September 24, 2024 • 42 mins
HealingStrong Group Leader and mother of 6, Stacy Loftis, whose inspiring journey of faith and perseverance will encourage you. Stacy shares her story of her cancer journey with an unshakable trust in God, and how her faith guided her and her husband through some of her most challenging moments.
Despite a cancer diagnosis being overwhelming, Stacy’s story brings hope found in the power of community and faith. Drawing parallels to the biblical story of Elijah, she helps us understand how even the strongest believers can face fear and vulnerability. Despite the impact of the pandemic on cancer treatments and the overwhelming experiences at local cancer centers, Stacy's reliance on God and her supportive community became her anchor through these times.
She shares her initial success with a plant-based diet, her decision to undergo chemotherapy and surgery at Mayo Clinic, and the divine interventions she believes played a crucial role in her healing. Inspired by influential figures like Chris Wark, Stacy’s search for a supportive community led her to become a Group Leader within HealingStrong, a nonprofit dedicated to holistic cancer support with a variety of free resources found at healingstrong.org.
CONTACT:
HealingStrong Group Leader - Memphis, TN
healingstrongmemphis@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I shared with my husband that, if God was going
to give us this journey, that Iwas going to trust the Lord to
do for us what he did for Elijahto meet our needs, to
strengthen us and to provide thehelp that we needed.
And I chose to believe thatthere was going to be a way
(00:20):
through that.
The diagnosis was not thedestination, but an assignment
of something that God had for usto walk through.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You're listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast,
a part of the Healing Strongorganization, the number one
network of holistic cancersupport groups in the world.
Each week we bring you storiesof hope, real stories that will
encourage you as you navigateyour way on your own journey to
health.
Now here's your host stage fourcancer thriver, jim Mann.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Today I am traveling all the way to Memphis.
Well, my voice is anyway totalk to a guest who has an
incredible story, of course,stacey Loftus.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm doing fabulous.
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Great.
Okay, I always talk aboutweather.
It's like an old person thing.
But how is the weather inMemphis today?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
It is wonderful.
It feels like fall.
It's just a touch of fall.
It's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yes, we had that yesterday.
That's why I'm thinking aboutweather, because it didn't get
past the 70s.
So I'm all excited about that,but it fakes us out.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
And then gets it does , yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Catches me off guard every year, every year of my
life.
It's just embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, don't get your winter clothes out just yet, way
too early.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I'll put them back after this.
Yeah, so you have like 15, 16kids.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Ah, six.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
That's close enough, right.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Oh my goodness, that's fun.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I wanted six and my wife wanted four, so we
compromised at four.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I'm one of eight, so my mom told me that after four,
once you've got four.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
You can handle more.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yes, so you could have handled at least 10.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I love a lot of kids, except for my last one
came when I was 50.
So I didn't want any past that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So were you born and raised in Memphis.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I was actually born in Illinois and my family moved
here when I was three months old.
So although technically I'm anortherner, I'm a southerner at
heart.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Tell me your memories of Illinois.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Yeah, none, but I hear there were great snowball
fights and lots of forts built.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And ice hockey in the backyard even, but I missed out
on all the good stuff.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Oh, I'm so sorry.
I had a lot of that inBaltimore, not quite as cold as
Illinois, but still Ice skatingon ponds and stuff like that.
I like that.
Yes, tell us a little bit aboutStacy here.
Did you want a gazillion kids?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, that's a great question.
I grew up in a family of eight,as I mentioned, and so that was
normal to me, and we had somuch fun and we still have so
much fun.
I became an aunt by the time Iwas nine and I have grew up with
more nieces and nephews thatwere born and have older
(03:12):
siblings who just made familyand marriage look easy.
My parents made it look wayeasier than it is, so that was
my normal and I wanted that formy own life.
And God has been graciousenough to give me a very dear,
sweet husband and he was open tohaving whatever kids God would
(03:33):
give us.
And God gave us our six andthey are a joy and they are a
lot of work.
But I wouldn't, you know, noparent would trade parenthood
for anything else.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It's such a gift.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It's such a gift, and I'm blown away by how much
parenting has taught me about myHeavenly Father.
That's been a really amazing,sobering thing how God has
instructed my heart as I'veparented and continue to learn
how to parent my kids.
So we decided to homeschool ourchildren.
(04:06):
And so, although all of themhave been in and out of
different school settings, sowe've used pretty much every
teaching modality at this point.
We've homeschooled, we've usedtutorials, we've they've been in
.
Some of them have been inpublic school for a few years
and our younger three are now ina local private school.
So we we kind of ran the gamut,depending on which, what was
(04:27):
needed in the season that wefound ourselves in.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
So Right, brilliant, so did you all.
Were you all healthy and activeor eat right?
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, yeah, you know um well, as, as best we could, I
guess um, I have a familyhistory of cancer in my story,
and so I lost my mom to breastcancer.
She was 56 years old and I was26 at the time when she passed.
And that was actually her secondround of dealing with cancer in
(05:00):
her life.
She was first diagnosed withbreast cancer when she was about
38.
And it was when my youngestbrother, the eighth of the eight
kids, was an infant and she hadradiation and no chemotherapy
and God gave her 20 more years.
God gave her 20 years of beingcancer free.
(05:21):
So I guess she was, had evenhave been 36 when she was
diagnosed.
But that first time, and thenso the last time that she was
diagnosed with cancer because ofheart issues, chemotherapy was
not an option, even though thetraditional oncologist suggested
it for her.
And so that was kind of when mywhen holistic things were
(05:46):
placed on my own radar, becauseshe discovered Dr Richard
Schultz and she and my dad werejuicing and eating plant based
and, you know, doing colonicsand just a lot of different
things to try to extend her life, you know, as long as possible.
And God did give her two moreyears even after that, so that
(06:12):
the reality that cancer I couldhave had a genetic
predisposition towards cancerwas definitely in the back of my
mind.
I did not want to get genetictesting done before my own
diagnosis.
I didn't want to.
I thought it would make me livekind of in fear and I didn't
want to deal with that so, and Imostly tried to eat, eat and
(06:35):
serve real food to my family.
But I don't know if this isunique to a large family, but
there's a serious kind ofpressure to getting food on the
table and it being things thateveryone likes to eat.
And so, looking back, I reallysuccumbed to a lot of
convenience foods that became anorm and became the staples in
(06:57):
our home that were not healthyfor them or me.
And then, once our oldest hitmiddle school and they started
doing all the activities, allthe sports and all the music and
theater I'm.
You know, there was one yearthat every Monday I would spend
four hours in the car carpoolingand I had this schedule.
(07:17):
I had reminders pop up on myphone with set, set alarms, like
in 30 minute increments, likehad I had.
I was so proud of the schedulethat year because everybody was
able to do something, but every30 minutes I was going picking
one up and taking one, and Ilook back now I'm like that was
so insane, insane, um, but sothere was a lot of fast food
(07:41):
going on too, when you'respending that much time in the
car getting your kids where theyneed to be.
You're not home to cook.
I did try to use a crock pot,but anyway, so no, what compared
to what I know now and what I'mstill learning to do now, we
were not really very healthy,you know not, not really we.
(08:02):
We were existing often in thetyranny of the urgent, as they
say.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Was your schedule kind of stressful to you?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, it was very stressful.
You know, I loved homeschoolingmy kids and I would not trade
that for anything.
But now I know, looking back,what I expected of myself was
not healthy and I just assumedthat.
