October 29, 2024 • 42 mins
Today we are talking about my mom, Renae and her path with a cancer diagnosis. We discuss the therapies and mindsets that helped her and resources you can check out to help yourself and loved ones struggling with chronic health issues.
Supplemental Podcast on Healthcare in America:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0lTyhvOeJs
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/14XV2p3zAYVWPt7F2hpP9Z?si=RTB5Gh7VT1eEMOWLYF-Gqw
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2210-calley-means-casey-means-md/id360084272?i=1000672259309
Alternative Medicine Clinic in Tijuana:
https://www.bioadvancedmc.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I'm Kristen Russell, and this isThe Wholly Empowered Podcast,
where we dive into all thingsholistic healing and open our
minds, hearts, and paradigms tonew ideas so we can live our
most empowered, healthy, joyfullives.
Hello! We're back! Anotherepisode of Wholly Empowered.
(00:22):
So today we're going to betalking about my mom and her
choices around her cancerdiagnosis and kind of the
process that she went throughand what she implemented and how
that worked for her.
I'm just going to go over justIt's kind of the whole story.
(00:45):
So first, a little bit about mymom.
So her name is Renae and she is,she's the oldest or oldest girl
second oldest of nine kids andshe grew up on a farm in Arizona
and just really hardworking,really fun.
(01:05):
She's just a party.
She's just a party to be around.
Super joyful.
Just sucking all the marrow outof life, kind of a person.
And she was always kind ofspunky and gets things done.
And just to just a cheerleadertype of person.
She's so fun.
She was actually a cheerleaderin high school, But she is,
(01:30):
she's just a joy.
And she's very independent andcertain.
Yeah.
And she's just great.
So, we were very lucky to haveher, and she was always in your
corner.
And, so excited to be a grandma,and just a lot of fun.
So that's my mom, my mom in anutshell.
(01:51):
But, she was diagnosed withcancer when I was 12.
And, She was diagnosed withbreast cancer.
And she ended up doing a lot ofalternative treatments and
there, I'll go over kind of herreasoning around that.
But it's kind of weird cause we,She lived a pretty healthy
(02:14):
lifestyle, you know, and so it'slike, what, why, why did this
happen?
And I don't think anybodynecessarily knows, you know,
it's kind of, it's hard topinpoint exactly why someone
gets cancer, but I know, youknow, people say genetics and
nutrition and environment andenvironmental things.
And so I think all of those, Ithink all of those play a role.
(02:35):
And I don't think anybody in myfamily who has gotten tested has
had that gene, I forget whatit's called, but it's that gene
that's very indicative of you,you are more likely to get
cancer.
So I, I don't know that she hadhuge genetic factors.
They did live on a farm and Ihave to wonder if the pesticides
(02:58):
were not a big contributor.
That's possible now that weknow.
the pesticides are carcinogenic.
We always ate really healthy.
We were kind of, uh, potatoesand oatmeal and eggs family, you
know?
So we didn't have cold cereal inour house or anything.
(03:19):
So, I think it comes down toenvironment usually and your
nutrition and lifestyle.
I heard a, somebody comparedgenetics to the DNA is like the
loaded gun and your lifestyle isthe trigger.
So I think we have a lot morecontrol than we sometimes think
(03:41):
when it comes to our geneticsand what we're predisposed to,
if that was a factor for her.
But I don't know.
I don't know.
I have to wonder what mighthave, what might have caused
that.
But when she, after she got thisdiagnosis, she did a lot of
research and studied just thepharmaceutical and medical
(04:08):
Structures in our country andhow things are handled and that
was a big reason why she chose alot of the alternative methods
that she did.
She was very cautious abouttrusting the pharmaceutical
companies or, you know, she'dlook at who funded what and just
the whole, this the whole thing.
And I'm going to recommend asupplemental podcast to this one
(04:32):
because normally I want to havea guest on that knows more, can
explain things better than Ican.
And this podcast, this episodespecifically of this podcast,
they just, they just nailed it.
Like all the reasons why my momchose the things that she chose.
They really help you understandexactly how things are working
(04:54):
in our country and how like inEurope, so many things are
illegal and they have to notinclude in certain ingredients
in their food because it'sThey're cancer causing, and we
don't do that here.
There's, the way that themedical system is set up it's
(05:14):
kind of a sick care system,where we don't address the root
cause, we just treat, and treat,and treat.
And we, it's not, I feel likethe word cure is almost, it's
like a dirty word or something,like, it's, we don't say we can
cure anything.
And, It's such a touchy subject,and it's, and it's tricky to
(05:38):
navigate, I'm not trying to poopoo on doctors or Western
medicine, I just, I'm justtelling you what she found and
what, what seems to be the caseas far as the way that things
are set up.
It doesn't seem to always be inthe best interest of the
patient.
And anyway, so she had this inmind when she was choosing her
(06:01):
treatments.
So she decided she didn't wantto do chemo and she didn't want
to do surgery.
And at the time, especially, Ifeel like, especially with
surgery, it's your consent isnot always considered.
And I remember her saying she'dwant them to take her lymph
nodes and, you know, sometimesthey just, take a lot when they
do surgery and she just wantedmore control of what was
(06:23):
happening with her body and soshe opted out of that and
decided not to do chemo and justfocused on more holistic
treatments and Gosh, she didthat.
I don't remember.
I'm trying so she got diagnosedprobably around 2000 or 2001 if
I was like doing the math if Iwas 12 and And so she, I know
(06:49):
she did things like Essiac teaand just some of these like
natural things.
And she did do some emotionalrelease work.
Like I was.
I'm telling you I did in thelast podcast.
I don't think she did tons ofit.
For the cancer, but again, it'sall related, right?
Like, Our emotional, mental,spiritual, like each one affects
(07:10):
the other.
So.
So.
If you want to have physicalhealth, you need to address.
Your emotional health and themore you can release these.
Patterns are these things thatare.
Holding you back, the more it'sjust.
Gonna help your body functionbetter.
So, I think it's all.
All it's all good.
And her quality of life was justso good.
(07:30):
But I'm like, I just think itall helps and whatever you can.
do to Get yourself in a good.
Place.
One way it's.
Going to help.
Like emotionally or mentally.
It's going to help youphysically.
So.
(07:51):
That was also.
A little bit of what she did.
She did everything right.
But.
That was a little bit of it Shereally didn't communicate with
me a ton about what she wasdoing often because she didn't
want me to worry or any of us toworry.
So she was pretty private, evenwith her family about exactly
what she was doing to treatthings.
(08:14):
So oh, yeah.
I'm going to backtrack.
I'm going to backtrack a littlebit.
So the supplemental podcast isthey explain really well how,
how everything works.
And I think it's just reallyimportant to be informed about
how things are, how the systemworks and how, how it might be
(08:41):
affecting you.
And I think that's important totake back your power around your
own health because we're incharge of our health and our
bodies ultimately, and you haveto make decisions that work for
you.
And if you don't know all theoptions or you don't know how
things work, it's hard to makethe best decision for you.
So in this podcast, they reallynailed it.
(09:03):
They really explained so, sowell, so.
So well, how everything workstogether and what we can do to
change things.
And it is, a Joe Rogan podcast.
I know people have mixedfeelings about him.
Honestly, in this podcast, hedoesn't really even talk, hardly
(09:25):
at all.
It's mostly just his gueststalking.
So if you don't like him, youcan just kind of tune him out.
It's not really, there isswearing and, you know, it's
explicit, but the information isso good.
And then his guests are.
Casey and Calley Means they'resiblings and the sister was a
surgeon and then the brother wasa, Consultant for the
(09:50):
pharmaceutical and foodindustry.
So he would go talk topoliticians about where to put
money.
And it was just really saw allthe backside of that.
And they discuss how thesesystems work and how are our
healthcare systems a little bitbroken.
It's so informative.
It's so helpful.
And I just, I really highlyrecommend it.
(10:11):
It's like my supplemental, notrequired reading, but kind of
like it, it helps you understandwhat's going on so much better.
And it does, I'm going to, itdoes get a little political.
