October 29, 2024 • 31 mins
Shakira Porter, who likes to be referred to as Kira and California HealingStrong Group Leader, faced an unexpected pancreatic cancer diagnosis at the age of 47, despite feeling like she led a seemingly healthy life. Kira continues her story of an urgent surgery and a challenging recovery. She candidly shares the unexpected moments, like finding irony in hospital meals and the profound relief of discovering her cancer was contained. Throughout her experience, Kira’s belief in a greater plan and her determination to trust in God’s path provided a peace as she prepared for the path that lay ahead.
The episode takes you through Kira's battle with cancer, marked by emotional and physical hurdles and encountering complications like hospitalization and COVID-19. She speaks on how these trials strengthened her reliance on her loved ones and faith community.
The journey of healing goes beyond physical treatment as Kira discovers the Square One program by Chris Wark, which changed her perspective on recovery. Celebrating a year with the program, Kira discusses the importance of addressing spiritual and emotional healing alongside physical health, leading her to establish a HealingStrong group in her own town. Her story highlights the power of support and education in overcoming life's toughest battles, and she invites listeners to join her on this path of hope and encouragement.
Contact Kira at:
Healingstrongscv@gmail.com
HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.
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When you do, you will receive additional resources such as: webinars, access to ALL our past and most recent conference videos, downloadables and more, as a bonus.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
People would send me like, oh, the Lord put this on
my heart.
Like my sister-in-law She'd saythe Lord put this verse on my
heart today for you, and I justwant you to know I'm thinking of
you, and it would be Isaiah41.10.
And I'd be like oh that's theone from the semi truck, like
that's so crazy and like justthings like that.
So I mean I felt comforted andI felt you know, I don't need to
(00:21):
worry too much because you know, whatever happens it's the
Lord's plan for me and he'sgotten me through so much in my
life.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So I just trusted in God and, kind of you know, kept
going, moving forward.
You're listening to the I AmHealing 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
(00:54):
health.
Now here's your host stage fourcancer thriver, jim Mann.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
If you haven't listened to part one of Akira's
story, I invite you to do thatnow, before we start part two.
But even before that, I'd liketo take a moment and recognize a
partner of Healing StrongBarlow Herbal, led by owner and
master herbalist Jane BarlowChristensen, offers potent
herbal products.
Jane is known for her expertisein herbal remedies and natural
(01:21):
healing, with a focus oneducating individuals about the
health benefits of medicinalherbs for daily wellness.
To learn more, go toBarlowHerbalcom and use Healing
Strong 10 to save.
And now here is part two ofKara's story.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So I'm meeting with the pancreatic surgeon and he's
basically telling me that Iguess my cyst has like three out
of four features for it beingcancer.
So he says I don't think youshould wait two months to get
this out.
He's like I think you should dothis as soon as possible.
And he's like I can get you innext week for the distal
(02:00):
pancreatectomy.
And he's like, if you want todo that, I think I really think
you should just get it out assoon as possible.
And I talked it over with myhusband real quick and we said,
okay, yeah, let's do it, let'sjust go ahead and schedule it.
And so I go on to do, you know,the blood work beforehand and
all the scans and things thatthey need to do scans and things
(02:27):
that they need to do.
And a week later I went in andI had my surgery on June 8th of
2023.
And I didn't know how extensivethat surgery was, which was
probably a good thing.
I was nervous about it but,like you can read about it, but
then experiencing it as atotally different thing.
So I didn't realize that when Iwoke up, the pain that I would
be in and I had like the tubecoming out of my stomach with
(02:49):
the little drain bag and stuffand it was.
It was pretty rough.
That was a pretty rough surgeryand I'm on a liquid diet, which
was hilarious, because whenthey brought me my liquid diet I
had some broth but theneverything else liquid was like
high fructose corn syrup andlike all these juices and things
that you know.
(03:09):
As I had been reading a littlebit, I was just like I thought
that you shouldn't have sugarwhen you have cancer.
Like why are they giving us,you know, juice with high
fructose corn syrup and cornsyrup and all this kind of stuff
?
So that was kind of strange.
In the hospital and I was therefor about a week and the day
before I left the pancreaticsurgeon came in and that's when
(03:31):
he said and he's like, I'm sorryhe's like, but it is cancer,
you have adenocarcinoma and he'slike.
You know it's stage one.
And he said it doesn't seem tohave spread anywhere.
Your spleen was clean.
You know they took out like 10or 20 lymph nodes and he said
(03:53):
everything was clean, there wasno spread.
He felt like it was pretty wellcontained, I guess, in the cyst
, inside of the cyst.
And then, you know, thankfully,when I read about biopsies.
Now I've read about if they doa biopsy it can spread the
cancer.
So I kind of look at thatbenign test as God's hand on me
(04:15):
as well, because had theyactually hit the cancer cells it
could have spread.
You know, I don't know, butthat's some of the stuff that
I've read about it that you knowthe biopsies can be a little
scary because it can spread thecancer.
So I mean I was shocked, but Imean also he did prepare me for
(04:36):
it that it was something thatcould potentially happen.
And then he said I needed tostart chemotherapy in about
eight weeks.
He said recover for eight weeksand then you're going to start
chemo.
And he weeks he said recoverfor eight weeks and then you're
going to start chemo.
And he's like you're young soyou can handle it.
They were saying all this kindof stuff to me a lot, which was
hilarious.
It's like I think you'll betotally fine on this chemo.
(04:58):
He's like it's a really roughchemo treatment but he's like
with your age and you're healthy, otherwise I think you're going
to be totally fine with thechemotherapy.
And so you know I went home twomonths.
I'm just kind of you know, anemotional wreck about everything
.
Right, I'm praying a lot.
(05:19):
I felt the Lord's presence withme throughout everything.
You know, there were timeswhere I'd be in prayer and ask
the Lord to, like, you know,give me, you know, some kind of
a message.
Let me know you're here with me, and and I'd open my Bible to,
like Psalm 103, or Psalm 20,which is another one of the ones
(05:40):
that I repeatedly would, wouldsee places or someone would send
it to me.
And in Psalm 20, he's like intimes of trouble, may the Lord
respond to your cry.
And then, at the end, may hegrant your heart's desire and
fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy when wehear of your victory, flying
banners to honor our God.
May the Lord answer all yourprayers.
(06:02):
And so that comforted me a lotthroughout it, even though I was
really scared about you knowwhat had just happened.
I really got heavy intoscripture.
I had Philippians four, sixthrough seven, you know, next to
my bed on like a giant piece ofpaper.