You know, the lack of sleep andthe fatigue that I felt and the
(08:32):
overwhelm that I felt wassomething that I was the only
one experiencing, that everybodyelse had it figured out but me.
And if I just worked harder, ifI just studied more, if I just
researched more, then I'd be abetter homeschool mom.
But I just wasn't working hardenough.
And, looking back, I now knowthat I was putting myself in the
(08:55):
place of God.
I was expecting myself to besuperhuman and to have
superhuman energy and superhumanintellect, and I was expecting
myself things that God had notnecessarily put on my plate, you
know, because I lost my mom soyoung as a 26 year old, young
mom and young wife.
(09:16):
I didn't, you know, I justdidn't know how really to seek
out the help that I needed tomake those that overwhelm a
little better.
So, yeah, I can look back nowand definitely see that was a
really big problem.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, I mean I don't want to mention this, but we're
on the street, was?
Speaker 1 (09:35):
you were lagging behind everybody else, so I know
, I know I wasn't keeping up.
I was not keeping up Terrible.
Oh just awful.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
So then, 2020, when the whole galaxy shut down, was
not a good year for you, Iunderstand.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Yeah, no, it was not.
So my younger sister, who hasfour children she had
homeschooled hers when they wereyounger and they had been in
school.
But after spring of 2019happened, we decided that we
would form a homeschool podtogether and we planned the
(10:14):
local tutorials were not evenmeeting in person, everything
was virtual.
So we decided two days a weekher kids would come to my house
and we'd set everybody up ontheir laptops and do their
coursework and they'd get thebenefit of hanging out with
cousins and eating together anddoing their schoolwork together.
And we were really determinedto make it a happy time and to
(10:39):
kind of redeem the hardshipsthat were going on.
And so we worked really hard toput together this plan and two
weeks into this new school yearwe had taken one of my sons off
to college for his freshman year, about three hours away from
(11:00):
our home, and so we had moved,got him moved in, and that week
I just had trouble sleeping.
When I'd lay down I just had anache in my side that would not
go away If I sat up.
It was better, but it continuedand of course, my internist
wasn't seeing people in person.
(11:22):
You had to do a virtualappointment first.
So we went through all of thatand, lo and behold, discovered
that I was having troublebecause my lungs had fluid in
them.
So she was able to send me to alocal hospital to have the lung
drained and that followingTuesday I guess it was I was
(11:44):
alone at the house, which I'mrarely alone, but I happened to
be alone at that moment when shecalled and I was having trouble
, like I couldn't speak veryloudly and I couldn't even
because it was starting toaffect my breathing.
And so I got that phone callthat we all remember very
(12:05):
vividly in this community, thatphone call where she said you
know, the, the cells from yourlung, the fluid in your lungs,
are adenocarcinoma cells and youhave cancer.
And at the time we didn't knowthe source of the cancer, but we
knew that it was cancer.
So you know, that's a ton ofrisks.
(12:27):
I mean it imploded, the panicbegan and it was very real.
I was shocked because I thoughtI had done a lot of things or,
you know, tried to be more aware.
I thought I had some cancerprevention things going on in my
life, thought I was healthyBecause, other than having
(12:50):
children, the only times I'vebeen hospitalized in my whole
life were when I was expectingand had my kids.
I didn't have a history of anyother kind of illness at all.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
How did your kids react to that?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, well, the first person I had to tell was my
husband and growing up in aChristian home, and both my
husband and I came to Christ aschildren, and so we both know
nothing randomly happens in abeliever's life that God has a
purpose.
And not only does God have apurpose, he has already walked
(13:31):
before you in whatever comes.
So I knew this, as those of usin Christ know that this was not
a surprise, but I knew I didnot want to just dump this news
on Him when he got home fromwork, to just dump this news on
him when he got home from work.
What came to my mind and whatimmediately came to my heart?
And I'm still I'm just fouryears out, so I'm still sifting
(13:53):
through what happened, becauseit was all highly traumatic, in
all honesty.
But what came to my mind wasElijah, when he was running from
Jezebel and he was terrified,and scripture says he was afraid
, and this is in 1 Kings 19.
And he told the Lord.
(14:14):
In fact, I'm going to read itbecause I think it's just so
human and I love this passage.
It says Elijah was afraid andran for his life.
When he came to Beersheba andJudah, he left his servant there
while he himself went a day'sjourney into the desert.
He came to a broom tree, satdown under it and prayed that he
might die.
I've had enough, lord.
(14:35):
He said, take my life, I'm nobetter than my ancestors.
Then he lay down under the treeand fell asleep.
All at once, an angel touchedhim and said get up and eat.
He looked around and there byhis head, was a cake of bread
baked over hot coals and a jarof water.
He ate and drank and then laydown again.
The angel of the Lord came backa second time and touched him
(14:58):
and said get up and eat, for thejourney is too much for you.
So he got up and ate and drank.
Strengthened by that food, hetraveled 40 days and 40 nights
until he reached Horeb, themountain of God.
There he went into a cave andspent the night.
What I love about this passageis we see Elijah, who we know is
(15:20):
a prophet who had just had thisvictory over the false god Baal
, and by the, by the power ofthe Lord.
He had witnessed firsthand thepower of the Lord.
And yet when somebody said hey,queen Jezebel heard what you
just did and she's coming tokill you, and he's terrified.
He's very human and so gettingthat phone call for me was very
(15:44):
terrifying, because I wasalready well acquainted with
cancer and I was very wellacquainted with what that
journey can look like, and I'dalso lost one of my brothers in
2016 to cancer.
So one thing that was on myheart is I really don't want
(16:05):
this path.
I know that it's of the Lordand he's allowing it, but this
is a ride I just don't want totake.
And the other thing that gotimpressed upon my heart was the
journey is too much for you.
It's like, of course you don'twant this because this journey
is too much for you.
So that's the passage that Ishared with my husband, because
(16:27):
what I chose to draw from it isthat, instead of rebuking Elijah
for being afraid, god met himthere and he sent Elijah what he
needed.
He sent Elijah food, he madesure Elijah got rest and he gave
him strength by that food torun like this marathon.
(16:48):
It was a 200 mile distance bythe way, to Mount Horeb, which
is crazy, so it took him 40 daysand 40 nights to make that run.
So I shared with my husbandthat if God was going to give us
this journey that I was goingto trust the Lord to do for us
(17:09):
what he did for Elijah to meetour needs, to strengthen us, our
needs to strengthen us and toprovide the help that we needed.
And I chose to believe thatthere was going to be a way
through that.
The diagnosis was not thedestination, but an assignment
(17:31):
of something that God had for usto walk through.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Wow, look at you, you're so mature.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Oh goodness.
But now you had asked about ourkids.
So one thing I would dodifferently we gathered our kids
that weekend because we had adaughter who lives in Middle
Tennessee and a son that we hadjust taken to college, and then
the other four at home.
So they all came home thatweekend and we told them all
together.
So they all came home thatweekend and we told them all
(17:56):
together.
I kind of think it might'vebeen better for each one had I
taken the time as painful as itwould have been to sit down with
each one and tell themindividually.
But we did, you know, share itwith them as a group, and I
shared this passage with them aswell.
Just that.
Now we, you know, we didn'tknow what the future was going
(18:16):
to hold, but we were going totrust the Lord to provide for us
, and they were.
They were fantastic.
It's still something all ofthem are sifting through, but
they were helpful and they havelearned to trust the Lord in new
ways and it's given them greatcompassion.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
And I totally get that initial shock when you get
the news.
