
For me, it, it, it was always about the ethics.
Uh, that is the whole reason I became vegan.
And, and, you know, and, and so when peoplesay, see, your diet didn't save you, and
it's like, well, I would've done it anywaybecause I was doing it for ethical reasons.
I was always just kind of a squeamish kid.
Like, you know, like, youknow, I remember once somebody.
Took me fishing and just the idea of likeputting the hook on this like living worm or living, like I just, I just loved animals.
(06:57):
What could I tell you?
And I wanted to be vegan as a child.
I didn't have that word by the way, 'causeI don't think it necessarily existed.
But I always struggled with eatinganimal products, just the visual of them.
And the, the nice thing about being raised Jewish andkosher is that there was a lot of animal products I just never ate because they, they weren't allowed.
So I never had a cheeseburger or bacon or porkchops or clams or shrimp or crabs or lobster,
(07:22):
or all these things that people find delicious,or even like, you know, a pepperoni pizza.
So there weren't very manyanimal products to even eat.
But the ones that were there, I just.
I just, I was always disgusted by them.
Like if, if there was a rare piece of meat,I could only eat it if it was the end of the roast where it was burned beyond recognition.
Or I could only eat something if, like,if ground beef was like in a chili.
(07:43):
But if it looked like it, even as alittle kid, I said, I can't eat this.
And my mom was respectful of that.
So we never had things like ribs or like lamb chopsif it had a bone or, oh gosh, God forbid, fish.
Like, I could eat tup 'cause it was in a can.
Mm-hmm.
But I, you know, I I, the way they would alwayssurf fish at restaurants, the bone and the head was on and it's like, that's an animal.
I couldn't eat that.
(08:03):
And so I didn't, you know, but, but again, youknow, there was this con and there's still a
misconception today that if you don't eat animalflesh, you're not gonna get enough protein.
So my mom said, well, youknow, you have to eat animals.
But she made it in a way where I didn't have tothink about it, but the day that I left home.
For Penn, September 1st, 1977, prettymuch I became an instant vegan.
(08:24):
The problem was, is for the first 26 years, I wasa very unhealthy obese, vegan, because you say
Mitch Stoller (08:30):
junk food, vegan, right?
Chef AJ (08:32):
Yeah, they call it a vegetarian, because I wasn't doing this for health, by the way, until I was 43 years old, which was.
22 years ago, I had no idea that food hadany impact on us at all on your health.
I, I, I mean, I just figured everything was genetic.
I'm, I was, I was actually obese.
I was 70 pounds more than I weighed now.
I just figured this is my genetics, food hasnothing to do with anything, and I just ate what I liked and I took out the animal products.
(08:56):
And then what happened is after 26 years of the,I've been vegan 47 years now, I had a wake up call
because, and, and it's funny because now that Iactually have cancer, I wonder like, oh boy, maybe.
You know, I, I think back to the fact thatI was actually diagnosed with pre-cancer in 2003 if there is such a thing.
So what happened was he's on January 1st, 2003.
(09:18):
Shortly before my 43rd birthday, I started bleedinginternally, like every time I used the bathroom.
And at the time I had an HMO that wouldnot do a colonoscopy on me, which I think like today they would've, but no, no.
You because you didn't have a motheror a father that died of colon cancer.
It didn't matter.
They had other relatives with colon cancer.
All they would do was a sigmoidoscopy on me.
(09:39):
And they found that my sigmoid colon was riddled withwhat they actually called emus, pre-cancerous polyps.
And they said, if we don't removethese, you will get colon cancer.
Well, the thing was, is because I had such ahorrible diet until the age of 43, meaning,
uh, it, it might have been vegan, but itwas Coke, Slurpee, and Dr. Pepper and.
Every kind of candy cake, cookie pie and ice cream.
(10:01):
But it was vegan and I never had any fiber, I neverhad fruits or vegetables or whole grains and legumes.
I don't wanna say never, but itwas not a large part of my diet.
They weren't able to remove the polyps duringthe normal procedure as they normally can because my, my, my colon, they called it was dirty.
'cause even with the prep, they couldn't seeto get these polyps without risking infection.
(10:22):
And they told me that I was going to haveto come back and have actual, like surgery, like where they cut you and it's like.
When I, so this, this is why it's been so hard forme to get lung cancer treatment because when I was
a teenager, I had an allergic reaction to a generalanesthesia Mm. And difficulty getting un intubated.
Mm-hmm.
And I ended up almost on a ventilator, but inthe hospital for a very, very long time for what was going to be a same day procedure.
(10:45):
And, and since then, I actually developed atrue phobia of surgery and anesthesia, which
is why I haven't had my lung removed yet,even though that's what they wanted to do.
Anyway, so, so that's when I learned for thefirst time that what we eat has a profound
effect on how we look and feel, and what diseaseswe get and what diseases we can't reverse.
Now, I know now that diet isn't everything.
(11:07):
It's important, but what I'm learningis because my diet has been pretty much pristine and stellar for the last 21 years.
So how did I get cancer?
Well, the diet.
It can certainly help.
And I believe that it helped me delay thisdiagnosis and maybe have the tumor grow solely.
I don't know.
The way it's been described is means your dietis a seatbelt and we wear a seatbelt because
(11:29):
that's the law number one, but also becauseit can often protect us in a serious accident.
But that doesn't mean it's ahundred percent protective.
Right.
Right.
And that's kind of how I feel about diet.
And so many oncologists now aresaying, it doesn't matter what you eat.
And even at the infusion center where I go.
The only snack available is cheese and pudding.
And I happen to be allergic to milk, and theysell in the vending machine at the hospital
(11:53):
where I go Suter, you know, Cheetos and Snickers,and there's not one healthy thing to eat.
But anyway, after having this, uh, this sigmoidoscopy.
And finding out I would need surgery.
What happened is I, I said no.
'cause I was too afraid.
And so I ended up going to a place called theOptimum Health Institute in Lemon Grove, near, near
(12:13):
San Diego, California, and that's when I learnedthat, wow, what you eat has a, a, a huge impact.
And so I followed.
Not just a vegan diet, but a whole food,plant-based diet without sugar, oil, salt, or flour or caffeine or alcohol.
And their diet was raw.
I did not stay raw.
So I, I, I call it sofas free, nosugar, oil, flour, alcohol, or salt.
(12:34):
It also had no caffeine.
It was basically unprocessed.
Mm-hmm.
Meaning foods that come from a plant, ratherfoods that are manufactured in a plant.
And I followed that way of eating.
And then three months later I went backto have another sigmoidoscopy, and I got the same doctor, interestingly enough.
And he told me that all the polyps were gone.
That my colon was clear, clean,and vascular, like a newborn baby.
(12:54):
And he wanted to know where I had the surgery.
And I said, but I didn't have surgery.
He goes, well, I have all these photosof all your polyps, their size, their location, and now there's nothing there.
So how did this happen if you didn't have surgery?
And I said, well, you know, I changed my diet.
He goes, well, that's impossible.
And when he left the room, there was a, anassisting GI doctor who I believe was Indian.
(13:15):
From her accent and then shewhispered, so he couldn't hear.
Well, I believe you.
And it was then that I realized thatthat food does matter, you know?
And, and yes, genetics does.
Genetics is still maybe one of the most importantthings about life and how long we live, but how
well you eat and your other lifestyle habitscan really determine on how how well you live.
Mitch Stoller (13:36):
Right, right, right.
So, um, you were diagnosedstage three lung cancer 2023.
Could you talk to us a littlebit about that diagnosis?
Chef AJ (13:44):
I first was diagnosed at stage one, and it was when it wasn't.
When after I got to stage three,that's when I realized, do this talk.
You know, I, do you ever watch Scooby-Doo course?
Do you ever watch the Scooby-Doo show?
Of course, yeah.
So I love Scooby-Doo.
I have a huge Scooby-Doo collection thatI'm actually trying to donate, and I wish one of the cancer places would take it.
'cause it's, I, I need to let it go now so that Ican buy a second refrigerator because I'm juicing.
(14:05):
And, but anyway, that's an aside.
But, um, in Scooby-Doo, you know,they always would say, you know.
In, in, in the, in the movies like ZombieIsland, like this time, the monsters are real.
And so now it's like, thistime the cancer is real, right?
So it all started, oh my gosh.
And this happens to so many people.
Um, incidentally, they're, they're called, they'recalled pulmonary incidental pulmonary nodules.
