20. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Cancer

My journey with non-Hodgkin lymphoma began in 1998, when I was 22 years old. At that time, I was pretty carefree and very young, never thinking that I would be struck with the big “C” anytime in my life. That all changed when I was casually laying on my bed with my hand on my belly. I started to rub my tummy and felt a huge lump. At first, I thought, “I can’t be pregnant, what could that be?” I dismissed it for weeks until I could no longer ignore it. It was pretty large although you could really only see it when I lay down and it popped up.

After eventually going to the doctor and fighting with him because he did not believe I had anything in my abdomen, I finally convinced someone to order a CAT scan. As soon as we got the results, the doc said he had no idea what it was but it needed to come out. After 10 days in the hospital where I underwent exploratory laparoscopy to remove a 5 lb. tumor, I got my diagnosis: Cancer at 22 years old with 10 years maximum to live. The doctors ran many tests: more CAT scans, PET scans, blood work, etc.  Finally, they said, “Go home. Enjoy your life, because right now it seems we got it all but it will be back with a vengeance so be ready to fight.” And so I did.

Fast-forward seven years. I had a baby and got divorced, all the while trying to enjoy my life to the fullest and take care of myself. I have always been very interested in being healthy, taking care of my body and learning how foods affect me. I felt that among most of my friends and family, I was the healthiest because I tried to always eat good foods and exercise. I even completed a marathon, an in-line skating marathon and trained for a triathlon. I felt super healthy! But after some extremely stressful times, I went in for a routine PET scan and, low and behold, the cancer had returned.

I had already beat most odds, having made it seven years without a re-occurrence. Immediately, I wanted to do whatever it took to get rid of this big ugly thing (cancer). My doctor sent me to a surgeon to remove the tumors in my abdomen again. Eager to be rid of the cancer, I found myself in the hospital for five days to have the tumors removed. The ironic thing is when they opened me up; they decided it was too risky. They took out my appendix because they had nothing else to do, and then sewed me back up. At that point I had a gaping 10-inch hole in my abdomen and the cancer was still there!

Angry for going through the surgery, I got a second opinion and was told we needed to “wait and see” how much the cancer would grow before attacking. There are many drugs on the market to use in the attack, but the end result was the same when it came to life expectancy: If I started treatment immediately or waited until it got really bad, either way, I would live only a few years. This is what the doctors told me.

So I waited, living under this death sentence, going to the doctor every few months and having tests, blood work and scans. Every test result would come back worse…it was growing – definitely not what I wanted to hear.

I was getting very depressed. I felt like I had no power over my own body, almost as if I was just waiting for the bad news, and I was helpless. I was searching for answers when I came across Hippocrates Health Institute in one of my books. You see, I had the books and the stories on how to heal myself but I felt so powerless that I needed a push to get me moving in the right direction.

My fiancé at the time, who is now my husband, gave me that push. He knew I wanted to go to Hippocrates Health Institute and he made it happen. We got married in February of 2007 amid the fear of not knowing what would happen with my health. My husband told me, “We will fight this together and heal you. Whatever it takes.” I needed that coach in my corner – he was my biggest fan!

When the last test came back worse again, we decided to schedule the Rituxin to fill my veins with chemicals in hope of getting rid of the lymphoma. But at the last minute we decided we did not want to do this. I spoke to my doctor, and we all agreed we were not going to do this just yet. I wasn’t ready, and the tests showed the cancer growing but not enough for us to start treatment yet. I wasn’t comfortable with that. After we left the doc’s office, I told my husband, “I have got to go to Hippocrates Health Institute. It has to happen. I have to take charge of my health. I need to live for my son. I need to be healthy. There is no other way, I have to be my own doctor.”

My husband decided to start a web site to tell our story and see if anyone would be willing to make a small donation toward getting me to Hippocrates Health Institute ASAP. The response was overwhelming, and before we knew it – two months later, I was on my way to Hippocrates Health Institute purely because there are so many wonderful, giving people in this world who donated for me to go.

I spent three beautiful weeks at Hippocrates Health Institute, learning, relaxing, eating good raw organic foods, exercising, meeting wonderful people, and just experiencing the love that comes from that amazing spiritual place! I learned so much about my body and how to take care of it that by the end of the three weeks I felt equipped with the knowledge to take care of my body and I knew that this lymphoma would be gone. As I graduated, my words were, “By next year, this cancer will be gone!”

Coming home from Hippocrates Health Institute, I adopted this lifestyle for my own and have continued to feed my body the raw vegan foods it craves. My mind has also softened and I have learned about visualization and how to truly realize what is important in my life.

I had another PET scan two months later, and as I lay on the table while the machine pushed me through the large hole to X-ray my body, I knew the lymphoma was going away. I just knew my body was fighting the cancer and getting rid of it. When I received my results, my doctor was speechless. How could I go from having lymphoma all over my body to having all my tumors half the size and, in some areas, completely gone? My doctor applauded me for making the decision to skip his conventional treatment and go out on my own.

He actually said he has learned a lot from me during this process. He was proud. I was on top of the world! I knew this is what I needed to be doing and this was the verification I needed to remind me of that. Even my doctor agreed I was on the right track. He may not have understood it, but he said, “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it! It’s working!”

Within three months my tumors shrank and some have even disappeared! It is amazing, but it is exactly what Brian and Anna Maria teach you at Hippocrates. “It’s not the food in your life, it’s the life in your food!”

Now my goal is to become a Hippocrates Health Educator and help others learn to heal themselves with this Hippocrates Health Institute Lifestyle. It is possible – I am living proof. And I can tell you, next year my lymphoma will be gone.

Thank you Hippocrates Health Institute. We already have the tools to heal our bodies; we just have to be taught how to do it.

Sherrie Clark