It's like being knocked out byMike Tyson, but in your days for
a while.
But then you do get back up,especially if you believe in God
.
I don't know how people handlestuff like this if they don't
believe in God.
I was like in a daze for awhile and then I just started
(18:57):
seeing signs of God saying hey,don't worry about this, I've got
you.
And I remember and I don't thinkI've told this part of my story
, but I remember because I wasat Disney when that happened and
I have some friends who live atCelebration, which is like the
neighborhood there for richpeople.
Their backyard is Disney but Iwent to see the fireworks.
(19:20):
So I was with them watching thefireworks at Epcot and as we
were leaving in the mass crowd Idon't know if you ever left
Epcot after fireworks, but it'sjust like the whole earth is
shifting while people are goingto their cars I told my friend
what happened, how I was justdiagnosed with cancer, and he
just stopped everything and juststarted praying for me and the
(19:42):
whole crowd had to kind of walkaround us because we're standing
right in the middle.
It was just a weird feelingbecause I thought my life's
probably almost over.
But here it is, my good friendis stopping, no matter what's
going on around us, and he'spraying.
And he's praying pretty good,and I thought that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, that's a good friend.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yeah, and his wife is standing off in the distance
thinking what's happening here.
And she found out.
But yeah, yeah, nice.
I just happened to remember.
I don't think I've ever sharedthat, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
No, that's a new one.
He was, yeah, he was taking youto Jesus in the middle of all
the crowd.
That's like the men bringingtheir friend down through the
roof on the pallet.
I was like he didn't care aboutthe traffic.
He was going to stop and takeyou to Jesus for a minute.
That was awesome yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I was impressed with him basically, and happy to get
the prayer.
Did you go to the oncologistright away, or what was your
plan of attack here?
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah, so my internist helped get me in with an
oncologist.
We first saw a generaloncologist and that was our
first experience in the middleof that 2020 time, locally at
our local cancer center, andthat was that in and of itself
was an experience, because a lotof people had postponed
(21:03):
treatments during the pandemicbecause of the difficulties in
going anywhere and a lot ofappointments had been delayed.
So by August of 2020, peoplehad started coming back to get
caught back up and so it was asea of humanity and you couldn't
go in.
(21:23):
So the line is out the door andeveryone is masked up and
they're stopping to ask everyonehave you had any shortness of
breath or coughing?
And you know, check yourtemperature?
And they're asking you the 20questions.
And of course, I had just causeon top of my pleural effusion,
the fluid in my lung, withinthat week.
(21:44):
So the night we told our kidsthere of course they're all at
home I started having anotherpain and it would not go away
and turned out it was apulmonary embolism and I had to
go to the emergency room.
And that early that nextmorning, and even though there
wasn't anyone in the emergencyroom, they would not let my
husband come in with me.
I could hardly speak, I washaving trouble breathing and I
(22:06):
had to stagger in in my pajamasby myself and they're asking me
all these questions and I couldnot speak.
I do believe it was by thegrace of God that he broke it up
enough for me to be free ofpain by the time they got me
back to triage.
But then when they did a CTscan, they still saw a pulmonary
embolism there.
So it, so it.
(22:26):
It got crazy really fast.
But it was not easy to get inand get answers because of this
backlog of people.
You know, our local cancercenter has three levels and and
it was just people everywhere,lots of people in wheelchairs
who are, you know, lots ofpeople not doing well at all.
And I just felt I said, lord,you have landed me in the land
(22:50):
of affliction here.
It was really sad, and it was.
It was hard to navigate butanyway.
So I had to see a generaloncologist who then, after they
got some results from CT scans,connected me with a
gynecological oncologist andthey discovered that I had an
(23:11):
eight and a half centimetertumor on my right ovary.
At that point they determinedthat it was an ovarian cancer
and because it had spread intothe fluid of my lung.
They said it was a stage fourcancer.
They were ready immediately toget me scheduled for surgery and
(23:32):
like this is within the initialmeeting of an oncologist and I
could not process my brainaround it.
All I could think of is ohgreat, now I've got a serious
comorbidity issue.
But given all that was going onand the threat of illness and
then the last thing I wanted todo in that season was to spend a
lot of time in the hospitalbecause our hospitals were
(23:53):
suffering like hospitalseverywhere.
The nurses were overworked.
It was a very traumatic placeto be and I knew too because the
surgery for ovarian cancer it'scalled a debulking surgery and
basically it's a dumpster fire,like they are removing your
(24:16):
omentum, your uterus, yourfallopian tubes, your ovaries,
and usually they take lymphnodes and while they're in there
, if they need to take yourspleen and some liver and your
appendix.
And I just didn't trust anyoneenough to go there at that point
.
And then I was very overweightas well at the time and I knew
that that would not help myrecovery process from a surgery
(24:40):
like that and I would have hadto have been alone.
Like the surgery is five toseven hours, sometimes longer,
with a hospital, say, a five to10 days on average.
Like my brain, I was trying tothink through all the things and
just like I'm not going to bein the hospital without an
advocate that's not you know.
So I just had to weigh all ofthose things and so I ended up
(25:02):
seeing three differentoncologists before I made a
decision.
And what I came to throughprayer, first things we did
because it took time to getthose.
Second opinions, and so therewere a lot of things that I did
right off the bat.
I had bought Chris Wark'sCrispy Cancer when my brother
was battling cancer, and at thetime I'd watched all the modules
(25:25):
and in my mind I'm like, okay,this is what I'm going to do if
I ever get that diagnosis.
I'm just going to jump intothis.
I never anticipated getting adiagnosis, only to find I was
already in a stage four.
It's like, oh, great Lord, youput me in the fourth quarter of
this game.
I'm not even at halftime.
Like you landed me in this gamewhen I'm not even gonna have a
chance.
Like I don't.
I just don't understand.
(25:46):
So it affected, you know, thefact that we're in a pandemic,
the fact that we don't have anynaturopathic oncologists in this
area, the state of Tennessee.
It is not legal, to you know,to be a practicing naturopathic
oncologist.
You can't market yourself inthat way.
So I didn't have that supportperson for my team here locally
(26:09):
and so it took time to find ateam.
But I definitely pulled strongfrom Chris's book and I
immediately knew that I neededto get off all meat, all dairy
and all sugar.
So I did.
I knew I needed to startjuicing, and which we did with a
vengeance.
I knew I needed to move everyday, so my husband started going
for a 30 minute walk with me at630 every morning.
(26:30):
I knew that there was value inhydrotherapy and so, because I
was having trouble breathing, Iknew I needed to move my lungs.
So I did hot, cold showers,like I'd turn as hot as I could
stand for seven to 10 seconds,then turn it to as cold as I
could stand for seven to 10seconds.
When I wasn't doing those things, I was researching manically,
(26:51):
trying to look for any survivorstories from people who were
diagnosed with you know, whosedisease burden became evident
through a pleural effusion andhow they made it through because
the first oncologist I saw saidoh, your lungs are just going
to keep filling up with fluid.
They told me that I had six tonine months is basically what he
(27:15):
said.
If I were to do nothing, Iwould have six to nine months.
So it was 30 days.
We prayed over it.
I really agonized over whetherto do chemotherapy or not
because that would not have beenmy first choice and I really
wrestled with that decision.
So it was not easy and youcould probably do a whole show
on all the factors that go intoeven deciding and I know I'm
(27:38):
kind of getting into the weeds,but it is hard because you know,
with Chris and Courtney, whenthey were making their treatment
decisions, a key factor forthem was maintaining or
protecting their ability to havekids.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Those were really big levers for them, that that made
it a no brainer.