(14:26):
So in other words, I neverhad a symptom of one cancer.
And I, and to my knowledge, I still don't, other thanthe symptom of terrible anxiety from having cancer.
Right.
But I never had, you know, I am anasthmatic and I do have adult COPD, but I, I had, didn't have any lung symptoms.
And what happened is when I moved fromSouthern California to Northern California,
I got had to get all new doctors and itturned out I had a urinary tract infection.
(14:50):
That was misdiagnosed is interstitial cystitis.
I did not have a very good doctor when I moved hereand it turned out all I had was a simple UTI, but he was treating me for a disease I didn't have.
That was horrible to think you have it.
'cause it was so painful because I had anuntreated UTI and I had to get all these
procedures and, and, and it was just, andI said to my primary doctor, I said, look.
(15:12):
I am in these groups forpeople with interstitial sitis.
I do not have this disease.
I don't know what it is.
This was until it was determined.
All I had was a UTI, but I said, please look forsomething else that's causing this severe pain.
So they ordered an abdominal uh, CT scan, mayhave been an MRI, but they ordered something.
It was just abdominal and itwas with and without contrast.
(15:33):
And this was now August of 2022.
And it picked up that I had four millimeter.
They called 'em nodules ortumors on my lung and my liver.
And so of course, being a highlyanxious person, I was very alarmed.
And the doctor said, oh, youknow, don't worry about it.
You know, sometimes they're just scarringtheir nothing, and you seem healthy and fine.
(15:54):
But in six months we'll doa full CT scan of your lung.
So six months happened to be my birthday, March 22nd.
And the last thing you wanna do on yourbirthday right is have CT scan, right?
So I'm getting very good at memorizing dates.
So the day after my birthday, March 23rd, I hada lung CT scan and it showed that I had a 14 millimeter speculated nodule on my left lower lobe.
(16:17):
And.
I didn't, I didn't know what any of this meant.
My doctor, my primary doctorsaid, well, you know, don't worry.
Um, 'cause 'cause it could be something else.
'cause it can, you know.
Mm-hmm.
They can be, there can be fungal infections, there canbe things that, that, that aren't necessarily cancer.
And he said, well, we'll do a PET scan.
So I had a PET scan.
And then on April 14th, 2023.
(16:39):
Through my chart.
You know, we, there's no m Remember the old days?
I mean, you look maybe like you're oldenough to remember when you used to go
to a doctor and if they had bad news orsome news, you'd get a call on the phone.
This is Dr. So-and-so, and they would tell you,you know, well, that's not the way it is today.
You have your phone or, and you have thisthing called My Health online, right?
(16:59):
And everything is dumped in your chartright before the doctor even sees it.
Not very
Mitch Stoller (17:03):
personal.
Chef AJ (17:03):
And that's kind of one of the worst ways to be diagnosed with cancer, especially because it
was 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning, which meansthere was nobody I could even contact for 48 hours.
And it was like, it was like rightbefore I was supposed to go on the air with my show and it's like, oh my God.
So that was very, very, very stressful.
So it, so that, that was stage one a adenocarcinoma.
(17:25):
But here's the thing, I didn'thave a lung biopsy until.
Of 2024 last year, and that's kind of along and convoluted story, but it was.
The, the reason I didn't have a lungbiopsy, you know, there's a saying in ca in cancer treatment, no meat, no treat, right?
If you don't have tissue.
And, and the reason is, is the tumor was,I was willing to do whatever they said
(17:48):
in terms of getting imaging even everythree months, which I think is a lot.
But now I generally do six months of PET or ct.
And I was, I was, they were willingto do what was called watchful waiting 'cause I didn't have any symptoms.
And they, the tumor was small and itappeared to be very, very slow growing.
Now, of course.
I had the option of getting my lung removed.
(18:08):
I saw a thoracic oncology surgeon.
He said, well, we can take it out.
But we can't get any clear margins, um, becauseit's like less than two millimeters from your aorta.
There were no metastases at the time.
And the thing is, is because of my pasthistory with general anesthesia, it just didn't sound like something I wanted to do.
And I, and before I had gotten involved inthe cancer space, talking to so many people
(18:30):
now that have had complete lobectomies,you know, it did not sound like a cakewalk.
This operation, even when it's done wellwith robotics, the people that I've talked to said it is a very difficult operation.
They've even used the phrase, Ifelt like I was run over by a truck.
And so I wasn't really excited about thissurgery, um, to lose my entire left lower lobe.
Especially because having COPD, I didn'tthink I had the lung function to do it.
(18:55):
And, and I couldn't get pulmonary function testing.
'cause at the time my insurancewouldn't even pay for it.
And I thought, well this doesn'tsound like a very good thing.
So, so.
The thoracic oncology surgeonsaid, well, you can have radiation.
And so I went for a consult and she wasvery nice, the radiation oncologist, and she
said, well, you the kind we do here at, atmy, at our medical institution is called.
(19:16):
Photon, you need proton.
And so I went to look at some of the otherinstitutions like Stanford and UCSD, but because I didn't have Medicare yet, they
for FO for Proton, they don't pay for itand it's like really, really expensive.
But then when she told me like thepotential side effects are to radiation it.
I mean, it sounded maybe lessscary, at least the mm-hmm.
(19:37):
Um, having of it than the surgery.
But I mean, there are someserious side effects you can get.
Some people don't, but I was so concernedbecause the tumor is so close to my heart that I had a cardiology consult.
I. She said yes, it's a real thing.
I, you know, there have been people that have hadto have open hearts, that have had to have open heart surgery afterwards or have heart transplants.
I mean, they do their best, but I'm thinking, howare you gonna hit the tumor without hitting my heart?
(20:02):
And it's in the, and then the swallowing thing.
So, you know, I'm not saying I will neverhave surgery or never have radiation.
I, I, you know, I learned in life.
Never say never, but they didn't sound like.
Great options to me, especially when Ihad no symptoms and it wasn't growing.
So, um, as far as getting a medical oncologist, thattook a lot longer, it took about a year and a half because of the way the system is right now, it is
(20:25):
very hard to get a doctor, at least where I live,but also because I couldn't get a doctor without.
A biopsy, a tissue biopsy, andjust like the old saying, mm-hmm.
You can't get a show on Broadwayuntil you get a show on Broadway.
Well, I couldn't get a tissue biopsy becauseat the time when it was 14 millimeters, the people that I was seeing at my medical
(20:47):
institution said, that's very hard to biopsybecause it's right in the center of your chest.
It's really small.
And um, and, and what the surgeon was sayingis even if it is cancer, if it is cancer.
You can still have a biopsy that does, showsit's not cancer and so, so I was basically told I couldn't get a biopsy and until you get an
(21:07):
oncologist, you can't get any of the supportiveservices that you've now that I now get like the free wig and going to the support groups.
But finally I found an oncologist that waswilling to see me even, but still was a long
way to get to her because I paid $2,200 of myown money to get what's called a liquid biopsy.
And the liquid biopsy showed, and they said with96.7% accuracy that I did have lung adenocarcinoma.
(21:32):
Mm-hmm.
So I saw her for the first time in October of 2020.
I. Four.
And I said, look, and like, you know,they, they can't do chemotherapy without a tissue biopsy or immunotherapy.
And, you know, she said, well, what do you wanna do?
And I said, well, I really don't wanna do anything.
I really don't wanna be here.
Right.
And I said, I'd like to just continue to dowatchful waiting for a little bit longer.
(21:55):
So then when I had my imaging in, I guessit was October or November or 2024, um.
I actually had heard about this new kind ofradiation therapy, uh, called the Reflexion Machine.
I, I, I had lunch with a gentlemanthat happened to work on the machine.
It was just such a coincidence, andhe was talking about how this machine is really great for lung cancer.
(22:17):
It's FDA approved.
Medicare pays for it.
And they can even maybe, uh, deal with metastases.
And at the time I didn't know I was stage threeand I thought, well, that, that sounds great.
This sounds better.
So I scheduled an appointment at, witha radiation oncologist at Stanford to see if I could have this done.
'cause I kind of felt like I'd be ingood hands with Stanford, a major medical institution known for its cancer care.
(22:40):
This machine sounded amazing, buthe wanted imaging and unfortunately.
The imaging showed now I am stage three with ametastasis in the bronchial lymph node, no longer eligible for this particular type of radiation.