So every day I would read it.
And you know, peace of God,which transcends all
(06:24):
understanding, you know, guardmy heart in Christ Jesus.
And and um, that helped me somuch and I and I did you know
people would send me like, oh,the Lord put this on my heart.
Like my sister-in-law she'd saythe Lord put this verse on my
heart today for you, and I justwant you to know I'm thinking of
you and it would be Isaiah 4110.
And I'd be like, oh, that's theone from the semi truck, like
(06:45):
that's so crazy and like justthings like that.
So I mean, I felt comforted andI felt, you know, I don't need
to worry too much because youknow, whatever happens it's the
Lord's plan for me and he'sgotten me through so much in my
life.
So I just trusted in God andkind of, you know, kept going,
moving forward.
(07:05):
I'm a very type A personality.
I plan everything, I've got mynotes and I'm very organized.
And so I met with the nursenavigator at City of Hope and
they, you know, they give youall of like these are your
medications, you need to takethis one at this time and this
one at this time, and then getthis medication if you get
diarrhea, and this medication ifyou're constipated, and then
(07:27):
make sure you have this and thisand this.
And so I got all of my stufftogether and I was like I don't
want to do chemo.
I really was not lookingforward to doing chemo, but this
was what my doctor said.
You know, they said they metwith the whole cancer board at
the hospital, where they havelike a radiologist and
oncologist and the surgeon, andthey all agreed like, yes, this
(07:50):
is a standard of care.
Like you need to do six monthsI think it was six months of
full Farinox chemotherapy andfor that particular chemotherapy
you need to have a port placedbecause you go in on a Monday
and you get like three of thedifferent chemo infusions and
(08:11):
then you leave with a fanny packand you're still connected to
it of another medication thatstays for two days.
So I would go home on Mondayand then come back on Wednesday
for them to take that bag offand unhook me and do all that
kind of jazz.
So I didn't want to get theport because I was scared to get
(08:34):
it, but they said I had to.
So I went and scheduled that andthat port I don't know if it's
called a surgery or but theprocedure, um, it was horrible.
It just was extremely painful.
Um, I left in extreme pain.
I had extreme pain in it for acouple of weeks afterwards and I
(08:57):
was calling their office andsaying I'm still not comfortable
with this thing.
It hurts so bad and I'msupposed to start chemo in a
week.
Like how am I going to startchemo if this thing, it hurts so
bad and I'm supposed to startchemo in a week?
Like how am I going to startchemo if this thing doesn't feel
good and they're like you'llget used to it?
It's just because you're asmaller frame and I had lost a
good 15 pounds after the surgeryand so I was pretty thin and
(09:22):
they just kept saying I wouldget used to it and it would feel
better eventually.
And it didn't.
So I went and I started mychemotherapy and at the end of
that first week I ended up inthe ER because I had gotten such
horrible side effects from thefull Farinox, apparently like my
(09:43):
whole digestive system had justshut down and so I wasn't able
to go to the bathroom.
So I was hospitalized for thatover the weekend.
Um, they took care of that.
I came home and then came downwith covid, which I think I
caught in the hospital.
So yes so they pushed.
They pushed my next um, my nexttreatment, back another week
(10:06):
because I had to test negativefor the COVID in order to come
back and do the next chemo.
So that happened and my wholefamily got COVID.
We all got COVID from that andluckily it was more like a cold
this time.
So we all recovered and I wentto the second chemo treatment
(10:27):
Monday, got my bag Wednesday,went back, got it unhooked.
Friday morning I woke up andtook a shower and I looked in
the mirror and the vein in myneck above the port was just
completely bubbled out, justswollen, wow.
And I looked at it and I didn'tfeel great.
(10:47):
I kind of had a woozy feelingin my body and I just didn't
feel right.
And so my son was at schoolalready and so I called my
husband, who was downstairs, andI said I don't think this is
good, like this doesn't lookgood and I don't feel right,
something's up.
And so we get in the car and wedrive over to my oncologist and
(11:10):
I walk up to them and I'm justlike I don't have an appointment
, but I need to see my doctorright now.
And so he comes out and helooks at me and looks at my neck
and he's like you got to go tothe ER right now.
He's like I think you have ablood clot.
And I thought, oh okay,fabulous.
So my husband and I get in thecar and he called over so they
(11:31):
knew I was coming and luckily weget there and they get me back
right away.
And they took great care of meat the ER and they did an
ultrasound and they were doingall the tests and the doctor
comes in and he's like you haveblood clots all over.
He's like you've got bloodclots all around the port.
He said there's a clot in yourjugular vein that the port is
(11:54):
going into.
And he says and you have apulmonary embolism in your left
lung, so there's clots in mylungs.
And he's like we have to takethe port out.
You've got to get the port out.
And my husband had left to gopick up our son from school by
that point and you know I wasafter he walked out I was just
(12:16):
laying there alone in thehospital room and I was praying
and I was like Lord, I don'tknow what you're doing with my
life and I don't know what'sgoing on right now, but I'm just
going to trust you and go withthe flow and just help me.
And I heard the Holy Spiritspeak to me and say you're okay,
(12:40):
you don't need to do thisanymore.
And after that I was just kindof filled with that peace again.
I just had a peace about it anda calmness.
I wasn't scared anymore, I wasjust calm about it and I just
knew I was like okay, I don'tneed to do the chemo.
That's what God's saying to me,like I'm already healed, he's
(13:03):
already taken care of it.
And the doctor came back in andhe's like we're going to admit
you to the hospital and we'regoing to get you on a heparin
drip right away and you're goingto stay and we've got to get
rid of the blood clots.
And you know, my husband cameback and I told him you know
that okay now I've got bloodclots Yay, just like he did, you
(13:26):
know, the year before from theCOVID and he had gotten put on
Eloquist and and they had saidyou're going to need to go on
Eloquist.
And I was like, all right, Ialready know about Eloquist
because my husband was justselling it.
Yeah, and so we had.
We had a bunch left in ourcabinet so I stayed overnight
and I just I couldn't sleep andthe whole night in the hospital
(13:48):
with the haperendrom I'dlistened to worship music.
I had my phone on.
They had to keep me I mean, Ithink for most cancer patients
they keep you isolated in yourown room and stuff so they kept
me away from like anybody elseand I stayed overnight.
I tried to sleep but I couldn'tand I prayed and I listened to
my worship songs on my phone andI was just filled with just
(14:12):
this calmness about it that I'malready healed.
God's already taken care ofthis.
I'm okay.
