It’s the three most dreaded words that you pray you’ll never have to hear or say, “I have cancer.” I had to read the Facebook post again to be sure I was reading it correctly.  Those three dreaded words were written on her post.

I will call her Jean to protect her identity. As Jean expressed further in her post with frustration and anger, “I was doing everything right.” She eats organic, exercises, uses a whole home water filter and thermography versus mammography to reduce her exposure to radiation among many other preventative measures.  So how can you do everything right and still end up with this horrible disease?

Jean has every right to be angry and to ask God how she, of all people, could be diagnosed with cancer. It makes absolutely no sense at all. She is a friend and a fellow holistic wellness practitioner.  We graduated together as Certified Natural Health Professionals and ended up taking a Digestive Health Specialist class together as well. I loved her passion for the profession and her positive, warm, outgoing demeanor.

My thoughts when I read her post were a bit selfish.  I thought well, if it happened to her, it could happen to me. So I came to a realization that I wasn’t invincible from cancer even if I do most things right. However, I have always been cautious to inform people that following my clean lifestyle wasn’t a guarantee that you won’t get cancer, it’s just reducing your risk.

My next thoughts were about how she would deal with this as a human being and a wellness practitioner. My heart ached as I wondered how she would cope with this news.  I just wanted to leave and hug her, which wasn’t an option, because she lives too far away.

I wondered how she would approach her healing journey.  I am happy to know that she says she is focusing on the healing and not on the cancer. She is also addressing the emotional aspect to determine if there are some layers that need to be peeled away.  Stress and emotions play a significant role in cancer and in the healing process. She is also posting her journey and protocol on Facebook so that she can inspire and benefit others.

Her protocols are obviously all alternative which I am grateful for. She knows the truth, which is that God created are bodies to be whole. She knows that the toxins (emotional and physical) must be removed and the nutrient levels must be increased. She knows that chemo and radiation will not heal but place the cancer only in remission and further destroy the immune system.

She said she was humbled immediately, upon hearing the news. This was surprising because I never saw her as a prideful person. I also wanted to help her as a colleague but realized she is surrounded with many like-minded people that could help her. So I decided to pray instead and offer her words of hope, love and encouragement.  I would resist my innate need to “fix” the situation.

As a Naturopath following the same clean living protocols, it’s a wake up call that no one is exempt. It is also a reminder that God is in control and uses these situations to teach us life’s hard lessons. Part of me wants to say, “God you do have a crazy sense of humor”.

Some of you may be thinking, what’s the use? Why spend all the extra money on education, eating organic foods, eliminating chemicals in the home, etc? My first why is because my body is a temple and I will continue to treat it as one.  The second why is that I can’t fulfill my God-given purpose on this earth if I’m inundated with sickness and disease. It then becomes all about me instead about serving others.

It’s also a reminder to follow your heart and passion. I use the grapefruit analogy. We peel away the first layer to get to the fruit and sometimes are distracted or slowed down by the white pith. The pith may be a detour in our life or a place we have arrived thinking we are in the right place. The pith has a bitter taste so we realize that we haven’t yet arrived at the sweet fruit so we have to keep peeling.  The fruit is the truth inside of us. It is what God intended for us to be, our mission and purpose on this earth.

In the end, that’s what it is about. Are we fulfilling the role that God intended? Or are there other lessons he wants us to learn? Jean believes that there are always lessons that God wants us to learn. I believe I’m one of those students and will be grateful for the education.