I really don't want this to be apolitical podcast and that's not
my goal here.
but honestly, ignore that if itbothers you, like just push it
(10:31):
aside.
The first half of the podcast, Idon't think they talk about
anything political.
But I think it's important to beinformed so that you, whoever,
whatever happens in the future,we can let our representatives
know what we want because I feellike health is a, it should be a
non partisan, like, thereshouldn't be sides.
(10:51):
And I don't, I think we can allagree on this.
Anyway, really, really awesomesupplemental podcast to what I
am talking about today.
So.
Anyway, back to my mom and herchoices.
so she studied all these things.
She took like a kind of agentler approach, I guess.
(11:13):
And and did pretty well.
Like I would forget she wassick.
She didn't act like she wassick.
I feel like things were verynormal all throughout high
school for me as far as herhealth goes.
I didn't really, it wasn't a bigthing, you know, we lived a
pretty normal life, which was areally big blessing in a lot of
(11:33):
ways.
It's, I didn't have the typicalexperience of your parent having
cancer.
So that was really, That was ablessing, I guess.
But I feel like her attitude wasa huge part of what helped her.
One of the, one of the biggestthings was just, She was very
(11:54):
focused on enjoying her life.
And, I know they've donestudies.
I wish I, I feel like if I bringup a study, I should have it
available.
But, I know they've done studieson, what people believe about
their health.
And, especially specificallywith cancer.
If they think they're going todie, they don't last very long.
(12:15):
If they think they're going tolive, they do so much better.
And I really, I think that wasone of the number one key
things.
Cause I, I mentioned in myprevious, the first podcast, she
was really into law ofattraction and just mindset and
she lived it, man.
She like that woman, shepracticed what she preached.
(12:35):
Like she was very focused onhaving good attitude and giving
her body the mental nourishmentthat it needs, I guess you could
say.
Like she just, she had such agood, she wouldn't, she never
took ownership of being sick andshe was careful how she phrased
(12:57):
things and she never said, Ihave cancer.
And she never said she wasbattling with cancer.
She would just always talk abouther health in very positive
terms and she would make sureshe watched funny movies and
that we laughed a lot.
And I feel like her attitude wasprobably the number one thing
that kept her going and kept herhealth up and kept her quality
(13:23):
of life so high.
She had such a great quality oflife.
And So, in 2008, the cancerspread to her spine, and it was
then bone cancer.
So, she had a tumor that was onher bone, and pressing on her
(13:47):
spinal cord, and that pinchedit, and made her lose feeling in
her legs, and that was kind ofwhen it all came to a head.
she called me when I was incollege.
This is right before Christmasbreak in 2008.
And she called me and said,Kristen, you need to get a ride,
(14:07):
come home for Christmas.
And we're going to hop in thecar and go.
To Mexico.
So my uncle her, one of herbrothers, his wife had been
chronically ill and she hadgone, I think she had gone to
this doctor before in Mexicocause they, they were in
Arizona.
And so he was familiar and hehad told this doctor about my
(14:29):
mom and asked if he thought hecould help.
And He was like, I got you aspot with this doctor and he was
an alternative medicine doctorand a lot of the treatments that
he did were not legal in the USat the time.
And so that's why we ended upgoing outside of the country.
So I went home.
(14:50):
A couple days later, a daylater, we got in the car and we
drove all the way down toMexico.
And when I got there, my mom wasdoing pretty good.
She was I think she was a littlenervous she's losing a little
bit of feeling in her legs.
And we took a wheelchair withus.
So we started driving down andwe're taking turns driving and
(15:13):
we're going up the grapevine byLA and we're, we were heading
uphill and she was driving, Iwas in the passenger seat.
My dad was in the back.
And she lost, she kind of losther feel, she couldn't find the
(15:36):
brake.
She sort of like lost feel ofthe pedals, and she couldn't
lift her leg and find it again.
And she was like, Kristen, Ilost track of my brake, I need
you to I need you to push thebrake and I'm going to pull off.
And so I reached down with myhand and pushed on the brake
pedal and we got off to the sideand we had to switch.
(15:59):
And that was when she startedreally losing feeling in her
legs.
So by the time we got toArizona, I remember I, I had to
help her.
Like we were helping her out ofthe car to go to the bathroom,
like at the, truck stop orwhatever, the McDonald's.
And.
It just progressed so quickly onthe way down.
And she was, she needed help.
(16:22):
She had to use the wheelchair.
Things just progressed.
It was kind of crazy.
So we got to El Paso and we hadsomeone meet us there from the
clinic and he taxied and we tookour car and took us to this
clinic.
And this was in Juarez, Mexico,and it was extremely dangerous
at the time.
The.
(16:44):
The murder rates or whateverlike were like the same as the
Middle East or it was at thetime like an'08 It was very
dangerous and I think it's stillvery dangerous.
So we crossed the river, went tothis, compound.
It was like this big metal or Ithink it was a metal door that
was like a gate and it just likea big wall around this complex.
(17:10):
And we started, she startedtreatment like that day that we
got there.
And while she was there, we didI think it's called chelation.
I always said chelation.
I don't know.
Everyone had accents where wewere, when we were there.
So I'm like, I don't know if itwas the accents or if that's who
you say it.
But so chelation.
Therapy.
And that is where they hook youup to an IV and it runs I don't
(17:35):
know exactly what it is, butthey run something through your
veins that cleans out heavymetals.
So it's like a heavy metaldetox.
And there were a lot ofdifferent people there and I
feel like most of them weredoing that.
That was part of theirtreatment, no matter what they
had.
And so she did that every day.
They fed us food that wasorganic and there were no
microwaves and it was very cleanand we ate fish and rice and
(18:00):
soup and there's this veryspecific diet that they wanted
her to follow while she wasthere.
And we stayed on the, there, wehad little apartments there.
So we stayed on that compound.
And some of the other treatmentsshe did while she was there, we,
she did a hyperbaric chamber.
So that's just, Really pureoxygen in kind of a pressurized
(18:23):
situation.
I think people are much morefamiliar with it now.
You probably know what that is.
But we did hyperbaric chambertherapy, and she also got, I
don't know all of the therapiesthat she got while she was
there, but I do know she gotanother one that it was actually
later on cause she was doing allthese different things and I
(18:45):
wasn't there for all of it andlike I wasn't with her
physically.
But I feel like the oxygentherapies seemed to be extremely
helpful and I didn't realizewhen we were there that she was
kind of on she told me later,she was like, I had to decide if
I wanted to live while we werethere.
Like, it was that bad.
(19:07):
And there was kind of evidenceof that later with just I feel
like people behave differentlywhen they are on their deathbed.
They, things, certain behaviorscome up and I noticed a pattern
of how she was acting when wewere in Mexico and versus when
she actually passed, like closerto when she was going to pass So
(19:28):
that kind of confirmed to methat, yeah, she was, she was.
In bad shape when we went toMexico, so, um, It's very
expensive when you do thesetherapies.
And this is another problem withthe way things are run.
There's just not a lot ofoptions.
And, if you want your insuranceto cover things.
(19:48):
So, we had to We had to pay forthis out of pocket.
And, we kind of ran out ofmoney.
So, we were only there for, Ithink we were there a week
total, but we were only, she wasonly getting treatment for about
three and a half days.
And on the last, because thedoctor needed payment and we,
(20:10):
anyway, we were trying to figureit out.
And but on the last day, on thefourth day, I guess, where she
was getting treatment, he tookher in and said, well, let's do
this ozone treatment.
So she got ozone shots directlyinto the tumor in her breast.
And that really, that was reallyhelpful.
(20:32):
I don't know because I wasn't inthe room, but I do know the
tumor was kind of an open wound,and it was from what my mom told
me, it was purple, and theyinjected, it's just ozone, like
they inject oxygen basicallyright into the tumor, and it
turned red, and and after that,I don't know exactly the
(20:53):
timeline, but it did, it shrunkconsiderably.
My dad was saying it was Youcould tell it definitely shrunk
quite a bit, and just changedand healed a little bit.