And this was the Lord stoppingthe chemo, because the chemo was
not going to work out or Ididn't need it or I was having a
lot of side effects from it.
So I just felt like that waskind of God's way of stopping it
(14:33):
and saying no, you're done,you're done, you're not going to
do this.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And so I got to go home the next day and then I got
to go pick up my Eloquus andstarted on my Eloquus pills and
then after I think it was likeafter about a week they were
able to remove the port and onceI got that out I felt so much
better because that thing just Iwas in so much pain.
It was so uncomfortable.
(14:56):
I could not wait to get rid ofthat port.
And I know I was recoveringfrom that and a neighbor of mine
had recommended lymphaticmassage and an osteopath and so
I had scheduled appointmentswith them and I went to see the
osteopath.
And so I had scheduledappointments with them and I
went to see the osteopath and Isaw her twice and on my second
(15:18):
visit with her she was like oh,I just want to let you know that
I'm moving to Texas and so manypeople from LA are moving out
of California.
And she's like I'm moving toTexas next month, so I'm not
going to be able to see youanymore.
And I was just like oh man, whatam I going to do?
I'm like going to lymphaticmassage but I don't know what to
(15:38):
do.
Like I don't know what else todo.
So, as she's doing hertreatment on me.
I'm praying, and I'm praying toGod.
Lord, okay, so she's leaving.
I Lord, okay, so she's leaving.
I'm like so, god, can youplease direct me to somebody
else you know?
Show me what to do here, likehow do I keep myself healthy?
God, like, can you?
(16:06):
please guide me and lead me onto the next person or thing that
I need to do so that I can getmyself healthy.
No-transcript was on the coverof People Magazine talking about
(16:35):
how she had been diagnosed withpancreatic cancer and that hers
was like I think it was stagetwo, the endocrine tumor, and so
she had a distal pancreatectomy.
So I started following her onsocial media and I started
listening to her podcast.
She has a podcast as wellcalled the Heal Squad, and so
she's got a lot of people comingon talking about health and
(16:56):
stuff.
And so I'm having my lunch andI'm listening to her interview a
woman who's talking about thebody's fascia and the woman says
, yeah, chris Wark used arebounder during his cancer
healing and I was like I don'tknow who that is, but I'm going
to write that.
So I write down Chris Wark andI don't know what a rebounder is
(17:16):
.
So I'm like Chris Warkrebounder, I write all that down
and I'm done with that.
And I go, I type it in ChrisWark and it comes up on his
crispy cancer page and I'm like,okay, who's this guy?
And he's got that great starthere video that he does, and so
I'm watching it.
It's like 13 minutes long orsomething, and at the end of it
(17:39):
he talks about his story, hisdiagnosis.
He's talking about cancer andwhy do we get cancer and what is
cancer?
And I'm like, wow, this isreally interesting.
And then, right at the end, hesays the last thing I want to
say to you and I'm probablygoing to cry is he says the last
thing I want to tell you andwhat I want you to do.
He's like I want you to pray.
(18:02):
And he says if you don't knowJesus, then ask Jesus to come
into your life.
And he's like if you do knowJesus, ask the Lord to guide you
and to show you the way and tohelp you.
And he will.
He will be there and he willhelp you.
And I just started bawling,crying, because I had literally
just prayed that like two hoursbefore.
I had asked the Lord, lord,guide me, show me the way you
(18:23):
know, guide me to the nextperson to help me, heal my body.
And it was Chris and I didn'tknow he was a Christian or
anything.
And that was like the end ofhis video.
And I'm just blown away and I'mlike, wow, god, thank you.
You know, that was like instantanswer to prayers and, um, I
couldn't believe it.
And so I'm on his website and Istart exploring everything.
(18:44):
I watched the first module ofsquare one that he has up there
for free and, um, I'm just likefilled with this hope and so
excited and I'm like this iswhat I'm supposed to do.
And my husband gets home andI'm just like honey, look what I
found.
God answered my prayers andthere's this program and this is
fantastic.
(19:05):
And what's funny is like when Iwas going through the
preparation for my chemo, I hadlike delay after delay, like my
scan got delayed and then thepaperwork from the insurance
company got delayed and then thefirst one went bad.
And then I got COVID and it waslike it just didn't flow, like
my, my treatment for the chemowasn't flowing and it didn't
(19:26):
feel good, you know, internally.
And, um, feel good, you knowinternally.
And when I found square one andChris, it felt right, like
everything just felt so good andI thought this is it, this is
it, was good energy and it waslike I'm going to do this.
And that weekend I, you know,threw all the junk food out and
(19:46):
I just completely did theradical changes, like he said,
and I changed my diet, I changedeverything.
And you know, by that Mondaymorning I was like ready to go
and I started on square one,like full on.
And today is my one yearanniversary on square one.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
That I made one year today that I've been on his
program and on the diet with thejuicing and everything, and so,
yeah, and that changed my lifeand that was it.
And I started doing the carrotjuice and the vegan 90 days and
stuff, and, yeah, and he talkeda lot about healing strong.
So I found healing strongthrough that and we didn't have
a group here in my city.
(20:30):
So when I started to get betterand I started feeling really
good about it, that's when Istarted preying on it and
whether or not I should, youknow, maybe start a group.
And a dear friend of mine wasdiagnosed with lung cancer two
months later in December.
Yeah, and so I got her on thecarrot juice right away, gave
(20:52):
her Chris's books and she'sdoing amazing right now.
She's doing so so well and herdoctors told her that her cancer
is like it's dormant right now,after having stage four lung
cancer that had spread.
It had spread to her bones andher brain and those are gone.
Those lesions are gone.
Since she's been on square oneand she's she's taking like a
(21:15):
chemotherapy pill for her lungcancer but she's also doing all
the things in the square oneprogram and and yeah, her cancer
is dormant and that's just tome a Testament to the Lord and
the Lord using me, you know, tohelp her.
And then now we've started aHealing Strong group here in our
town and we've just had oursecond meeting on Monday and we
(21:38):
had three more people join usfrom the additional first group.
So our group is growing alreadyand it just it feels so good to
be able to help other peopleand to be able to share this.
And I always tell everyone I'mlike the reason I'm so
passionate about Healing Strongand about Chris' work is because
God sent me here, god led me tothem, and so I knew this was
(22:09):
like that was just so amazing.
And when I look back oneverything I went through my
life, like I saw all the signsthat contributed to me getting
cancer and I know, like having atraumatic childhood, it weakens
your DNA.
I guess it shortens the DNAchains, your DNA.