They're like no way.
I'm not going to ruin mychances to have biological
children of my own, I think,when we're in the next five
years, while they're home doingprotocols or do I want to try to
(28:18):
nip this thing as much as I can, and then with the possibility
of being fully present at leastfor the next five years, I don't
know Then that might soundreally weird, but the dynamics
of the decision are a littledifferent, I think, and they're
hard.
There's no easy button on anyof those decisions.
(28:38):
But, in the goodness of God,even after juicing and eating
raw for the first 30 days, Ilost 20 pounds, I was getting
stronger and my lungs stoppedfilling up with fluid.
If I had had a coach at thattime, I think they probably
would have told me well, hey,let's give it three months and
(28:59):
see if your numbers improve.
And now, looking back, that Ithink I probably had that option
.
But, like I said, the wholeworld felt like it was on fire.
So I'm trying not to go backand second guess, but, in the
goodness of God, he did so.
I chose an integrative path atthat point and I decided to do
(29:20):
three rounds of chemotherapyfirst and then the surgery, and
then followed by three morerounds of chemotherapy.
But the surgery I did not havelocally.
Locally I reached out to Mayoand we flew there because I like
.
I said, you just try to make thebest decisions that you can
make with what's available toyou, and God has been good, so
(29:44):
I'm now try to stick with plantbased whole foods as much as
possible.
I'm still feeding a lot ofteenagers and they like their
meat.
My husband likes to eat meat,so anyway, but that's you know
and the goodness of God.
By the time I even had thesurgery, there were no visible
tumors.
It had shrunk that much withinthree months.
So he definitely made hispresence known throughout the
(30:09):
whole journey, which I'm sograteful for.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Plus, you're practically neighbors with Chris
Wark, right.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yes, yes, I do have occasional Chris sightings.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Yes, yes, it's a good person to have around.
He's pretty knowledgeable aboutthings.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Absolutely, oh my goodness.
Yes, in fact, he's friends withmy younger brother.
I told my brother I said look,you don't understand.
Chris Work is a rock star.
He's really a genius.
So he's not an ordinary guy.
He is really amazing.
I said he's a hero to a lot ofpeople, which he definitely is.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Now is that how you heard about Healing Strong
through him?
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Sure, it is Of course .
Sure, it is Of course.
Yeah so and honestly, jim, it'sso good to even get to talk to
you.
This is such a full circlemoment because the podcast has
encouraged me so deeply since itstarted and it helps that you
have this voice that's drippingwith cheerfulness and it does.
(31:13):
But it just helped me rememberthat healing is possible,
because even as I went throughtreatment in the back of my mind
I really felt as Elijah.
I'm no better than my ancestors.
If God brings healing, it's notgoing to be because I figured
something out that they didn't,and that was just hard Because I
also wrestled with that.
(31:35):
Whether God healed me or not,it didn't change the fact that
he's still good.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
But your podcast just reminded me of the goodness of
God, reminded me with all yourinterviews that healing is
possible and your cheerfulnessdefinitely helps.
So I look forward to it.
Dripping, absolutely drippingwith cheerfulness.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Well, I have napkins here for that very reason.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Oh, so funny.
Never would have thought thatfour years later, on the other
side of my own diagnosis, that Iwould get to speak with you and
share the story that God hasgiven me to also share with
others that God is good, nomatter what.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
Well, there you go.
Yeah, you didn't have to run200 miles either, did you?
Speaker 1 (32:20):
No, I didn't, but it felt like it, it was.
It was definitely a marathon,for sure.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yeah, yes, and so now you had no idea you're a group
leader, right?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I am, yeah.
So, like many people that youhave interviewed on your podcast
, I went looking for a group,knowing that I needed that
healing community, and therewasn't one.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
And so I went ahead and started one in July of 2023,
right, yeah, we just had ourone year anniversary.
Wow, no-transcript say profprofits without honor in his own
(33:23):
country.
That's true.
So, uh, you know, I I thinkhe's putting his focus where it
needs to be and I've given theman open invitation to come and
sit in with our group anytime.
So I don't think, if he were toshow up, I don't think I would
be able to speak, because that'slike you know, trying to speak
(33:44):
intelligently in front of theprofessor and I just I wouldn't
be able to do that.
But if he were to come, I wouldjust let him take over.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Yeah, my first meeting we had, of course, I met
at the Cancer Survivors Park,which my first meeting there, I
should say had an oncologistsitting in just to hear what
we're doing.
I thought, oh my gosh, I can'tspeak with you sitting there.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Yeah, that would be intimidating.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Yeah, everything I'd say.
I'd have to check with him.
Is that true?
But he liked it, he liked it,he liked it.
So it worked out well.
As you know, with my podcast, Ilike to ask people what they
would do.
What would they say to somebodywho's listening right now for
the first time and they've justgotten their diagnosis?
How would you encourage them?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Wow, and that's a question I've thought about
before, as I've even looked atwhat I would have told myself.
Yeah, and the first thing isthat you do have time and Chris
tells everyone this too you havetime to do the research, to ask
(34:46):
the questions, so take the timeto have your questions answered
.
And another would be that it isgoing to take a team One thing
we've talked about in our group.
There's not one person that hasall the answers to deal with
(35:07):
all the factors involved in adisease occurring in the first
place and and to deal so.
So you know, take advantage ofyour conventional doctor for the
things that your insurancecovers and then look for the
other resources, but definitelyuse what you have.
See what's in your communityand available to you.
(35:29):
Is there somebody that doeshigh dose IV vitamin C?
Is there somebody who offers ahyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Is there someone that isknowledgeable about oncology,
nutrition and not just powdersor you know, but real, real food
and seek out what use what youhave first, and I love that
(35:52):
Chris mentions that there's nobeware the magic bullet.
There's no magic thing.
You got to look at the wholepicture.
I'd encourage people to dive inand just move forward utterly
prayerfully, that God, as Godmet Elijah and his need, god met
(36:12):
me and my need.
That same God is still at workand he's's still a
miracle-working God, to thepraise of his glorious grace,
and he still reveals himself toothers by working those miracles
.
And I experienced that, andit's possible for anyone to
experience that.
To experience that and so that,and knowing too, you know my
(36:35):
verse when I was walking through, I held very strongly to
Deuteronomy 31.8.
You know, the Lord himself goesbefore you and will be with you
.
He will never leave you norforsake you.
Do not be afraid, do not bediscouraged.
He truly does hold our handwhen we walk through these Red
Sea roads that he ordains.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Yes, very good, excellent, you get an A+.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Well, Stacey being one of three Stacey Loftus that
I know, but the only one on thepodcast, so that's nice.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
That's right.
I'm the only one who got to seeyou today.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
That makes me really special.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Yeah, I don't know how special that would make you,
but that's great.
Well, thank you so much fordoing this.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Thank you for having me.
You've been listening to the IAm Healing Strong podcast, a
part of the Healing Strongorganization.
We hope you found encouragementin this episode, as well as the
confidence to take control ofyour healing journey, knowing
that God will guide you on thispath.
Healing Strong is a nonprofitorganization whose mission is to
(37:47):
connect, support and educateindividuals facing cancer and
other diseases throughstrategies that help to rebuild
the body, renew the soul andrefresh the spirit.
It costs nothing to be a part ofa local or online group.