That was crazy.
That was very effective.
And These oxygen based therapiesI think were just really, really
(21:14):
helpful.
So again, we were only therefor, she was only receiving
treatment for about three and ahalf days, and we left after
that, planning to come back, butit just, it was just so
expensive and there was somedrama with getting in and out
and money and it was the wholething.
So we went back to Arizona,stayed with her family a little
(21:34):
bit.
And I went back up to schoolafter that and she went home to
California.
And over the next few months shereally improved.
And the doctor there in Mexicorecommended that she get spot
radiation.
So it's like a very concentratedsmall amount and in a specific
(21:56):
spot.
So that was, they did that onthe one on her spine.
And they did radiation likethrough her throat, straight to
the back.
And that was hard because It wasdamaging to her esophagus and
she couldn't talk very well andit was just, that was rough, but
it was, it helped a ton, so shewas fully paralyzed by the time
(22:21):
we left Mexico, just paraplegic,and when she got back, probably,
I don't know, maybe a monthafter, she got this radiation on
the tumor in her spine, andthat, shrunk the tumor, it took
the pressure off eventually.
And she was paralyzed forprobably six to eight months and
(22:44):
wheelchair bound.
And the doctor said she wouldn'twalk again.
Like no.
And she was like, Oh really?
That's my mom.
She's very defiant.
She's going to do what she'sgoing to do.
And so she spent a lot of timeand she did this throughout.
The time that she was sick, shewould visualize, she would tell
(23:06):
me, Kristen, I just sit and Iclose my eyes and I visualize
all my cells working perfectlyand all, my body system just
working and everything justbeing really healthy and
harmonious and I just feel it.
And I honestly think that was,there's so much power in what we
visualize and I think that was ahuge huge help to her.
(23:32):
And I just think your attitudeis, is huge.
And I think our bodies respondto what we tell them to do.
And so, whether that just madeher feel better or whether it
actually helped, who's to say, Iguess, but I really believe that
it's.
It helped her body, because shekept beating the odds, and I
(23:54):
feel like the common denominatorwas her attitude.
So, she's just, she was alwayskind of magical, in a way.
Like, she would just always, thedoctors would tell her one
thing, and she would go, Hmm,that's nice.
I'm not, I'm not subscribing tothat.
And she would just continue toget better or turn things
around.
And I just, yeah, her attitudewas really, really amazing.
(24:18):
And so after about, it was laterthat year Later in the summer, I
think she could stand and shestarted to walk a little bit.
And by a year after that, liketwo years after the spot
radiation in Mexico she was, shewas dancing.
Like, I taught a dance class forsome people at home and she was
(24:40):
helping me and she's just, youknow, she was a little bit, she
never, she was a fast walker.
She was like A veryintentionally, you know, she
would zip when she was beforethe cancer and before the
paralysis.
And so she wasn't quite as fast,which was actually kind of
helpful for me because I wasalways trying to catch up to
her.
(25:00):
Um, I'm a, I'm a slow walker.
So anyway, so she was a littlebit slower after that, but she
did everything she wanted to do.
And me and her, went on a hikehere in Utah we, we hiked
Stewart Falls later on probably2014 or something.
And she was just determined.
(25:21):
She would just do everythingthat she wanted to do.
And don't tell her how it'sgoing to be, because she's going
to tell you.
As far as, her body and her lifeis concerned.
So she started walking anddancing and doing all the things
again.
And I just, it really turned theclock back going to Mexico and
(25:41):
getting all those treatmentsreally, it gave her six more
years of life and it was decentquality.
You know, it was pretty good.
So I just think that's reallycool.
But, um, I'm really proud of herfor just doing what was right
(26:04):
for her.
I think that's the key.
Like, you got to do what feelsright for you and your body and
you know, and she didn't tellanybody.
It was kind of a big secret.
Like we didn't tell anybody thatshe had cancer, even her closest
friends.
And I think maybe if she coulddo it again, she might have
shared a little bit more justfor support.
(26:25):
But, um, I don't know, but maybeshe wouldn't.
But it, she just, I think thelast thing you want when you
have a big illness is peopletelling you what you should be
doing with your body.
And I think she just really, sheneeded the space to make her own
decisions and do what she feltgood about.
And so she just kind of kept itto herself and kept her attitude
(26:49):
good and kept the energy goodand just lived a really happy
like, quality life, and itwasn't, I mean, she, she
wouldn't tell us when thingswere bad, right?
So she, I think she suffered alot without telling, telling us
(27:11):
exactly how she was feeling, butoverall, it was pretty good,
until like the, the end.
She was, she was doing prettywell, and she was enjoying life,
and she was so happy to be here.
And she was somebody whowouldn't talk about funeral
plans, or death, or just like,I'm gonna live to be a hundred,
(27:33):
so don't count on it don't counton me dying ever.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonnabe around.
So, and I'm, I just believedher.
Cause she was always right, shewas always beating the odds and
then going, well, told ya.
You know, so we kind of got tothe point where we're like,
okay, well you tell us I don'tknow so, anyway, so she Yeah,
(27:55):
she continued and we didn'treally I think I mentioned in
some other podcasts Our familygot really hit really hard by
2008 the recession and likethings were just really really
really difficult Just gettingback on our feet for a long
time.
So I think it kind of got pushedAside going back to Mexico just
(28:20):
because life and she was doingso much better.
And so it just didn't really, wejust didn't exactly make it a
huge priority.
So.
Yeah, over the next few years, Iwas at college.
She was just doing her thing.
Still just trying differentnatural remedies and just
(28:42):
different things.
I know she did some kind of aestrogen I think it was newer, a
little experimental estrogentreatment with the doctor.
She had an oncologist that shereally liked who would just kind
of work with her and let her trydifferent things and was
supportive.
And he'd Recommend differentoptions for her that she might
like.
And so she did that for a fewyears and fast forward to 2014,
(29:11):
things started to just kind ofgo downhill a little bit that
year, a lot of bit and thecancer started spreading and
she, again, she didn't reallytell me.
all the things that were goingon.
And so I don't know, all thedetails of where it spread, but
it did move into her lungs.
(29:33):
And at this point, she was just,she was on pain pills so much.
And looking back.
You're like, it's kind ofobvious that she was in a really
bad spot as far as just notfeeling good and being a little
out of it and not being herself.
And she was on serious painmedication.
And but she was just so like,I'm fine.
(29:56):
You're like, okay.
So it did, it spread to herlungs and I didn't realize at
the time, that's pretty serious.
But, it's.
It just got worse and worse andworse, and she was My dad was
taking care of her, and herlungs were filling up with
fluid, and they were having todrain it.
(30:17):
Anyway, it's a whole Sorry forthe details, but, It just got
really serious, and sheeventually Something happened, I
don't remember what, where shehad to go to the hospital.
I don't remember if she couldn'tbreathe, or what was going on.
But The ambulance came and tookher to the hospital and that had
never happened before.
Like she was always just reallystable.
And so took her to the hospitaland it ended up being serious
(30:39):
enough that all of us kids werecalled.
And my dad was like, you need tocome.
Cause I don't know.
I don't know what's going tohappen.
And It had spread to, I think mydad was just telling me it
spread to her ribs as well.
It was just kind of all over andshe had not been eating very
much.
She'd lost a ton of weight.
She was kind of living off ofcrackers and Diet Coke, you
(31:03):
know.
And she was very malnourishedactually.
And As she was in the hospital,she ended up on a ventilator and
she just couldn't breathe.
And the doctor told us that weneeded to think about just
letting her go and We felt likethat was premature.
But he said, if we take her offthe ventilator, we can't
(31:24):
resuscitate her.
If we try, her ribs will justbreak.
Everything's just so fragilebecause she's so malnourished,
and I think because there wascancer in her ribs as well, and
so he was recommending that wepull the plug and my dad wasn't,
didn't feel good about that, youknow, and my mom was still, she
was Not completely all there,just with being in the hospital
(31:49):
on You know, they give you somedrugs for the pain and But she
was just really, she was reallypissed that she couldn't talk.