(22:29):
I guess it shortens the DNAchains.
I read that in this bookactually I have it here Healing
Before You're Cured.
Roy Vontama.
He's an oncologist here in LosAngeles and he talks a lot about
that how traumatic childhoodscan, because of the repressed
emotions and because of being infight or flight through your
(22:50):
childhood, that that can damageyour DNA and you're more
susceptible to getting cancer asan adult.
And so, even though I felt likeI was a healthy person, you
know, learning through HealingStrong and like with Chris's
program as well, knowing thathealing the body it's not just
healing your body, it's healingyour mind, it's healing your
(23:12):
soul and your spirit and youremotional well-being All of
those things kind of combinedare what caused my cancer, I
think, and I'm just grateful toGod that we caught it so early
that there are no signs ofcancer in my body currently.
(23:34):
In my last scans, everything'sbeen coming back clean.
My tumor markers went back tothe normal range and my scans
are all good.
And I just give it all to God.
Wow.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Kara, you're a great interview.
You didn't even need me herefor current hour.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Well, I am a talker, just by nature alone, I'm quite
the talker.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
You did quite well.
I mean, you just kept going onthat story.
First of all, you know, if yousay, if you tell people you grew
up in Hawaii, people probablyreact like man you're so lucky
to grow up in Hawaii, so luckyyes.
And yet you had quite adevastating childhood, something
I cannot relate to.
I grew up with June and WardCleaver.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah, that was my dream, Yep.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, my parents never even argued, much less
fight.
Wow, and.
I went to church.
It seemed like every day, butthree times a week at least, and
I loved it.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Yeah, that's like my husband.
See, my husband grew up likethat and I feel like God even
put my husband in my life for areason.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Because he lived the complete opposite life that I
did and it was what I needed,and God knew that, so he gave me
that family that I needed.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Hearing your story like that, I'm like man.
I hope there's a point where itgets better.
And obviously when your husbandcame along, I thought you were
going to say and then my husbandyou know he was already
drinking I thought no, but yeah,I have a wonderful husband and
I just adore his family.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
They've been just the biggest blessing in my life.
Yeah, I'm very, very lucky andI know that that was God's hand
in my life for sure.
I know that that was God's handin life for sure.
Well, when I was a kid and whenI got to like high school, I
kind of got into like new agestuff a little bit, because I
was searching, you know.
(25:29):
So I was really into likecrystals and, you know, praying
to like my angels and doing myangel tarot cards and things
like.
I got into all that for alittle bit.
But then I also would find likea prayer book and so I bought
it.
I still have it to this day andit was like a Catholic prayer
book but I would pray thoseprayers and I would always say
to God and I think it was thatinfluence of going to a
Christian school, even justthough I was six, seven years
(25:52):
old, that made an impact in mylife and I would pray to God and
be like Lord.
I've been through a lot but I'mgoing to keep trusting you and
I know that you know things.
Things will get better for me,like I had hope for my future,
because I felt like, you know,if God gave me this kind of a
childhood, then my future hasgot to be pretty darn good,
(26:12):
right, Like I just kind of triedto think of it in that way.
And then when I met my husbandyeah for sure, that's when
everything kind of fell intoplace and I got rid of the tarot
cards and I got rid of thecrystals and all those things
and and just started to trust inJesus and the Lord.
And yeah, he's, he's been therefor me.
(26:33):
You know, even though I've gonethrough so much, he's given me
signs.
I've had those God winks, youknow those undeniable.
God winks in my life.
So I, yeah, I just trust in him.
And and even through the wholecancer diagnosis and everything,
there were points where I feltlike wow, lord, I don't know why
you're doing this to me.
(26:53):
Like why, why am I suffering?
You know, after I washospitalized, I was like why,
why are you putting me throughthis?
And I was like there's got tobe a reason.
I'm just going to keep trustingin you, god.
And then I got through it.
I got through it and today Ifeel great.
I feel so good and I feel soblessed and I feel like maybe
God gave me all of theseexperiences so that I could be a
(27:16):
group leader and that now I canhelp and bless other people.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Yeah, your relationship with God is deeper.
Yeah, and your priorities areprobably being better.
I mean, that's how I was once Igot through the cancer.
Everything you know isdifferent.
Like oh, that's really notimportant?
And this is you know.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yes, the things that would stress me before, they
don't bother me anymore and Idon't get worked up about things
that I used to, you know,because now I I have such a
greater appreciation for lifeand for things.
Yeah, comes in handy during thispolitical time yeah, especially
right now and in this day andage and raising a 10 year old
(27:55):
son, you know in this like it'sreally hard and you feel like
the world is up against ourmorals and our beliefs and what
the Bible says and it is hard.
But I've got my son in aChristian school as well.
He's going to a Christianschool and we're trying to raise
him that way and, yeah, I loveit.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
And I feel very blessed.
I'm so very blessed now.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Wow, that's feel very blessed.
I'm so very blessed now.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Wow, that's a good story.
Thank you Well, thank you forgiving me the opportunity to
share it.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
It sounds like you need to stay away from Disney,
though, because both parks youknow you had issues there.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Yeah, the last time we went back to Disneyland there
was a little bit of PTSDhappening where I was like, okay
, I'm going to be okay, right,Like I was fine.
Yeah, we had a good day.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Well, that's good.
Well, I'm so glad that you'recancer-free and your friend is
doing so well and you get thatgroup going and LA needs that,
so that's fantastic.
So how can people get a hold ofyou?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Well, we have our email.
I think it's gosh, I don't knowit off the top of my head.
If you go to the Healing Strong, right, the Healing Strong.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Strongorg.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, healingstrongorg, and you search
for Santa Clarita, we're inSanta Clarita, california.
If you put in any of the zipcodes, I think it'll show you
all of the California groupsthat are on.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
So we're in Valencia and Santa Clarita, california.
All right, yeah.
Next time I'm swinging throughthere, which I never do, we're
by Six Flags Magic Mountain, ifyou like, roller coasters.
Oh, I used to.
Now it just feels different.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Oh, I've never liked them, but that's what we're
known for here in Valencia.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Okay, yeah, I've been to Oakland and San Diego,
that's it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Oh, my goodness, You've never been to LA.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
No.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
I know Weird right.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
You'll have to come visit sometime.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I know I need to do that.
It sounds scary to me right now.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
No, I need to do that .
It sounds scary to me right now.
Yeah, maybe not right now.
We'll wait till after November5th and see what happens.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Yeah, I'll wait a little and see if it's safe to
come.