You can do that by going to ourwebsite at healingstrongorg and
(38:10):
finding a group near you or anonline group, or start your own,
your choice.
While you're there, take a lookaround at all the free
resources.
Though the resources and groupsare free, we encourage you to
join our membership program at$25 or $75 a month.
This helps us to be able toreach more people with hope and
(38:33):
encouragement, and that alsocomes with some extra perks as
well.
So check it out.
If you enjoyed this podcast,please give us a five-star
rating, leave an encouragingcomment and help us spread the
word.
We'll see you next week withanother story on the I Am
Healing Strong podcast.
So I shared with my husband that, if God was going
to give us this journey, that Iwas going to trust the Lord to
do for us what he did for Elijahto meet our needs, to
strengthen us and to provide thehelp that we needed.
And I chose to believe thatthere was going to be a way
(00:20):
through that.
The diagnosis was not thedestination, but an assignment
of something that God had for usto walk through.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You're listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast,
a part of the Healing Strongorganization, the number one
network of holistic cancersupport groups in the world.
Each week we bring you storiesof hope, real stories that will
encourage you as you navigateyour way on your own journey to
health.
Now here's your host stage fourcancer thriver, jim Mann.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Today I am traveling all the way to Memphis.
Well, my voice is anyway totalk to a guest who has an
incredible story, of course,stacey Loftus.
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm doing fabulous.
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Great.
Okay, I always talk aboutweather.
It's like an old person thing.
But how is the weather inMemphis today?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
It is wonderful.
It feels like fall.
It's just a touch of fall.
It's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yes, we had that yesterday.
That's why I'm thinking aboutweather, because it didn't get
past the 70s.
So I'm all excited about that,but it fakes us out.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
And then gets it does , yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Catches me off guard every year, every year of my
life.
It's just embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, don't get your winter clothes out just yet, way
too early.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I'll put them back after this.
Yeah, so you have like 15, 16kids.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Ah, six.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
That's close enough, right.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Oh my goodness, that's fun.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I wanted six and my wife wanted four, so we
compromised at four.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I'm one of eight, so my mom told me that after four,
once you've got four.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
You can handle more.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yes, so you could have handled at least 10.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I love a lot of kids, except for my last one
came when I was 50.
So I didn't want any past that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So were you born and raised in Memphis.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I was actually born in Illinois and my family moved
here when I was three months old.
So although technically I'm anortherner, I'm a southerner at
heart.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Tell me your memories of Illinois.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Yeah, none, but I hear there were great snowball
fights and lots of forts built.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And ice hockey in the backyard even, but I missed out
on all the good stuff.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Oh, I'm so sorry.
I had a lot of that inBaltimore, not quite as cold as
Illinois, but still Ice skatingon ponds and stuff like that.
I like that.
Yes, tell us a little bit aboutStacy here.
Did you want a gazillion kids?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, that's a great question.
I grew up in a family of eight,as I mentioned, and so that was
normal to me, and we had somuch fun and we still have so
much fun.
I became an aunt by the time Iwas nine and I have grew up with
more nieces and nephews thatwere born and have older
(03:12):
siblings who just made familyand marriage look easy.
My parents made it look wayeasier than it is, so that was
my normal and I wanted that formy own life.
And God has been graciousenough to give me a very dear,
sweet husband and he was open tohaving whatever kids God would
(03:33):
give us.
And God gave us our six andthey are a joy and they are a
lot of work.
But I wouldn't, you know, noparent would trade parenthood
for anything else.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It's such a gift.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It's such a gift, and I'm blown away by how much
parenting has taught me about myHeavenly Father.
That's been a really amazing,sobering thing how God has
instructed my heart as I'veparented and continue to learn
how to parent my kids.
So we decided to homeschool ourchildren.
(04:06):
And so, although all of themhave been in and out of
different school settings, sowe've used pretty much every
teaching modality at this point.
We've homeschooled, we've usedtutorials, we've they've been in
.
Some of them have been inpublic school for a few years
and our younger three are now ina local private school.
So we we kind of ran the gamut,depending on which, what was
(04:27):
needed in the season that wefound ourselves in.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
So Right, brilliant, so did you all.
Were you all healthy and activeor eat right?
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, yeah, you know um well, as, as best we could, I
guess um, I have a familyhistory of cancer in my story,
and so I lost my mom to breastcancer.
She was 56 years old and I was26 at the time when she passed.
And that was actually her secondround of dealing with cancer in
(05:00):
her life.
She was first diagnosed withbreast cancer when she was about
38.
And it was when my youngestbrother, the eighth of the eight
kids, was an infant and she hadradiation and no chemotherapy
and God gave her 20 more years.
God gave her 20 years of beingcancer free.
(05:21):
So I guess she was, had evenhave been 36 when she was
diagnosed.
But that first time, and thenso the last time that she was
diagnosed with cancer because ofheart issues, chemotherapy was
not an option, even though thetraditional oncologist suggested
it for her.
And so that was kind of when mywhen holistic things were
(05:46):
placed on my own radar, becauseshe discovered Dr Richard
Schultz and she and my dad werejuicing and eating plant based
and, you know, doing colonicsand just a lot of different
things to try to extend her life, you know, as long as possible.
And God did give her two moreyears even after that, so that
(06:12):
the reality that cancer I couldhave had a genetic
predisposition towards cancerwas definitely in the back of my
mind.
I did not want to get genetictesting done before my own
diagnosis.
I didn't want to.
I thought it would make me livekind of in fear and I didn't
want to deal with that so, and Imostly tried to eat, eat and
(06:35):
serve real food to my family.
But I don't know if this isunique to a large family, but
there's a serious kind ofpressure to getting food on the
table and it being things thateveryone likes to eat.
And so, looking back, I reallysuccumbed to a lot of
convenience foods that became anorm and became the staples in
(06:57):
our home that were not healthyfor them or me.
And then, once our oldest hitmiddle school and they started
doing all the activities, allthe sports and all the music and
theater I'm.
You know, there was one yearthat every Monday I would spend
four hours in the car carpoolingand I had this schedule.
(07:17):
I had reminders pop up on myphone with set, set alarms, like
in 30 minute increments, likehad I had.
I was so proud of the schedulethat year because everybody was
able to do something, but every30 minutes I was going picking
one up and taking one, and Ilook back now I'm like that was
so insane, insane, um, but sothere was a lot of fast food
(07:41):
going on too, when you'respending that much time in the
car getting your kids where theyneed to be.
You're not home to cook.
I did try to use a crock pot,but anyway, so no, what compared
to what I know now and what I'mstill learning to do now, we
were not really very healthy,you know not, not really we.
(08:02):
We were existing often in thetyranny of the urgent, as they
say.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Was your schedule kind of stressful to you?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, it was very stressful.
You know, I loved homeschoolingmy kids and I would not trade
that for anything.
But now I know, looking back,what I expected of myself was
not healthy and I just assumedthat.
You know, the lack of sleep andthe fatigue that I felt and the
(08:32):
overwhelm that I felt wassomething that I was the only
one experiencing, that everybodyelse had it figured out but me.
And if I just worked harder, ifI just studied more, if I just
researched more, then I'd be abetter homeschool mom.
But I just wasn't working hardenough.
And, looking back, I now knowthat I was putting myself in the
(08:55):
place of God.
I was expecting myself to besuperhuman and to have
superhuman energy and superhumanintellect, and I was expecting
myself things that God had notnecessarily put on my plate, you
know, because I lost my mom soyoung as a 26 year old, young
mom and young wife.