And so then like I, I joked with Scoobydo this, that, that freaked me out because it was like being diagnosed twice.
(23:01):
Right.
Is like being.
It's like, like the first time was just kindof being hit in the, like slapped in the
face and the second time was being punched sohard, like I don't know if I'm gonna get up.
And so that's when I, I decidedto have the lung biopsy.
I was scared to have the lung bi.
Well now the tumor was either, it was either 21 or28, but now it was big enough for them to biopsy and I. Went to an interventional radiologist and
(23:24):
I, because I'm anxious and because of my pastexperience with anesthesia, I said, before you do this, I'd like to have a face-to-face consult.
He agreed.
I said, look, I'm the most anxious patientyou ever could meet, and I will do this if you'll do this with no anesthesia.
And he goes, not even, uh, local.
I go, no, local's fine.
Not even the sedation, no propanol.
He goes, okay, I can do it.
(23:44):
And he did.
And he said, you know, when it was 14, hesaid, I don't think I would've gotten it.
And he did get it, but I did get a pneumothorax,but I did get the tissue and I was very happy.
I did because I am a very strong matchfor an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda.
And I was.
Always like, I mean, you know, you don'talways get to choose what you want in life.
(24:04):
Life.
Of course not.
But I was thinking that just this was in my head,just from the holistic type doctors I see who are kind of not fans of necessarily chemotherapy.
I was thinking in my head, boy, wouldn't it be greatif I was a match and I was a strong match and so
I'm gonna be, I, I did have one treatment which kindof went bad because they gave me an infiltration.
Mm-hmm.
Which means I did not get all of the drug.
(24:25):
Uh, but I'm hoping Stanford.
We'll want to continue that.
And I also have an appointment with the City ofHope, and I'm, I'm very comfortable doing that.
Mitch Stoller (24:33):
How do you feel, I mean, you, your, your energy level is, is outstanding and you, you look great.
I mean, how, how do you feel?
Chef AJ (24:39):
Well, I feel physically, I feel fine.
Yeah.
And this is the thing.
It's like, I keep, it's funny, I keep, I'm, Ithink I'm going through those five stages of grief.
Over and over and I, I, I go, I go throughthem different times and I, I feel like in a
lot of the times I'm in denial because I'm notthinking about cancer because I feel so well.
Right.
That said, I'm in a lot of support groups and a lotof people say that unfortunately with certain types of cancers, you don't feel it until it's so far advanced
Mitch Stoller (25:06):
support groups helpful for you.
Chef AJ (25:09):
They are overall helpful, but they can be sad as well.
Of course.
And this is, this is the thing, becausewhat happens is, what's great about
support groups is you get information thatyou may not get on on the street, right?
Because these are, but when you meet people,like, like I met an angel and I literally call him an angel because I met a guy who befriended me.
(25:31):
And I didn't even ask him to, like, I was thinkinglike to myself, like, I wish I could have this.
Like I, I was a little shy.
I was like.
He's 17 year lung cancer survivor, and I'm like, God,I wish I could talk, you know, but I was a little shy
on the zoom, and then he ended up looking me up andthen contacting our help desk, and he's there for me.
Like I have, I have, I can text him and he walkedme through the lung biopsy the night before.
(25:52):
He, you know, it's, it.
So without going to groups, it might behard to meet people like that, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But then again, the, everybody else is goingthrough this and so they're not always doing well.
And so far I haven't lost any.
Uh, anybody in groups I have lost.
Yeah.
So, so this is the problem with cancer is likeyou're, when you make, when you make friends with
(26:18):
people with cancer, they're not, it's, it's kind oflike, I think about, you know, saving private Ryan.
You know, no one is left behind, but with cancer,
some people are going to die.
Mitch Stoller (26:34):
I understand that.
Chef AJ (26:35):
You don't know who they are.
So, you know, it's, I recently just lostsomeone who was diagnosed two months after me.
She, um, was a non-smoker.
She was, um, a medical professional.
She was my, my friend's sister and we,we, you know, we were kind of buddies and we took classes together and then I.
(26:55):
You know, everything was working.
Sorry.
It's, it's just not at all.
Mitch Stoller (27:00):
It's, it's emotional.
I'm, you've got this wonderfulplatform that you mm-hmm.
You have on YouTube.
Talk about that a little bit.
Chef AJ (27:07):
The cardiologist called me and he, 'cause he saw that, he said, you know, he's a man of faith.
And he said, well, now God is usingyou to do your greatest work to help people in a even more meaningful way.
But it's like, couldn't he, couldn't he havechosen something a little bit, um, less scary.
Right.
You know?
Right.
But, but I feel like if my sufferingcan help somebody, then, then.
(27:28):
What, what am I supposed to do?
And I was kind of, not retiring, butI was doing YouTube every day for like four years and three months.
And then the doctor said, look, you just haveto slow down, like the ones that knew, like you gotta, you know, you gotta slow down a little bit.
And so I said, okay, well I'll just do it once a week.
But when this happened, I did a seriesin January of 2025, all 31 days, and I called it Thriving in the Face of Cancer.
(27:53):
And I'm very proud of it.
It's free on my YouTube channel and on podcasts,it, it was where I interviewed, um, many doctors,
some oncologists and um, also survivors, andjust people that maybe people didn't know about.
And I tried to do, like, this is the resourceI wish I had because when I was diagnosed, especially since I was keeping the secret.
(28:14):
I had no resources.
Right?
I didn't know that you could contactGoTo for lung cancer or Iman's Angels, right, and get a buddy, right?
I did not know that there were places whenyou needed a wig that actually specialized in.
You know, not just giving you like some generic wig.
Um, I, I, I, there was just so many thingsI didn't know and that I wish I had known and I wanted to give that to people.
(28:40):
'cause maybe somebody after me is gonnago through this and know how scary it is.
I didn't know that.
Even if you don't go to a certain hospital,that as long as, and even if you don't have an oncologist, that if you can contact a social
worker, that you can be in a support group forcancer in general or for your specific cancer.
(29:01):
'cause I would've done it.
This is real.
Real life is real and sometimes people aredoing well and sometimes they're doing poorly.
But I feel overall that they're a good thing and.
I mean, cancer is so scary.
I wish you know, you know, did you ever see the movie?
It's a Wonderful Life.
Of course.
Yeah.
One of my favorite movies.
So, you know how Clarence, the Angel, likehe showed George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart, what his life would've been like?
(29:25):
Oh, it would've been differentif he had died that day.
Mitch Stoller (29:27):
Right, right.
Chef AJ (29:28):
I, I wish that we could all get an angel, like Clarence.
I mean, it could be a human person,just put their arm, like, give you a hug and like just tell you they're sorry.
Like, yeah.
I, I had gone to so many doctors and it was likeI happened to go to an immunologist because I
wanted her to try to unwind these, um, allergy,um, to see if I ever could get anesthesia.
(29:53):
And it was in the fir, this was just a fewmonths ago, and it was the first time in like the two and a half years since I dealt with this.
Like she, like, she, she actually looked at me andshe said, gosh, I'm really sorry you have cancer.
Like, I don't know what's happened inmedicine, but it's so like, I mean, that was like the biggest deal to me.
Mm-hmm.
Like, you know, that a doctor said, I'm sorry.
Right.
(30:13):
You know?
Mitch Stoller (30:14):
Right.
Chef AJ (30:14):
Like, like she meant it and like very
Mitch Stoller (30:16):
human emotion.
Yeah.
And it's
Chef AJ (30:18):
like, like, I wish they could give you a person.
And I kind of have that in Francis in a way.
Mm-hmm.
But that, that somebody, that it could havebeen a little easier for me to just kind
of, and that's, that's what I'm kind ofdoing with thriving in the face of cancer.
And what I notice about peoplewith cancer is that they.
I have not met one person with cancer, no matter howadvanced they are or whether or not they're a survivor that isn't willing to help somebody else with cancer.
(30:45):
I've, I've never been in like, um, AA or anything likethat, but I can imagine that that's kind of maybe like
the idea, you know, like somebody that's walked inyour shoes, people are just in this space, so kind.
Mm-hmm.
And they'll share with you.
Mm-hmm.
Everything.
And I've never met like a group of people that.
Are so giving and helpful, honestly.
Mitch Stoller (31:06):
Chef aj, will you continue to put like this type of content that you did for those 31 days in your show?
Chef AJ (31:12):
Yeah, that's what I wanna do, because I'm also learning too, when I do it, it helps me too.
