The Fasting Path

You can only imagine the shock and fear this 37-year-old mother of two felt when she received a diagnosis of Stage II Hodgkins Lymphoma. Following the standard protocol as prescribed by doctors, she underwent her first chemotherapy treatment and three days later found herself so weak she could barely sit or stand for more than five minutes at a time. Then, she lost most of her hair. She never returned for her second treatment, choosing instead to seek out alternatives.

It was around this time her husband heard about the Therapeutic Juice Fasting program being implemented at St. Theodore’s Hospital in Sagada, while at the beauty parlor. A week later, her sister-in-law called from Canada to tell her about this cutting edge new cancer treatment she read about on the internet, and it is happening right here in the Philippines, just two hours from her home. Interestingly enough, it was the same program her husband had just told her about.

When she arrived at St. Theodore’s, the program immediately appealed to her because “the chemo therapy was too harsh… expensive and painful.” She had also just read an article written by Dr. Julian Whitetaker titled Biggest Mistakes Doctors Make in Treating Cancer. “It says chemo is not a good way to treat cancer, because it kills both the good and bad cells and weakens the immune system. To treat cancer, you don’t want to weaken the immune system, but to strengthen it.”

On November 19^th, she started her juice fasting protocol, and is now on 23 days and counting, a little more than half way through her 42-day program, ingesting nothing more than juice and a unique combination of pharmaceutical grade supplements.

When she got here, her neck was inflamed and you could see and feel the swollen lymph nodes; and she suffered from severe itching all over her body. After 5 days on juice, the inflammation in her neck subsided, and 5 days later the swelling was completely gone. It took only about 7 days for the itching to go away.

Detoxifying and cleansing the body isn’t always easy and pleasant. During her first week of juice fasting she felt dizzy, headachy and nauseas, but it was nothing compared to the side effects of the chemo. She also experienced a boil on her right elbow and some pimples on her face, which she attributes to signs of toxins being released. All that has subsided now, and Elizabeth says she is, “getting strong…getting healthier”, and has actually started participating in yoga and meditation classes at the hospital.

When asked what has been the most challenging part of the fast for her, she thought about it for a few seconds, and shrugged, “I think fasting is not too difficult to do.”

Now, she feels confident that after 42 days, she will be cancer free. She ends her fast on December 31^st, just in time to start the New Year off feeling healthy, strong and active. Her husband’s thoughts about all of this? “New year, new life.”