(09:16):
I didn't, you know, I justdidn't know how really to seek
out the help that I needed tomake those that overwhelm a
little better.
So, yeah, I can look back nowand definitely see that was a
really big problem.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, I mean I don't want to mention this, but we're
on the street, was?
Speaker 1 (09:35):
you were lagging behind everybody else, so I know
, I know I wasn't keeping up.
I was not keeping up Terrible.
Oh just awful.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
So then, 2020, when the whole galaxy shut down, was
not a good year for you, Iunderstand.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Yeah, no, it was not.
So my younger sister, who hasfour children she had
homeschooled hers when they wereyounger and they had been in
school.
But after spring of 2019happened, we decided that we
would form a homeschool podtogether and we planned the
(10:14):
local tutorials were not evenmeeting in person, everything
was virtual.
So we decided two days a weekher kids would come to my house
and we'd set everybody up ontheir laptops and do their
coursework and they'd get thebenefit of hanging out with
cousins and eating together anddoing their schoolwork together.
And we were really determinedto make it a happy time and to
(10:39):
kind of redeem the hardshipsthat were going on.
And so we worked really hard toput together this plan and two
weeks into this new school yearwe had taken one of my sons off
to college for his freshman year, about three hours away from
(11:00):
our home, and so we had moved,got him moved in, and that week
I just had trouble sleeping.
When I'd lay down I just had anache in my side that would not
go away If I sat up.
It was better, but it continuedand of course, my internist
wasn't seeing people in person.
(11:22):
You had to do a virtualappointment first.
So we went through all of thatand, lo and behold, discovered
that I was having troublebecause my lungs had fluid in
them.
So she was able to send me to alocal hospital to have the lung
drained and that followingTuesday I guess it was I was
(11:44):
alone at the house, which I'mrarely alone, but I happened to
be alone at that moment when shecalled and I was having trouble
, like I couldn't speak veryloudly and I couldn't even
because it was starting toaffect my breathing.
And so I got that phone callthat we all remember very
(12:05):
vividly in this community, thatphone call where she said you
know, the, the cells from yourlung, the fluid in your lungs,
are adenocarcinoma cells and youhave cancer.
And at the time we didn't knowthe source of the cancer, but we
knew that it was cancer.
So you know, that's a ton ofrisks.
(12:27):
I mean it imploded, the panicbegan and it was very real.
I was shocked because I thoughtI had done a lot of things or,
you know, tried to be more aware.
I thought I had some cancerprevention things going on in my
life, thought I was healthyBecause, other than having
(12:50):
children, the only times I'vebeen hospitalized in my whole
life were when I was expectingand had my kids.
I didn't have a history of anyother kind of illness at all.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
How did your kids react to that?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, well, the first person I had to tell was my
husband and growing up in aChristian home, and both my
husband and I came to Christ aschildren, and so we both know
nothing randomly happens in abeliever's life that God has a
purpose.
And not only does God have apurpose, he has already walked
(13:31):
before you in whatever comes.
So I knew this, as those of usin Christ know that this was not
a surprise, but I knew I didnot want to just dump this news
on Him when he got home fromwork, to just dump this news on
him when he got home from work.
What came to my mind and whatimmediately came to my heart?
And I'm still I'm just fouryears out, so I'm still sifting
(13:53):
through what happened, becauseit was all highly traumatic, in
all honesty.
But what came to my mind wasElijah, when he was running from
Jezebel and he was terrified,and scripture says he was afraid
, and this is in 1 Kings 19.
And he told the Lord.
(14:14):
In fact, I'm going to read itbecause I think it's just so
human and I love this passage.
It says Elijah was afraid andran for his life.
When he came to Beersheba andJudah, he left his servant there
while he himself went a day'sjourney into the desert.
He came to a broom tree, satdown under it and prayed that he
might die.
I've had enough, lord.
(14:35):
He said, take my life, I'm nobetter than my ancestors.
Then he lay down under the treeand fell asleep.
All at once, an angel touchedhim and said get up and eat.
He looked around and there byhis head, was a cake of bread
baked over hot coals and a jarof water.
He ate and drank and then laydown again.
The angel of the Lord came backa second time and touched him
(14:58):
and said get up and eat, for thejourney is too much for you.
So he got up and ate and drank.
Strengthened by that food, hetraveled 40 days and 40 nights
until he reached Horeb, themountain of God.
There he went into a cave andspent the night.
What I love about this passageis we see Elijah, who we know is
(15:20):
a prophet who had just had thisvictory over the false god Baal
, and by the, by the power ofthe Lord.
He had witnessed firsthand thepower of the Lord.
And yet when somebody said hey,queen Jezebel heard what you
just did and she's coming tokill you, and he's terrified.
He's very human and so gettingthat phone call for me was very
(15:44):
terrifying, because I wasalready well acquainted with
cancer and I was very wellacquainted with what that
journey can look like, and I'dalso lost one of my brothers in
2016 to cancer.
So one thing that was on myheart is I really don't want
(16:05):
this path.
I know that it's of the Lordand he's allowing it, but this
is a ride I just don't want totake.
And the other thing that gotimpressed upon my heart was the
journey is too much for you.
It's like, of course you don'twant this because this journey
is too much for you.
So that's the passage that Ishared with my husband, because
(16:27):
what I chose to draw from it isthat, instead of rebuking Elijah
for being afraid, god met himthere and he sent Elijah what he
needed.
He sent Elijah food, he madesure Elijah got rest and he gave
him strength by that food torun like this marathon.
(16:48):
It was a 200 mile distance bythe way, to Mount Horeb, which
is crazy, so it took him 40 daysand 40 nights to make that run.
So I shared with my husbandthat if God was going to give us
this journey that I was goingto trust the Lord to do for us
(17:09):
what he did for Elijah to meetour needs, to strengthen us, our
needs to strengthen us and toprovide the help that we needed.
And I chose to believe thatthere was going to be a way
through that.
The diagnosis was not thedestination, but an assignment
(17:31):
of something that God had for usto walk through.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Wow, look at you, you're so mature.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Oh goodness.
But now you had asked about ourkids.
So one thing I would dodifferently we gathered our kids
that weekend because we had adaughter who lives in Middle
Tennessee and a son that we hadjust taken to college, and then
the other four at home.
So they all came home thatweekend and we told them all
together.
So they all came home thatweekend and we told them all
(17:56):
together.
I kind of think it might'vebeen better for each one had I
taken the time as painful as itwould have been to sit down with
each one and tell themindividually.
But we did, you know, share itwith them as a group, and I
shared this passage with them aswell.
Just that.
Now we, you know, we didn'tknow what the future was going
(18:16):
to hold, but we were going totrust the Lord to provide for us
, and they were.
They were fantastic.
It's still something all ofthem are sifting through, but
they were helpful and they havelearned to trust the Lord in new
ways and it's given them greatcompassion.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
And I totally get that initial shock when you get
the news.
It's like being knocked out byMike Tyson, but in your days for
a while.
But then you do get back up,especially if you believe in God
.
I don't know how people handlestuff like this if they don't
believe in God.
I was like in a daze for awhile and then I just started
(18:57):
seeing signs of God saying hey,don't worry about this, I've got
you.
And I remember and I don't thinkI've told this part of my story
, but I remember because I wasat Disney when that happened and
I have some friends who live atCelebration, which is like the
neighborhood there for richpeople.
Their backyard is Disney but Iwent to see the fireworks.