Yeah, of course.
You know, especially when somebody's hopeful.
I mean, I just loved the messagesthat were given in the 31 day.
Thriving in the face of cancer.
Because the last question is, whatwould you say, you know, what message of hope would you share with someone?
Um, currently facing a cancer diagnosis andevery single person gave a message of hope.
(31:37):
You know, like, like Dr. William Lee said,he has seen people go from stage four.
To zero.
Right.
And so, you know, I, I have these little,these people give me these bracelets.
Mm-hmm.
You know, that like this onetoday is faith that says hope.
Right?
And so there are days, and again, it'snot just cancer, other, there are other diseases that people have that that.
Scary.
You have to have hope.
(31:58):
Like that is literally the most importantthing to have, I think, in life.
Yeah.
You know, faith or hope or whatever.
Right.
Um, that's why we call this,
Mitch Stoller (32:06):
we call this belief in progress.
'cause you have to have beliefand you have to have hope.
And there's no doubt about that.
I have a question.
Do you counsel families about their, youknow, if they're like, I actually know a young man, uh, a 6-year-old young man.
Which name, we'll leave his name out, but, um, isa kind of a problem eating, trying different foods.
Do you counsel families?
Chef AJ (32:26):
I don't anymore.
I used to, but I have great people thatI can refer people to that do that.
I mostly, you know, in, in the chefspace, I love to do cooking demos and I love to teach people how to cook.
So that part, but, but, but I think I canfind somebody that could, could, could help a, a young child like that actually.
Mitch Stoller (32:43):
Because I think what.
I've learned from reading some of your, yourinformation though, 'cause nutrition does play a really important part in somebody's growth, right?
Chef AJ (32:52):
I think so.
I, I, I mean, absolutely.
You know, I mean, I ate very poorly for thefirst, I'm gonna say 43 years of my life.
And, and, um, I think it, I think it makesa difference, you know, there, you know,
everybody says, well, my aunt was 105 andsmoked cigars and, you know, whatever.
But that's not necessarily your genetics and.
You know, there's a saying, um, genetics loadsthe gun, but lifestyle and diet pull the trigger.
(33:14):
So, you know, it was, it was, you know, being dibeing who I am and being diagnosed, I was embarrassed.
You know, here I am, chef aj, telling people, andpeople like, well see, your diet didn't work, but did it, did it, did it not work or did it delay?
Something and make it slow growing, you know?
I don't know.
I'm not, you know, um, but I, butI'm not gonna give it up anyway.
And I, you know, I, I'm, I feel like, you know,I'm still using nutrition as part of the tools.
(33:38):
You know, you might be familiarwith the work of Dr. Kelly Turner.
Uh, radical Remission, radical Recovery.
And one of the things that all cancersurvivors seem to have in common is nutrition.
And that doesn't mean they all arefollowing a vegan diet, but they have improved their diet in a profound way.
There wasn't much left.
For me to, to improve other than now I'm doingthings like juicing every day because I feel like, you know, it's giving me that extra burst.
(34:02):
And, um, yeah, it's, uh, it'squite a journey, as you say.
Mitch Stoller (34:07):
Well, um, I, I have to tell you, you are, you're, you're full of energy and passion and I love that.
I, I love the Clarence analogy 'cause I happento love that movie and it's, it's so true.
It's so very true.
I can only tell you that, you know, wework really hard at trying to fund the best research around the world and.
As you were talking about, uh, Keytruda,you know, our work had something to do with that and, and many other things as well.
(34:29):
So what a great honor it is for me to, to spenda few minutes with you, learn more about what you do, and I have a feeling you're gonna be just fine.
I think you've got a great attitude.
Ken.
Thank you enough for giving us a fewminutes of your time today, chef aj.
Chef AJ (34:42):
Oh my gosh.
Thank you.
Thank you so much and best of health to everyone.
Watching or listening,
Mitch Stoller (34:46):
chef AJ's story is a powerful reminder that health is a journey, not a destination.
From her decades of plant-based advocacy to herrecent cancer diagnosis, she continues to inspire
us with her resilience, knowledge, and dedicationto making healthy living accessible to all.
If this episode moved you like me,here's how you can take action.
(35:08):
Explore Chef AJ's work.
Check out her books, unprocessed andthe Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss.
To learn more about plant-based eating andvibrant health support cancer research@acr.org.
Your donations help fund groundbreaking studies thatlead to better treatments and outcomes for patients.
Follow Chef AJ on YouTube and social media.
(35:29):
Stay up to date with her journey, recipes andinsights into cancer, nutrition, and wellbeing.
Share.
This episode help spread the messageof hope, resilience, and the power of nutrition in the fight against disease.
Chef aj, thank you for sharing yourjourney and your wisdom with us today.
Your passion for health and healing is an inspiration.
To our listeners, thank you fortuning in to believe in Progress.
(35:52):
Remember, cancer Research saves lives andyour support really does make a difference.
Subscribe to the podcast, share this episodeand stay tuned for more inspiring stories.
And remember to believe in progressin the Fight Against Cancer.
This episode was produced by College CastLLC, and like Chef AJ said, hope, hope, hope.
(36:16):
Thank you so much.
I have all these photos of all your polyps, their size, their location, and now there's nothing there.
So how did this happen if you didn't have surgery?
And I said, well, you know, I changed my diet.
He goes, well, that's impossible.
Mitch Stoller (00:13):
Welcome to Believe in Progress, the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation Podcast.
Join us and be inspired by the incrediblestories of those who have faced cancer with strength and resilience, and the medical
professionals who are working tirelessly tofind new treatments and ultimately a cure.
Believe in progress isn't just about the science ofcancer, it's about the human side of this disease.
(00:37):
Together we can make progress in the fight againstcancer and bring hope to those who need it most.
What happens when a celebrated plant-based chefwho has spent decades teaching people how to heal with food finds herself facing cancer?
How does someone who has spent her lifeadvocating for health navigate her own diagnosis?
(01:01):
These are the questions we'll explore intoday's episode of Believe In Progress,
the podcast brought to you by the AmericanAssociation for Cancer Research Foundation.
I'm your host, Mitch Stoller, chiefPhilanthropic Officer at the A A CR.
Today we have a truly inspiring guest, chef aj.
She's a renowned plant-based chef, bestsellingauthor, and educator with over 47 years of experience in whole food plant-based nutrition.
(01:28):
You may know her from her hit YouTube channelHealthy Living with Chef aj, or from one of her many books, including Unprocessed, how to
Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weightand the Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss.
For decades, chef AJ has been a championfor health eating, providing that food can be nourishing and delicious.
But in early 2023, she was diagnosedwith stage three lung cancer, a reality she publicly shared in November, 2024.
(01:55):
Now, she's using her massive platform,not just to share her signature.
Salt-free, sugar-free and oil-free recipes.
But to talk about cancer, health andresilience, we will include links to Chef
AJ's books, website, and social mediaaccounts in the show notes for this episode.
So please go to the show notesif you want to follow Chef aj.
(02:15):
We're interested in one of her books.
While you're in the show notes, make sure youalso subscribe to this episode and maybe share
it with a friend or family member who mightbenefit from listening to our conversation.
In this episode, we'll discuss Chef AJ's personaljourney from junk food vegan to whole Food advocate.
Her cancer diagnosis has reshaped her mission,the role of nutrition in cancer prevention and recovery, and how she's using her platform to
(02:43):
educate and inspire others facing health challenges,the mindset and lifestyle changes that have helped
her navigate this new chapter, chef AJ's storyis one of passion, purpose, and perseverance.
Whether you're interested in plant-basedeating, seeking inspiration, or navigating a health journey of your own.
This is an episode you won't want to miss.
(03:04):
Chef aj.
So nice to have you here.
Chef AJ (03:06):
Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.
Mitch Stoller (03:08):
I really would like you to talk a little bit about, you know, how you got started, you know, as, as Chef aj, I.
Chef AJ (03:15):
Well, I think I got started as chef aj, uh, when I was eight years old.
That would've been 1968 because Ireceived an easy baked oven for Hanukkah.
Okay.
And I was just fascinated with, uh, Iactually became a pastry chef when I did, after graduating culinary school.
Not like an executive chefthat was making savory foods.
I, I just thought that was the coolest thingbecause there's, with baking more so than
(03:38):
cooking, there's like science involved, youknow, like the way things rise and just like.