Yeah, All right.
Well, thank you so much fordoing this and it was great to
meet you and I'm really gladthat your story is now
remarkable and you're able toshare with other people and help
them through all that scarytime that comes with the
diagnosis.
So yeah.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Well, thank you so much, Jim, for this and for what
you do.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I appreciate that You've been listening to the I
Am 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
(30:46):
that God will guide you on thispath.
Healing Strong is a non-profitorganization whose mission is to
connect, support and educateindividuals facing cancer and
other diseases throughstrategies that help to rebuild
the body, renew the soul andrefresh the spirit.
Help to rebuild the body, renewthe soul and refresh 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
(31:11):
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
(31:33):
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.
People would send me like, oh, the Lord put this on
my heart.
Like my sister-in-law She'd saythe Lord put this verse on my
heart today for you, and I justwant you to know I'm thinking of
you, and it would be Isaiah41.10.
And I'd be like oh that's theone from the semi truck, like
that's so crazy and like justthings like that.
So I mean I felt comforted andI felt you know, I don't need to
(00:21):
worry too much because you know, whatever happens it's the
Lord's plan for me and he'sgotten me through so much in my
life.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So I just trusted in God and, kind of you know, kept
going, moving forward.
You're listening to the I AmHealing 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
(00:54):
health.
Now here's your host stage fourcancer thriver, jim Mann.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
If you haven't listened to part one of Akira's
story, I invite you to do thatnow, before we start part two.
But even before that, I'd liketo take a moment and recognize a
partner of Healing StrongBarlow Herbal, led by owner and
master herbalist Jane BarlowChristensen, offers potent
herbal products.
Jane is known for her expertisein herbal remedies and natural
(01:21):
healing, with a focus oneducating individuals about the
health benefits of medicinalherbs for daily wellness.
To learn more, go toBarlowHerbalcom and use Healing
Strong 10 to save.
And now here is part two ofKara's story.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
So I'm meeting with the pancreatic surgeon and he's
basically telling me that Iguess my cyst has like three out
of four features for it beingcancer.
So he says I don't think youshould wait two months to get
this out.
He's like I think you should dothis as soon as possible.
And he's like I can get you innext week for the distal
(02:00):
pancreatectomy.
And he's like, if you want todo that, I think I really think
you should just get it out assoon as possible.
And I talked it over with myhusband real quick and we said,
okay, yeah, let's do it, let'sjust go ahead and schedule it.
And so I go on to do, you know,the blood work beforehand and
all the scans and things thatthey need to do scans and things
(02:27):
that they need to do.
And a week later I went in andI had my surgery on June 8th of
2023.
And I didn't know how extensivethat surgery was, which was
probably a good thing.
I was nervous about it but,like you can read about it, but
then experiencing it as atotally different thing.
So I didn't realize that when Iwoke up, the pain that I would
be in and I had like the tubecoming out of my stomach with
(02:49):
the little drain bag and stuffand it was.
It was pretty rough.
That was a pretty rough surgeryand I'm on a liquid diet, which
was hilarious, because whenthey brought me my liquid diet I
had some broth but theneverything else liquid was like
high fructose corn syrup andlike all these juices and things
that you know.
(03:09):
As I had been reading a littlebit, I was just like I thought
that you shouldn't have sugarwhen you have cancer.
Like why are they giving us,you know, juice with high
fructose corn syrup and cornsyrup and all this kind of stuff
?
So that was kind of strange.
In the hospital and I was therefor about a week and the day
before I left the pancreaticsurgeon came in and that's when
(03:31):
he said and he's like, I'm sorryhe's like, but it is cancer,
you have adenocarcinoma and he'slike.
You know it's stage one.
And he said it doesn't seem tohave spread anywhere.
Your spleen was clean.
You know they took out like 10or 20 lymph nodes and he said
(03:53):
everything was clean, there wasno spread.
He felt like it was pretty wellcontained, I guess, in the cyst
, inside of the cyst.
And then, you know, thankfully,when I read about biopsies.
Now I've read about if they doa biopsy it can spread the
cancer.
So I kind of look at thatbenign test as God's hand on me
(04:15):
as well, because had theyactually hit the cancer cells it
could have spread.
You know, I don't know, butthat's some of the stuff that
I've read about it that you knowthe biopsies can be a little
scary because it can spread thecancer.
So I mean I was shocked, but Imean also he did prepare me for
(04:36):
it that it was something thatcould potentially happen.
And then he said I needed tostart chemotherapy in about
eight weeks.
He said recover for eight weeksand then you're going to start
chemo.
And he weeks he said recoverfor eight weeks and then you're
going to start chemo.
And he's like you're young soyou can handle it.
They were saying all this kindof stuff to me a lot, which was
hilarious.
It's like I think you'll betotally fine on this chemo.
(04:58):
He's like it's a really roughchemo treatment but he's like
with your age and you're healthy, otherwise I think you're going
to be totally fine with thechemotherapy.
And so you know I went home twomonths.
I'm just kind of you know, anemotional wreck about everything
.
Right, I'm praying a lot.
(05:19):
I felt the Lord's presence withme throughout everything.
You know, there were timeswhere I'd be in prayer and ask
the Lord to, like, you know,give me, you know, some kind of
a message.
Let me know you're here with me, and and I'd open my Bible to,
like Psalm 103, or Psalm 20,which is another one of the ones
(05:40):
that I repeatedly would, wouldsee places or someone would send
it to me.
And in Psalm 20, he's like intimes of trouble, may the Lord
respond to your cry.
And then, at the end, may hegrant your heart's desire and
fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy when wehear of your victory, flying
banners to honor our God.
May the Lord answer all yourprayers.
(06:02):
And so that comforted me a lotthroughout it, even though I was
really scared about you knowwhat had just happened.
I really got heavy intoscripture.
I had Philippians four, sixthrough seven, you know, next to
my bed on like a giant piece ofpaper.
So every day I would read it.
And you know, peace of God,which transcends all
(06:24):
understanding, you know, guardmy heart in Christ Jesus.
And and um, that helped me somuch and I and I did you know
people would send me like, oh,the Lord put this on my heart.
Like my sister-in-law she'd saythe Lord put this verse on my
heart today for you, and I justwant you to know I'm thinking of
you and it would be Isaiah 4110.
And I'd be like, oh, that's theone from the semi truck, like
(06:45):
that's so crazy and like justthings like that.
So I mean, I felt comforted andI felt, you know, I don't need
to worry too much because youknow, whatever happens it's the
Lord's plan for me and he'sgotten me through so much in my
life.