And It was just kind of weird.
I thought that was weird that hesuggested that so early on.
But so we said, no, we're gonna,we're gonna wait.
She's, I don't think she's thatbad.
(32:09):
You know, we'll, we'll just,we're going to see how this
goes.
And so we explained what wasgoing on to her.
And the whole hospitalexperience was a big
rollercoaster because they wouldtell us she wasn't doing well.
And then she would just dobetter.
As per usual, and so she was onthe ventilator.
She ended up getting off theventilator.
(32:30):
And breathing on her own, whichwas a miracle, I don't know how
that happened.
She was probably justvisualizing, I don't know.
But, she, it just, it was veryup and down.
It kept, you know, she'd do alittle worse and then she'd be
doing better.
And it was probably a week ortwo, I can't remember exactly,
where she was in the hospital.
Going through kind of this upand down, back and forth,
(32:57):
whiplash scenario.
And I ended up having to go backhome so I said my goodbyes, but
just kind of like, I'm comingback and we're going to take
care of you.
Oh, I left out a big part.
So before this happened, we wereplanning on going back to
Mexico.
We had everything set up and thedoctor that she had been to
(33:18):
before had moved his officebecause it's so dangerous in
Juarez.
And I heard one of his patients,this is at least the story, was
kidnapped and killed.
And so he was like, well, Ibetter move my clinic because
I'm a target and so anyway.
So he wasn't there anymore, sowe had to find a new doctor.
So my mom had found someone andwe had made all these plans,
(33:41):
over Thanksgiving that year.
We were talking about what wewere gonna do.
And how we were going to, youknow, getting the plan together
to get her back down therebecause we knew it was go time.
Uh, so we had a plane ticket forher and we had everything all
ready.
And I think it was like two daysmaybe before she was supposed to
(34:03):
leave.
That's when she ended up in thehospital.
So that was really hard.
That was really crushing.
But So, basically, she's in thehospital, she's fading and she
ended up passing like a coupledays after I got home back to
(34:23):
Utah, and and the, it's hard,you know, it's easy to beat
yourself up or say, oh man, ifwe, if only we had been able to
get her back to Mexico, that'sreally easy to do.
But, overall, we did our bestand she did her best and I
really do think, it's hardbecause I think if we could have
(34:47):
gotten her back there sooner,she did all these, you know,
alternative things.
She was taking supplements likecrazy.
And she was just taking allthese different natural remedies
that were supposed to behelpful.
And I think they were, I think,I think they're very helpful and
I think that contributed to herquality of life.
(35:07):
I think with cancer, you have tohit it really hard though.
And Mexico going there washitting it really hard.
And I feel like that reallyworked and really helped.
And ultimately I'm like, yeah,if we could have gotten her back
there, I think she probablywould have lived.
But on the other hand, I reallyfeel like people that are
(35:28):
fighting so hard to live, don'tgo unless it's their time.
That's my personal opinion.
One of the nurses said when shepassed, after she passed, she
said.
She was in her room and she saidto her, don't give up on me yet.
And so that's like kind of, uh,that's like kind of her last
words, you know?
And it's, she was just sodetermined.
(35:50):
She wanted to be here with herkids and her grandkids.
And she only had one at the timeand she was so excited.
I think my sister was pregnantwith her second and she was so
excited about it all and wasfighting.
Like, tooth and nail.
Like, she was not gonna goanywhere.
(36:12):
And so, I just think when peopleare fighting that hard and they
do pass, I just think it's theirtime.
And, I can kinda see now, some,some things, the way it's
affected my life, losing her.
I've learned things that I justwouldn't have learned with her
here.
And, I'd rather have my mom,but, there are like, It's just
(36:34):
interesting, life is justinteresting, the lessons you
learn and the things that you,you know, that you take from it.
So yeah, the treatments that shegot They're so much more
available now, because you couldonly get them outside of the
country back then, but now ozoneshots are very popular.
I know a lot of chiropractorsand nurse practitioners, and
(36:55):
just, I know a guy right nowthat administers them he worked
with my friend, who I wasmassaging a lot of the time, so
I got to see the results, andshe had something going on with
her Like muscle was just kind ofdisappearing and he injected
ozone shots into it and itregenerated like it was kind of
(37:17):
denting in and turning gray andthen she got ozone and it turned
more pink, it got more, itlooked more lively and just
returned to more of a, It's notperfect, but it's, the pain went
away, she's feeling some painthere.
And it filled back in, and itturned more of a skin tone,
(37:40):
color, and it shrunk a littlebit.
And it's just really cool thatthese things are actually
available.
So that's where the hope comesin, I guess.
This story didn't turn out theway any of us wanted it to.
But I just think, between mymom's attitude, and the exposure
that I got to some of theseother treatments, is really
(38:02):
hopeful.
I feel like I know what to do.
You know what I mean?
It's kind of like, I got to seekind of what methods were
helpful and which ones weremaybe not quite as helpful.
And and again, I think a lot ofthese, like all the supplements
you take and all the littlethings you do for your health,
it all matters and it all countsand it's all very helpful.
I don't think any of that wasthe wrong decision for her, I
(38:25):
just wish we could have gottento Mexico sooner.
I wish we could have gotten hermore intense treatments faster.
But the ozone shots areavailable in the U S.
I don't know, you know, I would,I would go to Mexico if I needed
treatment for cancer becausethey just have more freedom
around how they can treat you.
But these things are available.
(38:46):
There are clinics here.
There are a lot of functionalmedicine doctors that can do
different things.
Hyperbaric chambers are verypopular.
They're very available now.
And they're not, she had aclaustrophobic, like, tube one,
and I feel like they've got bigrooms, and they've got different
options now that are just muchbetter.
I do know you have to look upthe like the oxygen content,
sometimes they're kind ofdiluted, so you've got to make
(39:07):
sure you're getting a good one.
And they're doing IV therapieseverywhere, I feel like I've
heard of people doing thesethey're at least vitamins, but I
know somebody I was, I waslooking up was doing chelation
therapy as well.
So.
It's just much more accessiblethan it used to be, which is
amazing.
And I really want that trend tocontinue.
(39:29):
And I think it's important tofight for that.
Like just keep advocating forthat if there's anything that
comes up, in your community oryour circles that is advocating
for these other treatments, justgiving people options.
(39:49):
That is, that's so worthy.
That's such a worthy cause.
I just wanna, I just want peopleto know that there, there are
lots of options and there's hopeand be discerning, listen to
your intuition, listen to yourbody.
(40:10):
Don't let fear drive your life.
And, yeah, there's just, I thinkthere's a lot of reasons to be
hopeful going forward.
So just be open, be open andmake sure you feel at peace
about the decisions you make foryour body.
(40:31):
So just want to give you guyssome hope going forward and I've
been wanting to share her, myexperience in her life and her
story just because I think it'sreally.
Inspiring.
So, I hope that you were able totake that from this and go check
out that podcast.
(40:52):
It's episode 2, 2, 1 0 of JoeRogan.
It's really informative And I'llalso put a link.
There is a.
Another facility in Tajuana,that does.
Very similar.
Treatments.
I don't know if they do all thesame ones that.
We got.
At the place that we went to,but they do.
(41:13):
Do.
Very similar.
Alternative treatments.
I know a couple of people who'vegone there for stem cells.
Not.
Cancer, but I think they'reworth checking out.
If you.
You are wanting to look atalternative.
Medical.
Treatments for.
Any kind of chronic.
chronic illness.
(41:33):
I'll just, I'll put there.
Info and they.
It's Tajuana.
They taxi, you and.
They taxi you out.
It's a very nice facility.
One of my clients went there.
And he was going.
It is the nicest.
The nicest.
Medical facility I've ever beento.
And.
So much better setup.
Than the one we went to, it wasfine, but.
(41:54):
But just not very safe.
So.
Anyway, if you're wanting that.
That.
I'll link it and.
There are so there.
There are a lot of differentoptions.
We'll.
Be talking about them.
In the future in differentpodcasts and.
Just Google your area.