Well, first of all, I've always loved dessert,but like being eight years old, you could
look in the little window and this lightbulb like a cake would like magically appear.
And so I really think that that's kind of what startedme out being Chef AJ was getting this easy baked oven.
But then when I was 11 years old, I usedto live in the south side of Chicago and my parents wanted to move to California to be with
(04:03):
all of our other relatives, but it took a lotlonger to sell the house in my dad's business.
So for a year, my sister and I livedin California with an aunt and uncle.
And my uncle, who was my mother's brother,married a lady who was French Swiss, and
her mother, who's we called Meme, livedwith them and Meme was a cordon blue chef.
She had a five star restaurant in Switzerland.
(04:24):
She didn't speak English, but she madethe meals every single night from scratch.
She never wrote down a recipe and it was so sadwhen she passed away, we didn't have her recipes,
but I watched somebody actually make a mealevery single night from scratch, and it was so.
Fascinating because she didn'tuse any processed foods really.
(04:44):
I mean, she went to a store, there's a storestill there in North Hollywood called Gelson's.
And you know, she, she'd buy the freshstuff and, and, and, and at 11 years old I was eating things like leeks.
I mean, what 11-year-old eats leaks.
Right.
But she, she, she made, and it was very rich.
It was French food.
And it was the most delicious.
It was literally like eatingin a restaurant every night.
But it just fascinated me watching herbecause she didn't use recipes, and that's my favorite way to cook or bake.
(05:09):
I, I, it was so hard for me to writefour books because people wanted recipes and I'm like, I, I don't use recipes.
It's kind of like intuitive.
But she, she would just take ingredientsand then a pair G would appear.
And so I think that just kind of.
You know, it instilled in me that how fun cooking was.
A lot of people think it's a chore, and I,I do think there's certain parts of it, like
(05:30):
chopping onions, but nowadays you can buychopped onions that are kind of tedious.
But I think it's a, just a beautiful art form.
And, and the best thing about it is like, unlike otherart forms, if you make a mistake, you get to eat it.
So.
Mitch Stoller (05:42):
Right.
Chef aj?
Um, I'm, I'm based in Philadelphia.
I'm just curious, where'd you go to culinary school?
Chef AJ (05:48):
I went to culinary school in California.
It was a raw, vegan, culinary school called,uh, living like Culinary Arts Institute.
But believe it or not, I went to Penn
Mitch Stoller (05:55):
early on.
You went there for, for a coupleyear or did you go all four years?
Chef AJ (05:59):
I, I only made it until, I think I, I went there freshman year, sophomore year, and part of my junior year.
Uh, do they still have the frog there?
That was a really fancy, finerestaurant in Philadelphia.
The fraud,
Mitch Stoller (06:09):
I don't.
If they do, I, I'd have to ask my guys here, butI'm not really sure if, if they have that or not.
I asked you about the culinary school, 'causeI know in Poughkeepsie there's a big, a famous Culinary School of America, I think it is.
Um, nice.
Nice.
There's there's a
Chef AJ (06:22):
few of them.
Yeah.
What about book binders?
Is that still in Philadelphia Book binders?
It's,
Mitch Stoller (06:26):
it's it closed, but I think they're trying to perhaps reopen it.
Why plant-based?
Why did you want to go in that direction?
Chef AJ (06:33):
For me, it, it, it was always about the ethics.
Uh, that is the whole reason I became vegan.
And, and, you know, and, and so when peoplesay, see, your diet didn't save you, and
it's like, well, I would've done it anywaybecause I was doing it for ethical reasons.
I was always just kind of a squeamish kid.
Like, you know, like, youknow, I remember once somebody.
Took me fishing and just the idea of likeputting the hook on this like living worm or living, like I just, I just loved animals.
(06:57):
What could I tell you?
And I wanted to be vegan as a child.
I didn't have that word by the way, 'causeI don't think it necessarily existed.
But I always struggled with eatinganimal products, just the visual of them.
And the, the nice thing about being raised Jewish andkosher is that there was a lot of animal products I just never ate because they, they weren't allowed.
So I never had a cheeseburger or bacon or porkchops or clams or shrimp or crabs or lobster,
(07:22):
or all these things that people find delicious,or even like, you know, a pepperoni pizza.
So there weren't very manyanimal products to even eat.
But the ones that were there, I just.
I just, I was always disgusted by them.
Like if, if there was a rare piece of meat,I could only eat it if it was the end of the roast where it was burned beyond recognition.
Or I could only eat something if, like,if ground beef was like in a chili.
(07:43):
But if it looked like it, even as alittle kid, I said, I can't eat this.
And my mom was respectful of that.
So we never had things like ribs or like lamb chopsif it had a bone or, oh gosh, God forbid, fish.
Like, I could eat tup 'cause it was in a can.
Mm-hmm.
But I, you know, I I, the way they would alwayssurf fish at restaurants, the bone and the head was on and it's like, that's an animal.
I couldn't eat that.
(08:03):
And so I didn't, you know, but, but again, youknow, there was this con and there's still a
misconception today that if you don't eat animalflesh, you're not gonna get enough protein.
So my mom said, well, youknow, you have to eat animals.
But she made it in a way where I didn't have tothink about it, but the day that I left home.
For Penn, September 1st, 1977, prettymuch I became an instant vegan.
(08:24):
The problem was, is for the first 26 years, I wasa very unhealthy obese, vegan, because you say
Mitch Stoller (08:30):
junk food, vegan, right?
Chef AJ (08:32):
Yeah, they call it a vegetarian, because I wasn't doing this for health, by the way, until I was 43 years old, which was.
22 years ago, I had no idea that food hadany impact on us at all on your health.
I, I, I mean, I just figured everything was genetic.
I'm, I was, I was actually obese.
I was 70 pounds more than I weighed now.
I just figured this is my genetics, food hasnothing to do with anything, and I just ate what I liked and I took out the animal products.
(08:56):
And then what happened is after 26 years of the,I've been vegan 47 years now, I had a wake up call
because, and, and it's funny because now that Iactually have cancer, I wonder like, oh boy, maybe.
You know, I, I think back to the fact thatI was actually diagnosed with pre-cancer in 2003 if there is such a thing.
So what happened was he's on January 1st, 2003.
(09:18):
Shortly before my 43rd birthday, I started bleedinginternally, like every time I used the bathroom.
And at the time I had an HMO that wouldnot do a colonoscopy on me, which I think like today they would've, but no, no.
You because you didn't have a motheror a father that died of colon cancer.
It didn't matter.
They had other relatives with colon cancer.
All they would do was a sigmoidoscopy on me.
(09:39):
And they found that my sigmoid colon was riddled withwhat they actually called emus, pre-cancerous polyps.
And they said, if we don't removethese, you will get colon cancer.
Well, the thing was, is because I had such ahorrible diet until the age of 43, meaning,
uh, it, it might have been vegan, but itwas Coke, Slurpee, and Dr. Pepper and.
Every kind of candy cake, cookie pie and ice cream.
(10:01):
But it was vegan and I never had any fiber, I neverhad fruits or vegetables or whole grains and legumes.
I don't wanna say never, but itwas not a large part of my diet.
They weren't able to remove the polyps duringthe normal procedure as they normally can because my, my, my colon, they called it was dirty.
'cause even with the prep, they couldn't seeto get these polyps without risking infection.
(10:22):
And they told me that I was going to haveto come back and have actual, like surgery, like where they cut you and it's like.
When I, so this, this is why it's been so hard forme to get lung cancer treatment because when I was
a teenager, I had an allergic reaction to a generalanesthesia Mm. And difficulty getting un intubated.
Mm-hmm.
And I ended up almost on a ventilator, but inthe hospital for a very, very long time for what was going to be a same day procedure.
(10:45):
And, and since then, I actually developed atrue phobia of surgery and anesthesia, which
is why I haven't had my lung removed yet,even though that's what they wanted to do.
Anyway, so, so that's when I learned for thefirst time that what we eat has a profound
effect on how we look and feel, and what diseaseswe get and what diseases we can't reverse.
Now, I know now that diet isn't everything.
(11:07):
It's important, but what I'm learningis because my diet has been pretty much pristine and stellar for the last 21 years.
So how did I get cancer?
Well, the diet.
It can certainly help.
And I believe that it helped me delay thisdiagnosis and maybe have the tumor grow solely.
I don't know.