So I just trusted in God andkind of, you know, kept going,
moving forward.
(07:05):
I'm a very type A personality.
I plan everything, I've got mynotes and I'm very organized.
And so I met with the nursenavigator at City of Hope and
they, you know, they give youall of like these are your
medications, you need to takethis one at this time and this
one at this time, and then getthis medication if you get
diarrhea, and this medication ifyou're constipated, and then
(07:27):
make sure you have this and thisand this.
And so I got all of my stufftogether and I was like I don't
want to do chemo.
I really was not lookingforward to doing chemo, but this
was what my doctor said.
You know, they said they metwith the whole cancer board at
the hospital, where they havelike a radiologist and
oncologist and the surgeon, andthey all agreed like, yes, this
(07:50):
is a standard of care.
Like you need to do six monthsI think it was six months of
full Farinox chemotherapy andfor that particular chemotherapy
you need to have a port placedbecause you go in on a Monday
and you get like three of thedifferent chemo infusions and
(08:11):
then you leave with a fanny packand you're still connected to
it of another medication thatstays for two days.
So I would go home on Mondayand then come back on Wednesday
for them to take that bag offand unhook me and do all that
kind of jazz.
So I didn't want to get theport because I was scared to get
(08:34):
it, but they said I had to.
So I went and scheduled that andthat port I don't know if it's
called a surgery or but theprocedure, um, it was horrible.
It just was extremely painful.
Um, I left in extreme pain.
I had extreme pain in it for acouple of weeks afterwards and I
(08:57):
was calling their office andsaying I'm still not comfortable
with this thing.
It hurts so bad and I'msupposed to start chemo in a
week.
Like how am I going to startchemo if this thing, it hurts so
bad and I'm supposed to startchemo in a week?
Like how am I going to startchemo if this thing doesn't feel
good and they're like you'llget used to it?
It's just because you're asmaller frame and I had lost a
good 15 pounds after the surgeryand so I was pretty thin and
(09:22):
they just kept saying I wouldget used to it and it would feel
better eventually.
And it didn't.
So I went and I started mychemotherapy and at the end of
that first week I ended up inthe ER because I had gotten such
horrible side effects from thefull Farinox, apparently like my
(09:43):
whole digestive system had justshut down and so I wasn't able
to go to the bathroom.
So I was hospitalized for thatover the weekend.
Um, they took care of that.
I came home and then came downwith covid, which I think I
caught in the hospital.
So yes so they pushed.
They pushed my next um, my nexttreatment, back another week
(10:06):
because I had to test negativefor the COVID in order to come
back and do the next chemo.
So that happened and my wholefamily got COVID.
We all got COVID from that andluckily it was more like a cold
this time.
So we all recovered and I wentto the second chemo treatment
(10:27):
Monday, got my bag Wednesday,went back, got it unhooked.
Friday morning I woke up andtook a shower and I looked in
the mirror and the vein in myneck above the port was just
completely bubbled out, justswollen, wow.
And I looked at it and I didn'tfeel great.
(10:47):
I kind of had a woozy feelingin my body and I just didn't
feel right.
And so my son was at schoolalready and so I called my
husband, who was downstairs, andI said I don't think this is
good, like this doesn't lookgood and I don't feel right,
something's up.
And so we get in the car and wedrive over to my oncologist and
(11:10):
I walk up to them and I'm justlike I don't have an appointment
, but I need to see my doctorright now.
And so he comes out and helooks at me and looks at my neck
and he's like you got to go tothe ER right now.
He's like I think you have ablood clot.
And I thought, oh okay,fabulous.
So my husband and I get in thecar and he called over so they
(11:31):
knew I was coming and luckily weget there and they get me back
right away.
And they took great care of meat the ER and they did an
ultrasound and they were doingall the tests and the doctor
comes in and he's like you haveblood clots all over.
He's like you've got bloodclots all around the port.
He said there's a clot in yourjugular vein that the port is
(11:54):
going into.
And he says and you have apulmonary embolism in your left
lung, so there's clots in mylungs.
And he's like we have to takethe port out.
You've got to get the port out.
And my husband had left to gopick up our son from school by
that point and you know I wasafter he walked out I was just
(12:16):
laying there alone in thehospital room and I was praying
and I was like Lord, I don'tknow what you're doing with my
life and I don't know what'sgoing on right now, but I'm just
going to trust you and go withthe flow and just help me.
And I heard the Holy Spiritspeak to me and say you're okay,
(12:40):
you don't need to do thisanymore.
And after that I was just kindof filled with that peace again.
I just had a peace about it anda calmness.
I wasn't scared anymore, I wasjust calm about it and I just
knew I was like okay, I don'tneed to do the chemo.
That's what God's saying to me,like I'm already healed, he's
(13:03):
already taken care of it.
And the doctor came back in andhe's like we're going to admit
you to the hospital and we'regoing to get you on a heparin
drip right away and you're goingto stay and we've got to get
rid of the blood clots.
And you know, my husband cameback and I told him you know
that okay now I've got bloodclots Yay, just like he did, you
(13:26):
know, the year before from theCOVID and he had gotten put on
Eloquist and and they had saidyou're going to need to go on
Eloquist.
And I was like, all right, Ialready know about Eloquist
because my husband was justselling it.
Yeah, and so we had.
We had a bunch left in ourcabinet so I stayed overnight
and I just I couldn't sleep andthe whole night in the hospital
(13:48):
with the haperendrom I'dlistened to worship music.
I had my phone on.
They had to keep me I mean, Ithink for most cancer patients
they keep you isolated in yourown room and stuff so they kept
me away from like anybody elseand I stayed overnight.
I tried to sleep but I couldn'tand I prayed and I listened to
my worship songs on my phone andI was just filled with just
(14:12):
this calmness about it that I'malready healed.
God's already taken care ofthis.
I'm okay.
And this was the Lord stoppingthe chemo, because the chemo was
not going to work out or Ididn't need it or I was having a
lot of side effects from it.
So I just felt like that waskind of God's way of stopping it
(14:33):
and saying no, you're done,you're done, you're not going to
do this.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
And so I got to go home the next day and then I got
to go pick up my Eloquus andstarted on my Eloquus pills and
then after I think it was likeafter about a week they were
able to remove the port and onceI got that out I felt so much
better because that thing just Iwas in so much pain.
It was so uncomfortable.
(14:56):
I could not wait to get rid ofthat port.
And I know I was recoveringfrom that and a neighbor of mine
had recommended lymphaticmassage and an osteopath and so
I had scheduled appointmentswith them and I went to see the
osteopath.