Google functional medicine.
Practitioners.
In your area, they usually havesome good alternative.
(42:16):
Options and.
Have hope.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you are enjoying whollyempowered, share it with that
friend or on your socials, youcan also hit the follow button.
If you want to keep up with thelatest episodes.
Until next time, stay empowered.
I'm Kristen Russell, and this isThe Wholly Empowered Podcast,
where we dive into all thingsholistic healing and open our
minds, hearts, and paradigms tonew ideas so we can live our
most empowered, healthy, joyfullives.
Hello! We're back! Anotherepisode of Wholly Empowered.
(00:22):
So today we're going to betalking about my mom and her
choices around her cancerdiagnosis and kind of the
process that she went throughand what she implemented and how
that worked for her.
I'm just going to go over justIt's kind of the whole story.
(00:45):
So first, a little bit about mymom.
So her name is Renae and she is,she's the oldest or oldest girl
second oldest of nine kids andshe grew up on a farm in Arizona
and just really hardworking,really fun.
(01:05):
She's just a party.
She's just a party to be around.
Super joyful.
Just sucking all the marrow outof life, kind of a person.
And she was always kind ofspunky and gets things done.
And just to just a cheerleadertype of person.
She's so fun.
She was actually a cheerleaderin high school, But she is,
(01:30):
she's just a joy.
And she's very independent andcertain.
Yeah.
And she's just great.
So, we were very lucky to haveher, and she was always in your
corner.
And, so excited to be a grandma,and just a lot of fun.
So that's my mom, my mom in anutshell.
(01:51):
But, she was diagnosed withcancer when I was 12.
And, She was diagnosed withbreast cancer.
And she ended up doing a lot ofalternative treatments and
there, I'll go over kind of herreasoning around that.
But it's kind of weird cause we,She lived a pretty healthy
(02:14):
lifestyle, you know, and so it'slike, what, why, why did this
happen?
And I don't think anybodynecessarily knows, you know,
it's kind of, it's hard topinpoint exactly why someone
gets cancer, but I know, youknow, people say genetics and
nutrition and environment andenvironmental things.
And so I think all of those, Ithink all of those play a role.
(02:35):
And I don't think anybody in myfamily who has gotten tested has
had that gene, I forget whatit's called, but it's that gene
that's very indicative of you,you are more likely to get
cancer.
So I, I don't know that she hadhuge genetic factors.
They did live on a farm and Ihave to wonder if the pesticides
(02:58):
were not a big contributor.
That's possible now that weknow.
the pesticides are carcinogenic.
We always ate really healthy.
We were kind of, uh, potatoesand oatmeal and eggs family, you
know?
So we didn't have cold cereal inour house or anything.
(03:19):
So, I think it comes down toenvironment usually and your
nutrition and lifestyle.
I heard a, somebody comparedgenetics to the DNA is like the
loaded gun and your lifestyle isthe trigger.
So I think we have a lot morecontrol than we sometimes think
(03:41):
when it comes to our geneticsand what we're predisposed to,
if that was a factor for her.
But I don't know.
I don't know.
I have to wonder what mighthave, what might have caused
that.
But when she, after she got thisdiagnosis, she did a lot of
research and studied just thepharmaceutical and medical
(04:08):
Structures in our country andhow things are handled and that
was a big reason why she chose alot of the alternative methods
that she did.
She was very cautious abouttrusting the pharmaceutical
companies or, you know, she'dlook at who funded what and just
the whole, this the whole thing.
And I'm going to recommend asupplemental podcast to this one
(04:32):
because normally I want to havea guest on that knows more, can
explain things better than Ican.
And this podcast, this episodespecifically of this podcast,
they just, they just nailed it.
Like all the reasons why my momchose the things that she chose.
They really help you understandexactly how things are working
(04:54):
in our country and how like inEurope, so many things are
illegal and they have to notinclude in certain ingredients
in their food because it'sThey're cancer causing, and we
don't do that here.
There's, the way that themedical system is set up it's
(05:14):
kind of a sick care system,where we don't address the root
cause, we just treat, and treat,and treat.
And we, it's not, I feel likethe word cure is almost, it's
like a dirty word or something,like, it's, we don't say we can
cure anything.
And, It's such a touchy subject,and it's, and it's tricky to
(05:38):
navigate, I'm not trying to poopoo on doctors or Western
medicine, I just, I'm justtelling you what she found and
what, what seems to be the caseas far as the way that things
are set up.
It doesn't seem to always be inthe best interest of the
patient.
And anyway, so she had this inmind when she was choosing her
(06:01):
treatments.
So she decided she didn't wantto do chemo and she didn't want
to do surgery.
And at the time, especially, Ifeel like, especially with
surgery, it's your consent isnot always considered.
And I remember her saying she'dwant them to take her lymph
nodes and, you know, sometimesthey just, take a lot when they
do surgery and she just wantedmore control of what was
(06:23):
happening with her body and soshe opted out of that and
decided not to do chemo and justfocused on more holistic
treatments and Gosh, she didthat.
I don't remember.
I'm trying so she got diagnosedprobably around 2000 or 2001 if
I was like doing the math if Iwas 12 and And so she, I know
(06:49):
she did things like Essiac teaand just some of these like
natural things.
And she did do some emotionalrelease work.
Like I was.
I'm telling you I did in thelast podcast.
I don't think she did tons ofit.
For the cancer, but again, it'sall related, right?
Like, Our emotional, mental,spiritual, like each one affects
(07:10):
the other.
So.
So.
If you want to have physicalhealth, you need to address.
Your emotional health and themore you can release these.
Patterns are these things thatare.
Holding you back, the more it'sjust.
Gonna help your body functionbetter.
So, I think it's all.
All it's all good.
And her quality of life was justso good.
(07:30):
But I'm like, I just think itall helps and whatever you can.
do to Get yourself in a good.
Place.
One way it's.
Going to help.
Like emotionally or mentally.
It's going to help youphysically.
So.
(07:51):
That was also.
A little bit of what she did.
She did everything right.
But.
That was a little bit of it Shereally didn't communicate with
me a ton about what she wasdoing often because she didn't
want me to worry or any of us toworry.
So she was pretty private, evenwith her family about exactly
what she was doing to treatthings.
(08:14):
So oh, yeah.
I'm going to backtrack.
I'm going to backtrack a littlebit.
So the supplemental podcast isthey explain really well how,
how everything works.
And I think it's just reallyimportant to be informed about
how things are, how the systemworks and how, how it might be
(08:41):
affecting you.
And I think that's important totake back your power around your
own health because we're incharge of our health and our
bodies ultimately, and you haveto make decisions that work for
you.
And if you don't know all theoptions or you don't know how
things work, it's hard to makethe best decision for you.
So in this podcast, they reallynailed it.
(09:03):
They really explained so, sowell, so.
So well, how everything workstogether and what we can do to
change things.
And it is, a Joe Rogan podcast.
I know people have mixedfeelings about him.
Honestly, in this podcast, hedoesn't really even talk, hardly
(09:25):
at all.
It's mostly just his gueststalking.
So if you don't like him, youcan just kind of tune him out.
It's not really, there isswearing and, you know, it's
explicit, but the information isso good.
And then his guests are.
Casey and Calley Means they'resiblings and the sister was a
surgeon and then the brother wasa, Consultant for the
(09:50):
pharmaceutical and foodindustry.
So he would go talk topoliticians about where to put
money.
And it was just really saw allthe backside of that.
And they discuss how thesesystems work and how are our
healthcare systems a little bitbroken.
It's so informative.
It's so helpful.
And I just, I really highlyrecommend it.
(10:11):
It's like my supplemental, notrequired reading, but kind of
like it, it helps you understandwhat's going on so much better.
And it does, I'm going to, itdoes get a little political.
I really don't want this to be apolitical podcast and that's not
my goal here.
but honestly, ignore that if itbothers you, like just push it
(10:31):
aside.
The first half of the podcast, Idon't think they talk about
anything political.