The way it's been described is means your dietis a seatbelt and we wear a seatbelt because
(11:29):
that's the law number one, but also becauseit can often protect us in a serious accident.
But that doesn't mean it's ahundred percent protective.
Right.
Right.
And that's kind of how I feel about diet.
And so many oncologists now aresaying, it doesn't matter what you eat.
And even at the infusion center where I go.
The only snack available is cheese and pudding.
And I happen to be allergic to milk, and theysell in the vending machine at the hospital
(11:53):
where I go Suter, you know, Cheetos and Snickers,and there's not one healthy thing to eat.
But anyway, after having this, uh, this sigmoidoscopy.
And finding out I would need surgery.
What happened is I, I said no.
'cause I was too afraid.
And so I ended up going to a place called theOptimum Health Institute in Lemon Grove, near, near
(12:13):
San Diego, California, and that's when I learnedthat, wow, what you eat has a, a, a huge impact.
And so I followed.
Not just a vegan diet, but a whole food,plant-based diet without sugar, oil, salt, or flour or caffeine or alcohol.
And their diet was raw.
I did not stay raw.
So I, I, I call it sofas free, nosugar, oil, flour, alcohol, or salt.
(12:34):
It also had no caffeine.
It was basically unprocessed.
Mm-hmm.
Meaning foods that come from a plant, ratherfoods that are manufactured in a plant.
And I followed that way of eating.
And then three months later I went backto have another sigmoidoscopy, and I got the same doctor, interestingly enough.
And he told me that all the polyps were gone.
That my colon was clear, clean,and vascular, like a newborn baby.
(12:54):
And he wanted to know where I had the surgery.
And I said, but I didn't have surgery.
He goes, well, I have all these photosof all your polyps, their size, their location, and now there's nothing there.
So how did this happen if you didn't have surgery?
And I said, well, you know, I changed my diet.
He goes, well, that's impossible.
And when he left the room, there was a, anassisting GI doctor who I believe was Indian.
(13:15):
From her accent and then shewhispered, so he couldn't hear.
Well, I believe you.
And it was then that I realized thatthat food does matter, you know?
And, and yes, genetics does.
Genetics is still maybe one of the most importantthings about life and how long we live, but how
well you eat and your other lifestyle habitscan really determine on how how well you live.
Mitch Stoller (13:36):
Right, right, right.
So, um, you were diagnosedstage three lung cancer 2023.
Could you talk to us a littlebit about that diagnosis?
Chef AJ (13:44):
I first was diagnosed at stage one, and it was when it wasn't.
When after I got to stage three,that's when I realized, do this talk.
You know, I, do you ever watch Scooby-Doo course?
Do you ever watch the Scooby-Doo show?
Of course, yeah.
So I love Scooby-Doo.
I have a huge Scooby-Doo collection thatI'm actually trying to donate, and I wish one of the cancer places would take it.
'cause it's, I, I need to let it go now so that Ican buy a second refrigerator because I'm juicing.
(14:05):
And, but anyway, that's an aside.
But, um, in Scooby-Doo, you know,they always would say, you know.
In, in, in the, in the movies like ZombieIsland, like this time, the monsters are real.
And so now it's like, thistime the cancer is real, right?
So it all started, oh my gosh.
And this happens to so many people.
Um, incidentally, they're, they're called, they'recalled pulmonary incidental pulmonary nodules.
(14:26):
So in other words, I neverhad a symptom of one cancer.
And I, and to my knowledge, I still don't, other thanthe symptom of terrible anxiety from having cancer.
Right.
But I never had, you know, I am anasthmatic and I do have adult COPD, but I, I had, didn't have any lung symptoms.
And what happened is when I moved fromSouthern California to Northern California,
I got had to get all new doctors and itturned out I had a urinary tract infection.
(14:50):
That was misdiagnosed is interstitial cystitis.
I did not have a very good doctor when I moved hereand it turned out all I had was a simple UTI, but he was treating me for a disease I didn't have.
That was horrible to think you have it.
'cause it was so painful because I had anuntreated UTI and I had to get all these
procedures and, and, and it was just, andI said to my primary doctor, I said, look.
(15:12):
I am in these groups forpeople with interstitial sitis.
I do not have this disease.
I don't know what it is.
This was until it was determined.
All I had was a UTI, but I said, please look forsomething else that's causing this severe pain.
So they ordered an abdominal uh, CT scan, mayhave been an MRI, but they ordered something.
It was just abdominal and itwas with and without contrast.
(15:33):
And this was now August of 2022.
And it picked up that I had four millimeter.
They called 'em nodules ortumors on my lung and my liver.
And so of course, being a highlyanxious person, I was very alarmed.
And the doctor said, oh, youknow, don't worry about it.
You know, sometimes they're just scarringtheir nothing, and you seem healthy and fine.
(15:54):
But in six months we'll doa full CT scan of your lung.
So six months happened to be my birthday, March 22nd.
And the last thing you wanna do on yourbirthday right is have CT scan, right?
So I'm getting very good at memorizing dates.
So the day after my birthday, March 23rd, I hada lung CT scan and it showed that I had a 14 millimeter speculated nodule on my left lower lobe.
(16:17):
And.
I didn't, I didn't know what any of this meant.
My doctor, my primary doctorsaid, well, you know, don't worry.
Um, 'cause 'cause it could be something else.
'cause it can, you know.
Mm-hmm.
They can be, there can be fungal infections, there canbe things that, that, that aren't necessarily cancer.
And he said, well, we'll do a PET scan.
So I had a PET scan.
And then on April 14th, 2023.
(16:39):
Through my chart.
You know, we, there's no m Remember the old days?
I mean, you look maybe like you're oldenough to remember when you used to go
to a doctor and if they had bad news orsome news, you'd get a call on the phone.
This is Dr. So-and-so, and they would tell you,you know, well, that's not the way it is today.
You have your phone or, and you have thisthing called My Health online, right?
(16:59):
And everything is dumped in your chartright before the doctor even sees it.
Not very
Mitch Stoller (17:03):
personal.
Chef AJ (17:03):
And that's kind of one of the worst ways to be diagnosed with cancer, especially because it
was 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning, which meansthere was nobody I could even contact for 48 hours.
And it was like, it was like rightbefore I was supposed to go on the air with my show and it's like, oh my God.
So that was very, very, very stressful.
So it, so that, that was stage one a adenocarcinoma.
(17:25):
But here's the thing, I didn'thave a lung biopsy until.
Of 2024 last year, and that's kind of along and convoluted story, but it was.
The, the reason I didn't have a lungbiopsy, you know, there's a saying in ca in cancer treatment, no meat, no treat, right?
If you don't have tissue.
And, and the reason is, is the tumor was,I was willing to do whatever they said
(17:48):
in terms of getting imaging even everythree months, which I think is a lot.
But now I generally do six months of PET or ct.
And I was, I was, they were willingto do what was called watchful waiting 'cause I didn't have any symptoms.
And they, the tumor was small and itappeared to be very, very slow growing.
Now, of course.
I had the option of getting my lung removed.
(18:08):
I saw a thoracic oncology surgeon.
He said, well, we can take it out.
But we can't get any clear margins, um, becauseit's like less than two millimeters from your aorta.
There were no metastases at the time.
And the thing is, is because of my pasthistory with general anesthesia, it just didn't sound like something I wanted to do.
And I, and before I had gotten involved inthe cancer space, talking to so many people
(18:30):
now that have had complete lobectomies,you know, it did not sound like a cakewalk.
This operation, even when it's done wellwith robotics, the people that I've talked to said it is a very difficult operation.
They've even used the phrase, Ifelt like I was run over by a truck.
And so I wasn't really excited about thissurgery, um, to lose my entire left lower lobe.
Especially because having COPD, I didn'tthink I had the lung function to do it.
(18:55):
And, and I couldn't get pulmonary function testing.
'cause at the time my insurancewouldn't even pay for it.
And I thought, well this doesn'tsound like a very good thing.
So, so.
The thoracic oncology surgeonsaid, well, you can have radiation.
And so I went for a consult and she wasvery nice, the radiation oncologist, and she
said, well, you the kind we do here at, atmy, at our medical institution is called.
(19:16):
Photon, you need proton.
And so I went to look at some of the otherinstitutions like Stanford and UCSD, but because I didn't have Medicare yet, they
for FO for Proton, they don't pay for itand it's like really, really expensive.
But then when she told me like thepotential side effects are to radiation it.