And so I had scheduledappointments with them and I
went to see the osteopath and Isaw her twice and on my second
(15:18):
visit with her she was like oh,I just want to let you know that
I'm moving to Texas and so manypeople from LA are moving out
of California.
And she's like I'm moving toTexas next month, so I'm not
going to be able to see youanymore.
And I was just like oh man, whatam I going to do?
I'm like going to lymphaticmassage but I don't know what to
(15:38):
do.
Like I don't know what else todo.
So, as she's doing hertreatment on me.
I'm praying, and I'm praying toGod.
Lord, okay, so she's leaving.
I Lord, okay, so she's leaving.
I'm like so, god, can youplease direct me to somebody
else you know?
Show me what to do here, likehow do I keep myself healthy?
God, like, can you?
(16:06):
please guide me and lead me onto the next person or thing that
I need to do so that I can getmyself healthy.
No-transcript was on the coverof People Magazine talking about
(16:35):
how she had been diagnosed withpancreatic cancer and that hers
was like I think it was stagetwo, the endocrine tumor, and so
she had a distal pancreatectomy.
So I started following her onsocial media and I started
listening to her podcast.
She has a podcast as wellcalled the Heal Squad, and so
she's got a lot of people comingon talking about health and
(16:56):
stuff.
And so I'm having my lunch andI'm listening to her interview a
woman who's talking about thebody's fascia and the woman says
, yeah, chris Wark used arebounder during his cancer
healing and I was like I don'tknow who that is, but I'm going
to write that.
So I write down Chris Wark andI don't know what a rebounder is
(17:16):
.
So I'm like Chris Warkrebounder, I write all that down
and I'm done with that.
And I go, I type it in ChrisWark and it comes up on his
crispy cancer page and I'm like,okay, who's this guy?
And he's got that great starthere video that he does, and so
I'm watching it.
It's like 13 minutes long orsomething, and at the end of it
(17:39):
he talks about his story, hisdiagnosis.
He's talking about cancer andwhy do we get cancer and what is
cancer?
And I'm like, wow, this isreally interesting.
And then, right at the end, hesays the last thing I want to
say to you and I'm probablygoing to cry is he says the last
thing I want to tell you andwhat I want you to do.
He's like I want you to pray.
(18:02):
And he says if you don't knowJesus, then ask Jesus to come
into your life.
And he's like if you do knowJesus, ask the Lord to guide you
and to show you the way and tohelp you.
And he will.
He will be there and he willhelp you.
And I just started bawling,crying, because I had literally
just prayed that like two hoursbefore.
I had asked the Lord, lord,guide me, show me the way you
(18:23):
know, guide me to the nextperson to help me, heal my body.
And it was Chris and I didn'tknow he was a Christian or
anything.
And that was like the end ofhis video.
And I'm just blown away and I'mlike, wow, god, thank you.
You know, that was like instantanswer to prayers and, um, I
couldn't believe it.
And so I'm on his website and Istart exploring everything.
(18:44):
I watched the first module ofsquare one that he has up there
for free and, um, I'm just likefilled with this hope and so
excited and I'm like this iswhat I'm supposed to do.
And my husband gets home andI'm just like honey, look what I
found.
God answered my prayers andthere's this program and this is
fantastic.
(19:05):
And what's funny is like when Iwas going through the
preparation for my chemo, I hadlike delay after delay, like my
scan got delayed and then thepaperwork from the insurance
company got delayed and then thefirst one went bad.
And then I got COVID and it waslike it just didn't flow, like
my, my treatment for the chemowasn't flowing and it didn't
(19:26):
feel good, you know, internally.
And, um, feel good, you knowinternally.
And when I found square one andChris, it felt right, like
everything just felt so good andI thought this is it, this is
it, was good energy and it waslike I'm going to do this.
And that weekend I, you know,threw all the junk food out and
(19:46):
I just completely did theradical changes, like he said,
and I changed my diet, I changedeverything.
And you know, by that Mondaymorning I was like ready to go
and I started on square one,like full on.
And today is my one yearanniversary on square one.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
That I made one year today that I've been on his
program and on the diet with thejuicing and everything, and so,
yeah, and that changed my lifeand that was it.
And I started doing the carrotjuice and the vegan 90 days and
stuff, and, yeah, and he talkeda lot about healing strong.
So I found healing strongthrough that and we didn't have
a group here in my city.
(20:30):
So when I started to get betterand I started feeling really
good about it, that's when Istarted preying on it and
whether or not I should, youknow, maybe start a group.
And a dear friend of mine wasdiagnosed with lung cancer two
months later in December.
Yeah, and so I got her on thecarrot juice right away, gave
(20:52):
her Chris's books and she'sdoing amazing right now.
She's doing so so well and herdoctors told her that her cancer
is like it's dormant right now,after having stage four lung
cancer that had spread.
It had spread to her bones andher brain and those are gone.
Those lesions are gone.
Since she's been on square oneand she's she's taking like a
(21:15):
chemotherapy pill for her lungcancer but she's also doing all
the things in the square oneprogram and and yeah, her cancer
is dormant and that's just tome a Testament to the Lord and
the Lord using me, you know, tohelp her.
And then now we've started aHealing Strong group here in our
town and we've just had oursecond meeting on Monday and we
(21:38):
had three more people join usfrom the additional first group.
So our group is growing alreadyand it just it feels so good to
be able to help other peopleand to be able to share this.
And I always tell everyone I'mlike the reason I'm so
passionate about Healing Strongand about Chris' work is because
God sent me here, god led me tothem, and so I knew this was
(22:09):
like that was just so amazing.
And when I look back oneverything I went through my
life, like I saw all the signsthat contributed to me getting
cancer and I know, like having atraumatic childhood, it weakens
your DNA.
I guess it shortens the DNAchains, your DNA.
(22:29):
I guess it shortens the DNAchains.
I read that in this bookactually I have it here Healing
Before You're Cured.
Roy Vontama.
He's an oncologist here in LosAngeles and he talks a lot about
that how traumatic childhoodscan, because of the repressed
emotions and because of being infight or flight through your
(22:50):
childhood, that that can damageyour DNA and you're more
susceptible to getting cancer asan adult.
And so, even though I felt likeI was a healthy person, you
know, learning through HealingStrong and like with Chris's
program as well, knowing thathealing the body it's not just
healing your body, it's healingyour mind, it's healing your
(23:12):
soul and your spirit and youremotional well-being All of
those things kind of combinedare what caused my cancer, I
think, and I'm just grateful toGod that we caught it so early
that there are no signs ofcancer in my body currently.