(19:20):
So I was with them watching thefireworks at Epcot and as we
were leaving in the mass crowd Idon't know if you ever left
Epcot after fireworks, but it'sjust like the whole earth is
shifting while people are goingto their cars I told my friend
what happened, how I was justdiagnosed with cancer, and he
just stopped everything and juststarted praying for me and the
(19:42):
whole crowd had to kind of walkaround us because we're standing
right in the middle.
It was just a weird feelingbecause I thought my life's
probably almost over.
But here it is, my good friendis stopping, no matter what's
going on around us, and he'spraying.
And he's praying pretty good,and I thought that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, that's a good friend.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yeah, and his wife is standing off in the distance
thinking what's happening here.
And she found out.
But yeah, yeah, nice.
I just happened to remember.
I don't think I've ever sharedthat, so there you go.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
No, that's a new one.
He was, yeah, he was taking youto Jesus in the middle of all
the crowd.
That's like the men bringingtheir friend down through the
roof on the pallet.
I was like he didn't care aboutthe traffic.
He was going to stop and takeyou to Jesus for a minute.
That was awesome yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I was impressed with him basically, and happy to get
the prayer.
Did you go to the oncologistright away, or what was your
plan of attack here?
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Yeah, so my internist helped get me in with an
oncologist.
We first saw a generaloncologist and that was our
first experience in the middleof that 2020 time, locally at
our local cancer center, andthat was that in and of itself
was an experience, because a lotof people had postponed
(21:03):
treatments during the pandemicbecause of the difficulties in
going anywhere and a lot ofappointments had been delayed.
So by August of 2020, peoplehad started coming back to get
caught back up and so it was asea of humanity and you couldn't
go in.
(21:23):
So the line is out the door andeveryone is masked up and
they're stopping to ask everyonehave you had any shortness of
breath or coughing?
And you know, check yourtemperature?
And they're asking you the 20questions.
And of course, I had just causeon top of my pleural effusion,
the fluid in my lung, withinthat week.
(21:44):
So the night we told our kidsthere of course they're all at
home I started having anotherpain and it would not go away
and turned out it was apulmonary embolism and I had to
go to the emergency room.
And that early that nextmorning, and even though there
wasn't anyone in the emergencyroom, they would not let my
husband come in with me.
I could hardly speak, I washaving trouble breathing and I
(22:06):
had to stagger in in my pajamasby myself and they're asking me
all these questions and I couldnot speak.
I do believe it was by thegrace of God that he broke it up
enough for me to be free ofpain by the time they got me
back to triage.
But then when they did a CTscan, they still saw a pulmonary
embolism there.
So it, so it.
(22:26):
It got crazy really fast.
But it was not easy to get inand get answers because of this
backlog of people.
You know, our local cancercenter has three levels and and
it was just people everywhere,lots of people in wheelchairs
who are, you know, lots ofpeople not doing well at all.
And I just felt I said, lord,you have landed me in the land
(22:50):
of affliction here.
It was really sad, and it was.
It was hard to navigate butanyway.
So I had to see a generaloncologist who then, after they
got some results from CT scans,connected me with a
gynecological oncologist andthey discovered that I had an
(23:11):
eight and a half centimetertumor on my right ovary.
At that point they determinedthat it was an ovarian cancer
and because it had spread intothe fluid of my lung.
They said it was a stage fourcancer.
They were ready immediately toget me scheduled for surgery and
(23:32):
like this is within the initialmeeting of an oncologist and I
could not process my brainaround it.
All I could think of is ohgreat, now I've got a serious
comorbidity issue.
But given all that was going onand the threat of illness and
then the last thing I wanted todo in that season was to spend a
lot of time in the hospitalbecause our hospitals were
(23:53):
suffering like hospitalseverywhere.
The nurses were overworked.
It was a very traumatic placeto be and I knew too because the
surgery for ovarian cancer it'scalled a debulking surgery and
basically it's a dumpster fire,like they are removing your
(24:16):
omentum, your uterus, yourfallopian tubes, your ovaries,
and usually they take lymphnodes and while they're in there
, if they need to take yourspleen and some liver and your
appendix.
And I just didn't trust anyoneenough to go there at that point
.
And then I was very overweightas well at the time and I knew
that that would not help myrecovery process from a surgery
(24:40):
like that and I would have hadto have been alone.
Like the surgery is five toseven hours, sometimes longer,
with a hospital, say, a five to10 days on average.
Like my brain, I was trying tothink through all the things and
just like I'm not going to bein the hospital without an
advocate that's not you know.
So I just had to weigh all ofthose things and so I ended up
(25:02):
seeing three differentoncologists before I made a
decision.
And what I came to throughprayer, first things we did
because it took time to getthose.
Second opinions, and so therewere a lot of things that I did
right off the bat.
I had bought Chris Wark'sCrispy Cancer when my brother
was battling cancer, and at thetime I'd watched all the modules
(25:25):
and in my mind I'm like, okay,this is what I'm going to do if
I ever get that diagnosis.
I'm just going to jump intothis.
I never anticipated getting adiagnosis, only to find I was
already in a stage four.
It's like, oh, great Lord, youput me in the fourth quarter of
this game.
I'm not even at halftime.
Like you landed me in this gamewhen I'm not even gonna have a
chance.
Like I don't.
I just don't understand.
(25:46):
So it affected, you know, thefact that we're in a pandemic,
the fact that we don't have anynaturopathic oncologists in this
area, the state of Tennessee.
It is not legal, to you know,to be a practicing naturopathic
oncologist.
You can't market yourself inthat way.
So I didn't have that supportperson for my team here locally
(26:09):
and so it took time to find ateam.
But I definitely pulled strongfrom Chris's book and I
immediately knew that I neededto get off all meat, all dairy
and all sugar.
So I did.
I knew I needed to startjuicing, and which we did with a
vengeance.
I knew I needed to move everyday, so my husband started going
for a 30 minute walk with me at630 every morning.
(26:30):
I knew that there was value inhydrotherapy and so, because I
was having trouble breathing, Iknew I needed to move my lungs.
So I did hot, cold showers,like I'd turn as hot as I could
stand for seven to 10 seconds,then turn it to as cold as I
could stand for seven to 10seconds.
When I wasn't doing those things, I was researching manically,
(26:51):
trying to look for any survivorstories from people who were
diagnosed with you know, whosedisease burden became evident
through a pleural effusion andhow they made it through because
the first oncologist I saw saidoh, your lungs are just going
to keep filling up with fluid.
They told me that I had six tonine months is basically what he
(27:15):
said.
If I were to do nothing, Iwould have six to nine months.
So it was 30 days.
We prayed over it.
I really agonized over whetherto do chemotherapy or not
because that would not have beenmy first choice and I really
wrestled with that decision.
So it was not easy and youcould probably do a whole show
on all the factors that go intoeven deciding and I know I'm
(27:38):
kind of getting into the weeds,but it is hard because you know,
with Chris and Courtney, whenthey were making their treatment
decisions, a key factor forthem was maintaining or
protecting their ability to havekids.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Those were really big levers for them, that that made
it a no brainer.
They're like no way.
I'm not going to ruin mychances to have biological
children of my own, I think,when we're in the next five
years, while they're home doingprotocols or do I want to try to
(28:18):
nip this thing as much as I can, and then with the possibility
of being fully present at leastfor the next five years, I don't
know Then that might soundreally weird, but the dynamics
of the decision are a littledifferent, I think, and they're
hard.
There's no easy button on anyof those decisions.