I mean, it sounded maybe lessscary, at least the mm-hmm.
(19:37):
Um, having of it than the surgery.
But I mean, there are someserious side effects you can get.
Some people don't, but I was so concernedbecause the tumor is so close to my heart that I had a cardiology consult.
I. She said yes, it's a real thing.
I, you know, there have been people that have hadto have open hearts, that have had to have open heart surgery afterwards or have heart transplants.
I mean, they do their best, but I'm thinking, howare you gonna hit the tumor without hitting my heart?
(20:02):
And it's in the, and then the swallowing thing.
So, you know, I'm not saying I will neverhave surgery or never have radiation.
I, I, you know, I learned in life.
Never say never, but they didn't sound like.
Great options to me, especially when Ihad no symptoms and it wasn't growing.
So, um, as far as getting a medical oncologist, thattook a lot longer, it took about a year and a half because of the way the system is right now, it is
(20:25):
very hard to get a doctor, at least where I live,but also because I couldn't get a doctor without.
A biopsy, a tissue biopsy, andjust like the old saying, mm-hmm.
You can't get a show on Broadwayuntil you get a show on Broadway.
Well, I couldn't get a tissue biopsy becauseat the time when it was 14 millimeters, the people that I was seeing at my medical
(20:47):
institution said, that's very hard to biopsybecause it's right in the center of your chest.
It's really small.
And um, and, and what the surgeon was sayingis even if it is cancer, if it is cancer.
You can still have a biopsy that does, showsit's not cancer and so, so I was basically told I couldn't get a biopsy and until you get an
(21:07):
oncologist, you can't get any of the supportiveservices that you've now that I now get like the free wig and going to the support groups.
But finally I found an oncologist that waswilling to see me even, but still was a long
way to get to her because I paid $2,200 of myown money to get what's called a liquid biopsy.
And the liquid biopsy showed, and they said with96.7% accuracy that I did have lung adenocarcinoma.
(21:32):
Mm-hmm.
So I saw her for the first time in October of 2020.
I. Four.
And I said, look, and like, you know,they, they can't do chemotherapy without a tissue biopsy or immunotherapy.
And, you know, she said, well, what do you wanna do?
And I said, well, I really don't wanna do anything.
I really don't wanna be here.
Right.
And I said, I'd like to just continue to dowatchful waiting for a little bit longer.
(21:55):
So then when I had my imaging in, I guessit was October or November or 2024, um.
I actually had heard about this new kind ofradiation therapy, uh, called the Reflexion Machine.
I, I, I had lunch with a gentlemanthat happened to work on the machine.
It was just such a coincidence, andhe was talking about how this machine is really great for lung cancer.
(22:17):
It's FDA approved.
Medicare pays for it.
And they can even maybe, uh, deal with metastases.
And at the time I didn't know I was stage threeand I thought, well, that, that sounds great.
This sounds better.
So I scheduled an appointment at, witha radiation oncologist at Stanford to see if I could have this done.
'cause I kind of felt like I'd be ingood hands with Stanford, a major medical institution known for its cancer care.
(22:40):
This machine sounded amazing, buthe wanted imaging and unfortunately.
The imaging showed now I am stage three with ametastasis in the bronchial lymph node, no longer eligible for this particular type of radiation.
And so then like I, I joked with Scoobydo this, that, that freaked me out because it was like being diagnosed twice.
(23:01):
Right.
Is like being.
It's like, like the first time was just kindof being hit in the, like slapped in the
face and the second time was being punched sohard, like I don't know if I'm gonna get up.
And so that's when I, I decidedto have the lung biopsy.
I was scared to have the lung bi.
Well now the tumor was either, it was either 21 or28, but now it was big enough for them to biopsy and I. Went to an interventional radiologist and
(23:24):
I, because I'm anxious and because of my pastexperience with anesthesia, I said, before you do this, I'd like to have a face-to-face consult.
He agreed.
I said, look, I'm the most anxious patientyou ever could meet, and I will do this if you'll do this with no anesthesia.
And he goes, not even, uh, local.
I go, no, local's fine.
Not even the sedation, no propanol.
He goes, okay, I can do it.
(23:44):
And he did.
And he said, you know, when it was 14, hesaid, I don't think I would've gotten it.
And he did get it, but I did get a pneumothorax,but I did get the tissue and I was very happy.
I did because I am a very strong matchfor an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda.
And I was.
Always like, I mean, you know, you don'talways get to choose what you want in life.
(24:04):
Life.
Of course not.
But I was thinking that just this was in my head,just from the holistic type doctors I see who are kind of not fans of necessarily chemotherapy.
I was thinking in my head, boy, wouldn't it be greatif I was a match and I was a strong match and so
I'm gonna be, I, I did have one treatment which kindof went bad because they gave me an infiltration.
Mm-hmm.
Which means I did not get all of the drug.
(24:25):
Uh, but I'm hoping Stanford.
We'll want to continue that.
And I also have an appointment with the City ofHope, and I'm, I'm very comfortable doing that.
Mitch Stoller (24:33):
How do you feel, I mean, you, your, your energy level is, is outstanding and you, you look great.
I mean, how, how do you feel?
Chef AJ (24:39):
Well, I feel physically, I feel fine.
Yeah.
And this is the thing.
It's like, I keep, it's funny, I keep, I'm, Ithink I'm going through those five stages of grief.
Over and over and I, I, I go, I go throughthem different times and I, I feel like in a
lot of the times I'm in denial because I'm notthinking about cancer because I feel so well.
Right.
That said, I'm in a lot of support groups and a lotof people say that unfortunately with certain types of cancers, you don't feel it until it's so far advanced
Mitch Stoller (25:06):
support groups helpful for you.
Chef AJ (25:09):
They are overall helpful, but they can be sad as well.
Of course.
And this is, this is the thing, becausewhat happens is, what's great about
support groups is you get information thatyou may not get on on the street, right?
Because these are, but when you meet people,like, like I met an angel and I literally call him an angel because I met a guy who befriended me.
(25:31):
And I didn't even ask him to, like, I was thinkinglike to myself, like, I wish I could have this.
Like I, I was a little shy.
I was like.
He's 17 year lung cancer survivor, and I'm like, God,I wish I could talk, you know, but I was a little shy
on the zoom, and then he ended up looking me up andthen contacting our help desk, and he's there for me.
Like I have, I have, I can text him and he walkedme through the lung biopsy the night before.
(25:52):
He, you know, it's, it.
So without going to groups, it might behard to meet people like that, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But then again, the, everybody else is goingthrough this and so they're not always doing well.
And so far I haven't lost any.
Uh, anybody in groups I have lost.
Yeah.
So, so this is the problem with cancer is likeyou're, when you make, when you make friends with
(26:18):
people with cancer, they're not, it's, it's kind oflike, I think about, you know, saving private Ryan.
You know, no one is left behind, but with cancer,
some people are going to die.
Mitch Stoller (26:34):
I understand that.
Chef AJ (26:35):
You don't know who they are.
So, you know, it's, I recently just lostsomeone who was diagnosed two months after me.
She, um, was a non-smoker.
She was, um, a medical professional.
She was my, my friend's sister and we,we, you know, we were kind of buddies and we took classes together and then I.
(26:55):
You know, everything was working.
Sorry.
It's, it's just not at all.
Mitch Stoller (27:00):
It's, it's emotional.
I'm, you've got this wonderfulplatform that you mm-hmm.
You have on YouTube.
Talk about that a little bit.
Chef AJ (27:07):
The cardiologist called me and he, 'cause he saw that, he said, you know, he's a man of faith.
And he said, well, now God is usingyou to do your greatest work to help people in a even more meaningful way.
But it's like, couldn't he, couldn't he havechosen something a little bit, um, less scary.
Right.
You know?
Right.
But, but I feel like if my sufferingcan help somebody, then, then.
(27:28):
What, what am I supposed to do?
And I was kind of, not retiring, butI was doing YouTube every day for like four years and three months.
And then the doctor said, look, you just haveto slow down, like the ones that knew, like you gotta, you know, you gotta slow down a little bit.
And so I said, okay, well I'll just do it once a week.
But when this happened, I did a seriesin January of 2025, all 31 days, and I called it Thriving in the Face of Cancer.
(27:53):
And I'm very proud of it.
It's free on my YouTube channel and on podcasts,it, it was where I interviewed, um, many doctors,
some oncologists and um, also survivors, andjust people that maybe people didn't know about.