(23:34):
In my last scans, everything'sbeen coming back clean.
My tumor markers went back tothe normal range and my scans
are all good.
And I just give it all to God.
Wow.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Kara, you're a great interview.
You didn't even need me herefor current hour.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Well, I am a talker, just by nature alone, I'm quite
the talker.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
You did quite well.
I mean, you just kept going onthat story.
First of all, you know, if yousay, if you tell people you grew
up in Hawaii, people probablyreact like man you're so lucky
to grow up in Hawaii, so luckyyes.
And yet you had quite adevastating childhood, something
I cannot relate to.
I grew up with June and WardCleaver.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah, that was my dream, Yep.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, my parents never even argued, much less
fight.
Wow, and.
I went to church.
It seemed like every day, butthree times a week at least, and
I loved it.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Yeah, that's like my husband.
See, my husband grew up likethat and I feel like God even
put my husband in my life for areason.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Because he lived the complete opposite life that I
did and it was what I needed,and God knew that, so he gave me
that family that I needed.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Hearing your story like that, I'm like man.
I hope there's a point where itgets better.
And obviously when your husbandcame along, I thought you were
going to say and then my husbandyou know he was already
drinking I thought no, but yeah,I have a wonderful husband and
I just adore his family.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
They've been just the biggest blessing in my life.
Yeah, I'm very, very lucky andI know that that was God's hand
in my life for sure.
I know that that was God's handin life for sure.
Well, when I was a kid and whenI got to like high school, I
kind of got into like new agestuff a little bit, because I
was searching, you know.
(25:29):
So I was really into likecrystals and, you know, praying
to like my angels and doing myangel tarot cards and things
like.
I got into all that for alittle bit.
But then I also would find likea prayer book and so I bought
it.
I still have it to this day andit was like a Catholic prayer
book but I would pray thoseprayers and I would always say
to God and I think it was thatinfluence of going to a
Christian school, even justthough I was six, seven years
(25:52):
old, that made an impact in mylife and I would pray to God and
be like Lord.
I've been through a lot but I'mgoing to keep trusting you and
I know that you know things.
Things will get better for me,like I had hope for my future,
because I felt like, you know,if God gave me this kind of a
childhood, then my future hasgot to be pretty darn good,
(26:12):
right, Like I just kind of triedto think of it in that way.
And then when I met my husbandyeah for sure, that's when
everything kind of fell intoplace and I got rid of the tarot
cards and I got rid of thecrystals and all those things
and and just started to trust inJesus and the Lord.
And yeah, he's, he's been therefor me.
(26:33):
You know, even though I've gonethrough so much, he's given me
signs.
I've had those God winks, youknow those undeniable.
God winks in my life.
So I, yeah, I just trust in him.
And and even through the wholecancer diagnosis and everything,
there were points where I feltlike wow, lord, I don't know why
you're doing this to me.
(26:53):
Like why, why am I suffering?
You know, after I washospitalized, I was like why,
why are you putting me throughthis?
And I was like there's got tobe a reason.
I'm just going to keep trustingin you, god.
And then I got through it.
I got through it and today Ifeel great.
I feel so good and I feel soblessed and I feel like maybe
God gave me all of theseexperiences so that I could be a
(27:16):
group leader and that now I canhelp and bless other people.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Yeah, your relationship with God is deeper.
Yeah, and your priorities areprobably being better.
I mean, that's how I was once Igot through the cancer.
Everything you know isdifferent.
Like oh, that's really notimportant?
And this is you know.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yes, the things that would stress me before, they
don't bother me anymore and Idon't get worked up about things
that I used to, you know,because now I I have such a
greater appreciation for lifeand for things.
Yeah, comes in handy during thispolitical time yeah, especially
right now and in this day andage and raising a 10 year old
(27:55):
son, you know in this like it'sreally hard and you feel like
the world is up against ourmorals and our beliefs and what
the Bible says and it is hard.
But I've got my son in aChristian school as well.
He's going to a Christianschool and we're trying to raise
him that way and, yeah, I loveit.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
And I feel very blessed.
I'm so very blessed now.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Wow, that's feel very blessed.
I'm so very blessed now.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Wow, that's a good story.
Thank you Well, thank you forgiving me the opportunity to
share it.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
It sounds like you need to stay away from Disney,
though, because both parks youknow you had issues there.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Yeah, the last time we went back to Disneyland there
was a little bit of PTSDhappening where I was like, okay
, I'm going to be okay, right,Like I was fine.
Yeah, we had a good day.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Well, that's good.
Well, I'm so glad that you'recancer-free and your friend is
doing so well and you get thatgroup going and LA needs that,
so that's fantastic.
So how can people get a hold ofyou?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Well, we have our email.
I think it's gosh, I don't knowit off the top of my head.
If you go to the Healing Strong, right, the Healing Strong.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Strongorg.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, healingstrongorg, and you search
for Santa Clarita, we're inSanta Clarita, california.
If you put in any of the zipcodes, I think it'll show you
all of the California groupsthat are on.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
So we're in Valencia and Santa Clarita, california.
All right, yeah.
Next time I'm swinging throughthere, which I never do, we're
by Six Flags Magic Mountain, ifyou like, roller coasters.
Oh, I used to.
Now it just feels different.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Oh, I've never liked them, but that's what we're
known for here in Valencia.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Okay, yeah, I've been to Oakland and San Diego,
that's it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Oh, my goodness, You've never been to LA.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
No.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
I know Weird right.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
You'll have to come visit sometime.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I know I need to do that.
It sounds scary to me right now.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
No, I need to do that .
It sounds scary to me right now.
Yeah, maybe not right now.
We'll wait till after November5th and see what happens.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Yeah, I'll wait a little and see if it's safe to
come.
Yeah, All right.
Well, thank you so much fordoing this and it was great to
meet you and I'm really gladthat your story is now
remarkable and you're able toshare with other people and help
them through all that scarytime that comes with the
diagnosis.
So yeah.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Well, thank you so much, Jim, for this and for what
you do.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I appreciate that You've been listening to the I
Am 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
(30:46):
that God will guide you on thispath.
Healing Strong is a non-profitorganization whose mission is to
connect, support and educateindividuals facing cancer and
other diseases throughstrategies that help to rebuild
the body, renew the soul andrefresh the spirit.
Help to rebuild the body, renewthe soul and refresh 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
(31:11):
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
(31:33):
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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