But I think it's important to beinformed so that you, whoever,
whatever happens in the future,we can let our representatives
know what we want because I feellike health is a, it should be a
non partisan, like, thereshouldn't be sides.
(10:51):
And I don't, I think we can allagree on this.
Anyway, really, really awesomesupplemental podcast to what I
am talking about today.
So.
Anyway, back to my mom and herchoices.
so she studied all these things.
She took like a kind of agentler approach, I guess.
(11:13):
And and did pretty well.
Like I would forget she wassick.
She didn't act like she wassick.
I feel like things were verynormal all throughout high
school for me as far as herhealth goes.
I didn't really, it wasn't a bigthing, you know, we lived a
pretty normal life, which was areally big blessing in a lot of
(11:33):
ways.
It's, I didn't have the typicalexperience of your parent having
cancer.
So that was really, That was ablessing, I guess.
But I feel like her attitude wasa huge part of what helped her.
One of the, one of the biggestthings was just, She was very
(11:54):
focused on enjoying her life.
And, I know they've donestudies.
I wish I, I feel like if I bringup a study, I should have it
available.
But, I know they've done studieson, what people believe about
their health.
And, especially specificallywith cancer.
If they think they're going todie, they don't last very long.
(12:15):
If they think they're going tolive, they do so much better.
And I really, I think that wasone of the number one key
things.
Cause I, I mentioned in myprevious, the first podcast, she
was really into law ofattraction and just mindset and
she lived it, man.
She like that woman, shepracticed what she preached.
(12:35):
Like she was very focused onhaving good attitude and giving
her body the mental nourishmentthat it needs, I guess you could
say.
Like she just, she had such agood, she wouldn't, she never
took ownership of being sick andshe was careful how she phrased
(12:57):
things and she never said, Ihave cancer.
And she never said she wasbattling with cancer.
She would just always talk abouther health in very positive
terms and she would make sureshe watched funny movies and
that we laughed a lot.
And I feel like her attitude wasprobably the number one thing
that kept her going and kept herhealth up and kept her quality
(13:23):
of life so high.
She had such a great quality oflife.
And So, in 2008, the cancerspread to her spine, and it was
then bone cancer.
So, she had a tumor that was onher bone, and pressing on her
(13:47):
spinal cord, and that pinchedit, and made her lose feeling in
her legs, and that was kind ofwhen it all came to a head.
she called me when I was incollege.
This is right before Christmasbreak in 2008.
And she called me and said,Kristen, you need to get a ride,
(14:07):
come home for Christmas.
And we're going to hop in thecar and go.
To Mexico.
So my uncle her, one of herbrothers, his wife had been
chronically ill and she hadgone, I think she had gone to
this doctor before in Mexicocause they, they were in
Arizona.
And so he was familiar and hehad told this doctor about my
(14:29):
mom and asked if he thought hecould help.
And He was like, I got you aspot with this doctor and he was
an alternative medicine doctorand a lot of the treatments that
he did were not legal in the USat the time.
And so that's why we ended upgoing outside of the country.
So I went home.
(14:50):
A couple days later, a daylater, we got in the car and we
drove all the way down toMexico.
And when I got there, my mom wasdoing pretty good.
She was I think she was a littlenervous she's losing a little
bit of feeling in her legs.
And we took a wheelchair withus.
So we started driving down andwe're taking turns driving and
(15:13):
we're going up the grapevine byLA and we're, we were heading
uphill and she was driving, Iwas in the passenger seat.
My dad was in the back.
And she lost, she kind of losther feel, she couldn't find the
(15:36):
brake.
She sort of like lost feel ofthe pedals, and she couldn't
lift her leg and find it again.
And she was like, Kristen, Ilost track of my brake, I need
you to I need you to push thebrake and I'm going to pull off.
And so I reached down with myhand and pushed on the brake
pedal and we got off to the sideand we had to switch.
(15:59):
And that was when she startedreally losing feeling in her
legs.
So by the time we got toArizona, I remember I, I had to
help her.
Like we were helping her out ofthe car to go to the bathroom,
like at the, truck stop orwhatever, the McDonald's.
And.
It just progressed so quickly onthe way down.
And she was, she needed help.
(16:22):
She had to use the wheelchair.
Things just progressed.
It was kind of crazy.
So we got to El Paso and we hadsomeone meet us there from the
clinic and he taxied and we tookour car and took us to this
clinic.
And this was in Juarez, Mexico,and it was extremely dangerous
at the time.
The.
(16:44):
The murder rates or whateverlike were like the same as the
Middle East or it was at thetime like an'08 It was very
dangerous and I think it's stillvery dangerous.
So we crossed the river, went tothis, compound.
It was like this big metal or Ithink it was a metal door that
was like a gate and it just likea big wall around this complex.
(17:10):
And we started, she startedtreatment like that day that we
got there.
And while she was there, we didI think it's called chelation.
I always said chelation.
I don't know.
Everyone had accents where wewere, when we were there.
So I'm like, I don't know if itwas the accents or if that's who
you say it.
But so chelation.
Therapy.
And that is where they hook youup to an IV and it runs I don't
(17:35):
know exactly what it is, butthey run something through your
veins that cleans out heavymetals.
So it's like a heavy metaldetox.
And there were a lot ofdifferent people there and I
feel like most of them weredoing that.
That was part of theirtreatment, no matter what they
had.
And so she did that every day.
They fed us food that wasorganic and there were no
microwaves and it was very cleanand we ate fish and rice and
(18:00):
soup and there's this veryspecific diet that they wanted
her to follow while she wasthere.
And we stayed on the, there, wehad little apartments there.
So we stayed on that compound.
And some of the other treatmentsshe did while she was there, we,
she did a hyperbaric chamber.
So that's just, Really pureoxygen in kind of a pressurized
(18:23):
situation.
I think people are much morefamiliar with it now.
You probably know what that is.
But we did hyperbaric chambertherapy, and she also got, I
don't know all of the therapiesthat she got while she was
there, but I do know she gotanother one that it was actually
later on cause she was doing allthese different things and I
(18:45):
wasn't there for all of it andlike I wasn't with her
physically.
But I feel like the oxygentherapies seemed to be extremely
helpful and I didn't realizewhen we were there that she was
kind of on she told me later,she was like, I had to decide if
I wanted to live while we werethere.
Like, it was that bad.
(19:07):
And there was kind of evidenceof that later with just I feel
like people behave differentlywhen they are on their deathbed.
They, things, certain behaviorscome up and I noticed a pattern
of how she was acting when wewere in Mexico and versus when
she actually passed, like closerto when she was going to pass So
(19:28):
that kind of confirmed to methat, yeah, she was, she was.
In bad shape when we went toMexico, so, um, It's very
expensive when you do thesetherapies.
And this is another problem withthe way things are run.
There's just not a lot ofoptions.
And, if you want your insuranceto cover things.
(19:48):
So, we had to We had to pay forthis out of pocket.
And, we kind of ran out ofmoney.
So, we were only there for, Ithink we were there a week
total, but we were only, she wasonly getting treatment for about
three and a half days.
And on the last, because thedoctor needed payment and we,
(20:10):
anyway, we were trying to figureit out.
And but on the last day, on thefourth day, I guess, where she
was getting treatment, he tookher in and said, well, let's do
this ozone treatment.
So she got ozone shots directlyinto the tumor in her breast.
And that really, that was reallyhelpful.
(20:32):
I don't know because I wasn't inthe room, but I do know the
tumor was kind of an open wound,and it was from what my mom told
me, it was purple, and theyinjected, it's just ozone, like
they inject oxygen basicallyright into the tumor, and it
turned red, and and after that,I don't know exactly the
(20:53):
timeline, but it did, it shrunkconsiderably.
My dad was saying it was Youcould tell it definitely shrunk
quite a bit, and just changedand healed a little bit.
That was crazy.
That was very effective.
And These oxygen based therapiesI think were just really, really
(21:14):
helpful.
So again, we were only therefor, she was only receiving
treatment for about three and ahalf days, and we left after
that, planning to come back, butit just, it was just so
expensive and there was somedrama with getting in and out
and money and it was the wholething.