(28:38):
But, in the goodness of God,even after juicing and eating
raw for the first 30 days, Ilost 20 pounds, I was getting
stronger and my lungs stoppedfilling up with fluid.
If I had had a coach at thattime, I think they probably
would have told me well, hey,let's give it three months and
(28:59):
see if your numbers improve.
And now, looking back, that Ithink I probably had that option
.
But, like I said, the wholeworld felt like it was on fire.
So I'm trying not to go backand second guess, but, in the
goodness of God, he did so.
I chose an integrative path atthat point and I decided to do
(29:20):
three rounds of chemotherapyfirst and then the surgery, and
then followed by three morerounds of chemotherapy.
But the surgery I did not havelocally.
Locally I reached out to Mayoand we flew there because I like
.
I said, you just try to make thebest decisions that you can
make with what's available toyou, and God has been good, so
(29:44):
I'm now try to stick with plantbased whole foods as much as
possible.
I'm still feeding a lot ofteenagers and they like their
meat.
My husband likes to eat meat,so anyway, but that's you know
and the goodness of God.
By the time I even had thesurgery, there were no visible
tumors.
It had shrunk that much withinthree months.
So he definitely made hispresence known throughout the
(30:09):
whole journey, which I'm sograteful for.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Plus, you're practically neighbors with Chris
Wark, right.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yes, yes, I do have occasional Chris sightings.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Yes, yes, it's a good person to have around.
He's pretty knowledgeable aboutthings.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Absolutely, oh my goodness.
Yes, in fact, he's friends withmy younger brother.
I told my brother I said look,you don't understand.
Chris Work is a rock star.
He's really a genius.
So he's not an ordinary guy.
He is really amazing.
I said he's a hero to a lot ofpeople, which he definitely is.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Now is that how you heard about Healing Strong
through him?
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Sure, it is Of course .
Sure, it is Of course.
Yeah so and honestly, jim, it'sso good to even get to talk to
you.
This is such a full circlemoment because the podcast has
encouraged me so deeply since itstarted and it helps that you
have this voice that's drippingwith cheerfulness and it does.
(31:13):
But it just helped me rememberthat healing is possible,
because even as I went throughtreatment in the back of my mind
I really felt as Elijah.
I'm no better than my ancestors.
If God brings healing, it's notgoing to be because I figured
something out that they didn't,and that was just hard Because I
also wrestled with that.
(31:35):
Whether God healed me or not,it didn't change the fact that
he's still good.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
But your podcast just reminded me of the goodness of
God, reminded me with all yourinterviews that healing is
possible and your cheerfulnessdefinitely helps.
So I look forward to it.
Dripping, absolutely drippingwith cheerfulness.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Well, I have napkins here for that very reason.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Oh, so funny.
Never would have thought thatfour years later, on the other
side of my own diagnosis, that Iwould get to speak with you and
share the story that God hasgiven me to also share with
others that God is good, nomatter what.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
Well, there you go.
Yeah, you didn't have to run200 miles either, did you?
Speaker 1 (32:20):
No, I didn't, but it felt like it, it was.
It was definitely a marathon,for sure.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Yeah, yes, and so now you had no idea you're a group
leader, right?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I am, yeah.
So, like many people that youhave interviewed on your podcast
, I went looking for a group,knowing that I needed that
healing community, and therewasn't one.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
And so I went ahead and started one in July of 2023,
right, yeah, we just had ourone year anniversary.
Wow, no-transcript say profprofits without honor in his own
(33:23):
country.
That's true.
So, uh, you know, I I thinkhe's putting his focus where it
needs to be and I've given theman open invitation to come and
sit in with our group anytime.
So I don't think, if he were toshow up, I don't think I would
be able to speak, because that'slike you know, trying to speak
(33:44):
intelligently in front of theprofessor and I just I wouldn't
be able to do that.
But if he were to come, I wouldjust let him take over.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Yeah, my first meeting we had, of course, I met
at the Cancer Survivors Park,which my first meeting there, I
should say had an oncologistsitting in just to hear what
we're doing.
I thought, oh my gosh, I can'tspeak with you sitting there.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Yeah, that would be intimidating.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
Yeah, everything I'd say.
I'd have to check with him.
Is that true?
But he liked it, he liked it,he liked it.
So it worked out well.
As you know, with my podcast, Ilike to ask people what they
would do.
What would they say to somebodywho's listening right now for
the first time and they've justgotten their diagnosis?
How would you encourage them?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Wow, and that's a question I've thought about
before, as I've even looked atwhat I would have told myself.
Yeah, and the first thing isthat you do have time and Chris
tells everyone this too you havetime to do the research, to ask
(34:46):
the questions, so take the timeto have your questions answered
.
And another would be that it isgoing to take a team One thing
we've talked about in our group.
There's not one person that hasall the answers to deal with
(35:07):
all the factors involved in adisease occurring in the first
place and and to deal so.
So you know, take advantage ofyour conventional doctor for the
things that your insurancecovers and then look for the
other resources, but definitelyuse what you have.
See what's in your communityand available to you.
(35:29):
Is there somebody that doeshigh dose IV vitamin C?
Is there somebody who offers ahyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Is there someone that isknowledgeable about oncology,
nutrition and not just powdersor you know, but real, real food
and seek out what use what youhave first, and I love that
(35:52):
Chris mentions that there's nobeware the magic bullet.
There's no magic thing.
You got to look at the wholepicture.
I'd encourage people to dive inand just move forward utterly
prayerfully, that God, as Godmet Elijah and his need, god met
(36:12):
me and my need.
That same God is still at workand he's's still a
miracle-working God, to thepraise of his glorious grace,
and he still reveals himself toothers by working those miracles
.
And I experienced that, andit's possible for anyone to
experience that.
To experience that and so that,and knowing too, you know my
(36:35):
verse when I was walking through, I held very strongly to
Deuteronomy 31.8.
You know, the Lord himself goesbefore you and will be with you
.
He will never leave you norforsake you.
Do not be afraid, do not bediscouraged.
He truly does hold our handwhen we walk through these Red
Sea roads that he ordains.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
Yes, very good, excellent, you get an A+.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Well, Stacey being one of three Stacey Loftus that
I know, but the only one on thepodcast, so that's nice.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
That's right.
I'm the only one who got to seeyou today.
Speaker 3 (37:14):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
That makes me really special.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Yeah, I don't know how special that would make you,
but that's great.
Well, thank you so much fordoing this.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Thank you for having me.
You've been listening to the IAm Healing Strong podcast, a
part of the Healing Strongorganization.
We hope you found encouragementin this episode, as well as the
confidence to take control ofyour healing journey, knowing
that God will guide you on thispath.
Healing Strong is a nonprofitorganization whose mission is to
(37:47):
connect, support and educateindividuals facing cancer and
other diseases throughstrategies that help to rebuild
the body, renew the soul andrefresh the spirit.
It costs nothing to be a part ofa local or online group.
You can do that by going to ourwebsite at healingstrongorg and
(38:10):
finding a group near you or anonline group, or start your own,
your choice.
While you're there, take a lookaround at all the free
resources.
Though the resources and groupsare free, we encourage you to
join our membership program at$25 or $75 a month.
This helps us to be able toreach more people with hope and
(38:33):
encouragement, and that alsocomes with some extra perks as
well.
So check it out.
If you enjoyed this podcast,please give us a five-star
rating, leave an encouragingcomment and help us spread the
word.
We'll see you next week withanother story on the I Am
Healing Strong podcast.
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