And I tried to do, like, this is the resourceI wish I had because when I was diagnosed, especially since I was keeping the secret.
(28:14):
I had no resources.
Right?
I didn't know that you could contactGoTo for lung cancer or Iman's Angels, right, and get a buddy, right?
I did not know that there were places whenyou needed a wig that actually specialized in.
You know, not just giving you like some generic wig.
Um, I, I, I, there was just so many thingsI didn't know and that I wish I had known and I wanted to give that to people.
(28:40):
'cause maybe somebody after me is gonnago through this and know how scary it is.
I didn't know that.
Even if you don't go to a certain hospital,that as long as, and even if you don't have an oncologist, that if you can contact a social
worker, that you can be in a support group forcancer in general or for your specific cancer.
(29:01):
'cause I would've done it.
This is real.
Real life is real and sometimes people aredoing well and sometimes they're doing poorly.
But I feel overall that they're a good thing and.
I mean, cancer is so scary.
I wish you know, you know, did you ever see the movie?
It's a Wonderful Life.
Of course.
Yeah.
One of my favorite movies.
So, you know how Clarence, the Angel, likehe showed George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart, what his life would've been like?
(29:25):
Oh, it would've been differentif he had died that day.
Mitch Stoller (29:27):
Right, right.
Chef AJ (29:28):
I, I wish that we could all get an angel, like Clarence.
I mean, it could be a human person,just put their arm, like, give you a hug and like just tell you they're sorry.
Like, yeah.
I, I had gone to so many doctors and it was likeI happened to go to an immunologist because I
wanted her to try to unwind these, um, allergy,um, to see if I ever could get anesthesia.
(29:53):
And it was in the fir, this was just a fewmonths ago, and it was the first time in like the two and a half years since I dealt with this.
Like she, like, she, she actually looked at me andshe said, gosh, I'm really sorry you have cancer.
Like, I don't know what's happened inmedicine, but it's so like, I mean, that was like the biggest deal to me.
Mm-hmm.
Like, you know, that a doctor said, I'm sorry.
Right.
(30:13):
You know?
Mitch Stoller (30:14):
Right.
Chef AJ (30:14):
Like, like she meant it and like very
Mitch Stoller (30:16):
human emotion.
Yeah.
And it's
Chef AJ (30:18):
like, like, I wish they could give you a person.
And I kind of have that in Francis in a way.
Mm-hmm.
But that, that somebody, that it could havebeen a little easier for me to just kind
of, and that's, that's what I'm kind ofdoing with thriving in the face of cancer.
And what I notice about peoplewith cancer is that they.
I have not met one person with cancer, no matter howadvanced they are or whether or not they're a survivor that isn't willing to help somebody else with cancer.
(30:45):
I've, I've never been in like, um, AA or anything likethat, but I can imagine that that's kind of maybe like
the idea, you know, like somebody that's walked inyour shoes, people are just in this space, so kind.
Mm-hmm.
And they'll share with you.
Mm-hmm.
Everything.
And I've never met like a group of people that.
Are so giving and helpful, honestly.
Mitch Stoller (31:06):
Chef aj, will you continue to put like this type of content that you did for those 31 days in your show?
Chef AJ (31:12):
Yeah, that's what I wanna do, because I'm also learning too, when I do it, it helps me too.
Yeah, of course.
You know, especially when somebody's hopeful.
I mean, I just loved the messagesthat were given in the 31 day.
Thriving in the face of cancer.
Because the last question is, whatwould you say, you know, what message of hope would you share with someone?
Um, currently facing a cancer diagnosis andevery single person gave a message of hope.
(31:37):
You know, like, like Dr. William Lee said,he has seen people go from stage four.
To zero.
Right.
And so, you know, I, I have these little,these people give me these bracelets.
Mm-hmm.
You know, that like this onetoday is faith that says hope.
Right?
And so there are days, and again, it'snot just cancer, other, there are other diseases that people have that that.
Scary.
You have to have hope.
(31:58):
Like that is literally the most importantthing to have, I think, in life.
Yeah.
You know, faith or hope or whatever.
Right.
Um, that's why we call this,
Mitch Stoller (32:06):
we call this belief in progress.
'cause you have to have beliefand you have to have hope.
And there's no doubt about that.
I have a question.
Do you counsel families about their, youknow, if they're like, I actually know a young man, uh, a 6-year-old young man.
Which name, we'll leave his name out, but, um, isa kind of a problem eating, trying different foods.
Do you counsel families?
Chef AJ (32:26):
I don't anymore.
I used to, but I have great people thatI can refer people to that do that.
I mostly, you know, in, in the chefspace, I love to do cooking demos and I love to teach people how to cook.
So that part, but, but, but I think I canfind somebody that could, could, could help a, a young child like that actually.
Mitch Stoller (32:43):
Because I think what.
I've learned from reading some of your, yourinformation though, 'cause nutrition does play a really important part in somebody's growth, right?
Chef AJ (32:52):
I think so.
I, I, I mean, absolutely.
You know, I mean, I ate very poorly for thefirst, I'm gonna say 43 years of my life.
And, and, um, I think it, I think it makesa difference, you know, there, you know,
everybody says, well, my aunt was 105 andsmoked cigars and, you know, whatever.
But that's not necessarily your genetics and.
You know, there's a saying, um, genetics loadsthe gun, but lifestyle and diet pull the trigger.
(33:14):
So, you know, it was, it was, you know, being dibeing who I am and being diagnosed, I was embarrassed.
You know, here I am, chef aj, telling people, andpeople like, well see, your diet didn't work, but did it, did it, did it not work or did it delay?
Something and make it slow growing, you know?
I don't know.
I'm not, you know, um, but I, butI'm not gonna give it up anyway.
And I, you know, I, I'm, I feel like, you know,I'm still using nutrition as part of the tools.
(33:38):
You know, you might be familiarwith the work of Dr. Kelly Turner.
Uh, radical Remission, radical Recovery.
And one of the things that all cancersurvivors seem to have in common is nutrition.
And that doesn't mean they all arefollowing a vegan diet, but they have improved their diet in a profound way.
There wasn't much left.
For me to, to improve other than now I'm doingthings like juicing every day because I feel like, you know, it's giving me that extra burst.
(34:02):
And, um, yeah, it's, uh, it'squite a journey, as you say.
Mitch Stoller (34:07):
Well, um, I, I have to tell you, you are, you're, you're full of energy and passion and I love that.
I, I love the Clarence analogy 'cause I happento love that movie and it's, it's so true.
It's so very true.
I can only tell you that, you know, wework really hard at trying to fund the best research around the world and.
As you were talking about, uh, Keytruda,you know, our work had something to do with that and, and many other things as well.
(34:29):
So what a great honor it is for me to, to spenda few minutes with you, learn more about what you do, and I have a feeling you're gonna be just fine.
I think you've got a great attitude.
Ken.
Thank you enough for giving us a fewminutes of your time today, chef aj.
Chef AJ (34:42):
Oh my gosh.
Thank you.
Thank you so much and best of health to everyone.
Watching or listening,
Mitch Stoller (34:46):
chef AJ's story is a powerful reminder that health is a journey, not a destination.
From her decades of plant-based advocacy to herrecent cancer diagnosis, she continues to inspire
us with her resilience, knowledge, and dedicationto making healthy living accessible to all.
If this episode moved you like me,here's how you can take action.
(35:08):
Explore Chef AJ's work.
Check out her books, unprocessed andthe Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss.
To learn more about plant-based eating andvibrant health support cancer research@acr.org.
Your donations help fund groundbreaking studies thatlead to better treatments and outcomes for patients.
Follow Chef AJ on YouTube and social media.
(35:29):
Stay up to date with her journey, recipes andinsights into cancer, nutrition, and wellbeing.
Share.
This episode help spread the messageof hope, resilience, and the power of nutrition in the fight against disease.
Chef aj, thank you for sharing yourjourney and your wisdom with us today.
Your passion for health and healing is an inspiration.
To our listeners, thank you fortuning in to believe in Progress.
(35:52):
Remember, cancer Research saves lives andyour support really does make a difference.
Subscribe to the podcast, share this episodeand stay tuned for more inspiring stories.
And remember to believe in progressin the Fight Against Cancer.
This episode was produced by College CastLLC, and like Chef AJ said, hope, hope, hope.
(36:16):
Thank you so much.
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