So we went back to Arizona,stayed with her family a little
(21:34):
bit.
And I went back up to schoolafter that and she went home to
California.
And over the next few months shereally improved.
And the doctor there in Mexicorecommended that she get spot
radiation.
So it's like a very concentratedsmall amount and in a specific
(21:56):
spot.
So that was, they did that onthe one on her spine.
And they did radiation likethrough her throat, straight to
the back.
And that was hard because It wasdamaging to her esophagus and
she couldn't talk very well andit was just, that was rough, but
it was, it helped a ton, so shewas fully paralyzed by the time
(22:21):
we left Mexico, just paraplegic,and when she got back, probably,
I don't know, maybe a monthafter, she got this radiation on
the tumor in her spine, andthat, shrunk the tumor, it took
the pressure off eventually.
And she was paralyzed forprobably six to eight months and
(22:44):
wheelchair bound.
And the doctor said she wouldn'twalk again.
Like no.
And she was like, Oh really?
That's my mom.
She's very defiant.
She's going to do what she'sgoing to do.
And so she spent a lot of timeand she did this throughout.
The time that she was sick, shewould visualize, she would tell
(23:06):
me, Kristen, I just sit and Iclose my eyes and I visualize
all my cells working perfectlyand all, my body system just
working and everything justbeing really healthy and
harmonious and I just feel it.
And I honestly think that was,there's so much power in what we
visualize and I think that was ahuge huge help to her.
(23:32):
And I just think your attitudeis, is huge.
And I think our bodies respondto what we tell them to do.
And so, whether that just madeher feel better or whether it
actually helped, who's to say, Iguess, but I really believe that
it's.
It helped her body, because shekept beating the odds, and I
(23:54):
feel like the common denominatorwas her attitude.
So, she's just, she was alwayskind of magical, in a way.
Like, she would just always, thedoctors would tell her one
thing, and she would go, Hmm,that's nice.
I'm not, I'm not subscribing tothat.
And she would just continue toget better or turn things
around.
And I just, yeah, her attitudewas really, really amazing.
(24:18):
And so after about, it was laterthat year Later in the summer, I
think she could stand and shestarted to walk a little bit.
And by a year after that, liketwo years after the spot
radiation in Mexico she was, shewas dancing.
Like, I taught a dance class forsome people at home and she was
(24:40):
helping me and she's just, youknow, she was a little bit, she
never, she was a fast walker.
She was like A veryintentionally, you know, she
would zip when she was beforethe cancer and before the
paralysis.
And so she wasn't quite as fast,which was actually kind of
helpful for me because I wasalways trying to catch up to
her.
(25:00):
Um, I'm a, I'm a slow walker.
So anyway, so she was a littlebit slower after that, but she
did everything she wanted to do.
And me and her, went on a hikehere in Utah we, we hiked
Stewart Falls later on probably2014 or something.
And she was just determined.
(25:21):
She would just do everythingthat she wanted to do.
And don't tell her how it'sgoing to be, because she's going
to tell you.
As far as, her body and her lifeis concerned.
So she started walking anddancing and doing all the things
again.
And I just, it really turned theclock back going to Mexico and
(25:41):
getting all those treatmentsreally, it gave her six more
years of life and it was decentquality.
You know, it was pretty good.
So I just think that's reallycool.
But, um, I'm really proud of herfor just doing what was right
(26:04):
for her.
I think that's the key.
Like, you got to do what feelsright for you and your body and
you know, and she didn't tellanybody.
It was kind of a big secret.
Like we didn't tell anybody thatshe had cancer, even her closest
friends.
And I think maybe if she coulddo it again, she might have
shared a little bit more justfor support.
(26:25):
But, um, I don't know, but maybeshe wouldn't.
But it, she just, I think thelast thing you want when you
have a big illness is peopletelling you what you should be
doing with your body.
And I think she just really, sheneeded the space to make her own
decisions and do what she feltgood about.
And so she just kind of kept itto herself and kept her attitude
(26:49):
good and kept the energy goodand just lived a really happy
like, quality life, and itwasn't, I mean, she, she
wouldn't tell us when thingswere bad, right?
So she, I think she suffered alot without telling, telling us
(27:11):
exactly how she was feeling, butoverall, it was pretty good,
until like the, the end.
She was, she was doing prettywell, and she was enjoying life,
and she was so happy to be here.
And she was somebody whowouldn't talk about funeral
plans, or death, or just like,I'm gonna live to be a hundred,
(27:33):
so don't count on it don't counton me dying ever.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonnabe around.
So, and I'm, I just believedher.
Cause she was always right, shewas always beating the odds and
then going, well, told ya.
You know, so we kind of got tothe point where we're like,
okay, well you tell us I don'tknow so, anyway, so she Yeah,
(27:55):
she continued and we didn'treally I think I mentioned in
some other podcasts Our familygot really hit really hard by
2008 the recession and likethings were just really really
really difficult Just gettingback on our feet for a long
time.
So I think it kind of got pushedAside going back to Mexico just
(28:20):
because life and she was doingso much better.
And so it just didn't really, wejust didn't exactly make it a
huge priority.
So.
Yeah, over the next few years, Iwas at college.
She was just doing her thing.
Still just trying differentnatural remedies and just
(28:42):
different things.
I know she did some kind of aestrogen I think it was newer, a
little experimental estrogentreatment with the doctor.
She had an oncologist that shereally liked who would just kind
of work with her and let her trydifferent things and was
supportive.
And he'd Recommend differentoptions for her that she might
like.
And so she did that for a fewyears and fast forward to 2014,
(29:11):
things started to just kind ofgo downhill a little bit that
year, a lot of bit and thecancer started spreading and
she, again, she didn't reallytell me.
all the things that were goingon.
And so I don't know, all thedetails of where it spread, but
it did move into her lungs.
(29:33):
And at this point, she was just,she was on pain pills so much.
And looking back.
You're like, it's kind ofobvious that she was in a really
bad spot as far as just notfeeling good and being a little
out of it and not being herself.
And she was on serious painmedication.
And but she was just so like,I'm fine.
(29:56):
You're like, okay.
So it did, it spread to herlungs and I didn't realize at
the time, that's pretty serious.
But, it's.
It just got worse and worse andworse, and she was My dad was
taking care of her, and herlungs were filling up with
fluid, and they were having todrain it.
(30:17):
Anyway, it's a whole Sorry forthe details, but, It just got
really serious, and sheeventually Something happened, I
don't remember what, where shehad to go to the hospital.
I don't remember if she couldn'tbreathe, or what was going on.
But The ambulance came and tookher to the hospital and that had
never happened before.
Like she was always just reallystable.
And so took her to the hospitaland it ended up being serious
(30:39):
enough that all of us kids werecalled.
And my dad was like, you need tocome.
Cause I don't know.
I don't know what's going tohappen.
And It had spread to, I think mydad was just telling me it
spread to her ribs as well.
It was just kind of all over andshe had not been eating very
much.
She'd lost a ton of weight.
She was kind of living off ofcrackers and Diet Coke, you
(31:03):
know.
And she was very malnourishedactually.
And As she was in the hospital,she ended up on a ventilator and
she just couldn't breathe.
And the doctor told us that weneeded to think about just
letting her go and We felt likethat was premature.
But he said, if we take her offthe ventilator, we can't
(31:24):
resuscitate her.
If we try, her ribs will justbreak.
Everything's just so fragilebecause she's so malnourished,
and I think because there wascancer in her ribs as well, and
so he was recommending that wepull the plug and my dad wasn't,
didn't feel good about that, youknow, and my mom was still, she
was Not completely all there,just with being in the hospital
(31:49):
on You know, they give you somedrugs for the pain and But she
was just really, she was reallypissed that she couldn't talk.
And It was just kind of weird.
I thought that was weird that hesuggested that so early on.
But so we said, no, we're gonna,we're gonna wait.
She's, I don't think she's thatbad.
(32:09):
You know, we'll, we'll just,we're going to see how this
goes.
And so we explained what wasgoing on to her.
And the whole hospitalexperience was a big
rollercoaster because they wouldtell us she wasn't doing well.
And then she would just dobetter.
As per usual, and so she was onthe ventilator.
She ended up getting off theventilator.
(32:30):
And breathing on her own, whichwas a miracle, I don't know how
that happened.
She was probably justvisualizing, I don't know.
But, she, it just, it was veryup and down.
It kept, you know, she'd do alittle worse and then she'd be
doing better.
And it was probably a week ortwo, I can't remember exactly,
where she was in the hospital.
Going through kind of this upand down, back and forth,
(32:57):
whiplash scenario.
And I ended up having to go backhome so I said my goodbyes, but
just kind of like, I'm comingback and we're going to take
care of you.
Oh, I left out a big part.
So before this happened, we wereplanning on going back to
Mexico.
We had everything set up and thedoctor that she had been to
(33:18):
before had moved his officebecause it's so dangerous in
Juarez.
And I heard one of his patients,this is at least the story, was
kidnapped and killed.
And so he was like, well, Ibetter move my clinic because
I'm a target and so anyway.
So he wasn't there anymore, sowe had to find a new doctor.
So my mom had found someone andwe had made all these plans,
(33:41):
over Thanksgiving that year.
We were talking about what wewere gonna do.
And how we were going to, youknow, getting the plan together
to get her back down therebecause we knew it was go time.
Uh, so we had a plane ticket forher and we had everything all
ready.
And I think it was like two daysmaybe before she was supposed to
(34:03):
leave.
That's when she ended up in thehospital.
So that was really hard.
That was really crushing.
But So, basically, she's in thehospital, she's fading and she
ended up passing like a coupledays after I got home back to
(34:23):
Utah, and and the, it's hard,you know, it's easy to beat
yourself up or say, oh man, ifwe, if only we had been able to
get her back to Mexico, that'sreally easy to do.
But, overall, we did our bestand she did her best and I
really do think, it's hardbecause I think if we could have
(34:47):
gotten her back there sooner,she did all these, you know,
alternative things.
She was taking supplements likecrazy.
And she was just taking allthese different natural remedies
that were supposed to behelpful.
And I think they were, I think,I think they're very helpful and
I think that contributed to herquality of life.
(35:07):
I think with cancer, you have tohit it really hard though.
And Mexico going there washitting it really hard.
And I feel like that reallyworked and really helped.
And ultimately I'm like, yeah,if we could have gotten her back
there, I think she probablywould have lived.
But on the other hand, I reallyfeel like people that are
(35:28):
fighting so hard to live, don'tgo unless it's their time.
That's my personal opinion.
One of the nurses said when shepassed, after she passed, she
said.
She was in her room and she saidto her, don't give up on me yet.
And so that's like kind of, uh,that's like kind of her last
words, you know?
And it's, she was just sodetermined.
(35:50):
She wanted to be here with herkids and her grandkids.
And she only had one at the timeand she was so excited.
I think my sister was pregnantwith her second and she was so
excited about it all and wasfighting.
Like, tooth and nail.
Like, she was not gonna goanywhere.
(36:12):
And so, I just think when peopleare fighting that hard and they
do pass, I just think it's theirtime.
And, I can kinda see now, some,some things, the way it's
affected my life, losing her.
I've learned things that I justwouldn't have learned with her
here.
And, I'd rather have my mom,but, there are like, It's just
(36:34):
interesting, life is justinteresting, the lessons you
learn and the things that you,you know, that you take from it.
So yeah, the treatments that shegot They're so much more
available now, because you couldonly get them outside of the
country back then, but now ozoneshots are very popular.
I know a lot of chiropractorsand nurse practitioners, and
(36:55):
just, I know a guy right nowthat administers them he worked
with my friend, who I wasmassaging a lot of the time, so
I got to see the results, andshe had something going on with
her Like muscle was just kind ofdisappearing and he injected
ozone shots into it and itregenerated like it was kind of
(37:17):
denting in and turning gray andthen she got ozone and it turned
more pink, it got more, itlooked more lively and just
returned to more of a, It's notperfect, but it's, the pain went
away, she's feeling some painthere.
And it filled back in, and itturned more of a skin tone,
(37:40):
color, and it shrunk a littlebit.
And it's just really cool thatthese things are actually
available.
So that's where the hope comesin, I guess.
This story didn't turn out theway any of us wanted it to.
But I just think, between mymom's attitude, and the exposure
that I got to some of theseother treatments, is really
(38:02):
hopeful.
I feel like I know what to do.
You know what I mean?
It's kind of like, I got to seekind of what methods were
helpful and which ones weremaybe not quite as helpful.
And and again, I think a lot ofthese, like all the supplements
you take and all the littlethings you do for your health,
it all matters and it all countsand it's all very helpful.
I don't think any of that wasthe wrong decision for her, I
(38:25):
just wish we could have gottento Mexico sooner.
I wish we could have gotten hermore intense treatments faster.
But the ozone shots areavailable in the U S.
I don't know, you know, I would,I would go to Mexico if I needed
treatment for cancer becausethey just have more freedom
around how they can treat you.
But these things are available.
(38:46):
There are clinics here.
There are a lot of functionalmedicine doctors that can do
different things.
Hyperbaric chambers are verypopular.
They're very available now.
And they're not, she had aclaustrophobic, like, tube one,
and I feel like they've got bigrooms, and they've got different
options now that are just muchbetter.
I do know you have to look upthe like the oxygen content,
sometimes they're kind ofdiluted, so you've got to make
(39:07):
sure you're getting a good one.
And they're doing IV therapieseverywhere, I feel like I've
heard of people doing thesethey're at least vitamins, but I
know somebody I was, I waslooking up was doing chelation
therapy as well.
So.
It's just much more accessiblethan it used to be, which is
amazing.
And I really want that trend tocontinue.
(39:29):
And I think it's important tofight for that.
Like just keep advocating forthat if there's anything that
comes up, in your community oryour circles that is advocating
for these other treatments, justgiving people options.
(39:49):
That is, that's so worthy.
That's such a worthy cause.
I just wanna, I just want peopleto know that there, there are
lots of options and there's hopeand be discerning, listen to
your intuition, listen to yourbody.
(40:10):
Don't let fear drive your life.
And, yeah, there's just, I thinkthere's a lot of reasons to be
hopeful going forward.
So just be open, be open andmake sure you feel at peace
about the decisions you make foryour body.
(40:31):
So just want to give you guyssome hope going forward and I've
been wanting to share her, myexperience in her life and her
story just because I think it'sreally.
Inspiring.
So, I hope that you were able totake that from this and go check
out that podcast.
(40:52):
It's episode 2, 2, 1 0 of JoeRogan.
It's really informative And I'llalso put a link.
There is a.
Another facility in Tajuana,that does.
Very similar.
Treatments.
I don't know if they do all thesame ones that.
We got.
At the place that we went to,but they do.
(41:13):
Do.
Very similar.
Alternative treatments.
I know a couple of people who'vegone there for stem cells.
Not.
Cancer, but I think they'reworth checking out.
If you.
You are wanting to look atalternative.
Medical.
Treatments for.
Any kind of chronic.
chronic illness.
(41:33):
I'll just, I'll put there.
Info and they.
It's Tajuana.
They taxi, you and.
They taxi you out.
It's a very nice facility.
One of my clients went there.
And he was going.
It is the nicest.
The nicest.
Medical facility I've ever beento.
And.
So much better setup.
Than the one we went to, it wasfine, but.
(41:54):
But just not very safe.
So.
Anyway, if you're wanting that.
That.
I'll link it and.
There are so there.
There are a lot of differentoptions.
We'll.
Be talking about them.
In the future in differentpodcasts and.
Just Google your area.
Google functional medicine.
Practitioners.
In your area, they usually havesome good alternative.
(42:16):
Options and.
Have hope.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you are enjoying whollyempowered, share it with that
friend or on your socials, youcan also hit the follow button.
If you want to keep up with thelatest episodes.
Until next time, stay empowered.
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