Things I've Learned on My Cancer Journey — And What I'm Doing Now

Hi friend,

The body is a complex machine, and everybody's body is different. Cancer has so many metabolic pathways, and over the years I've come to believe there isn't only one road through it. That's why I'm walking an integrative path.

This week's video tells my story face to face. Here on the blog, I want to slow down and share the parts I couldn't fit into the video: the details, the scriptures that carry me, and a few things I wish someone had told me sooner.

I'm not a doctor, and nothing here is medical advice. This is my story, just what God is walking me through. Please talk with your healthcare provider before making changes.

New video: Things I’ve Learned on My Cancer Journey — And What I’m Doing Now Watch the video on my YouTube channel: Journey With Jeanna

Five Years In

I've lived with a cancer diagnosis for over five years now. I've studied cancer and the body from my wellness background, as a licensed esthetician and nutrition coach. But living it has taught me things no textbook ever could.

Right now I'm following a metabolic approach: therapeutic high-fat, low-carb. It isn't a diet fad for me. It's one way I'm caring for my body while I trust God with the rest.

"Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise." (Jeremiah 17:14, BSB)

That verse is my prayer. It isn't a formula. It's the cry of someone who knows she needs Him.

What I'm Doing Now

These are the things I'm doing for energy and immune support, all talked through with my integrative doctor:

  • Mistletoe injections
  • Ozone therapy
  • Exercise with oxygen therapy (EWOT)
  • Sauna and cold plunge
  • Red light therapy
  • Supplements
  • Low-dose naltrexone and ivermectin, under my doctor's guidance

I'm not sharing doses, and I'm not telling you to take any of these. This is my journey. Hyperbaric treatments are coming too, once we get the chamber hooked up. I'm so grateful there are so many options to choose from, and grateful that God provided them for me.

Caring for My Gut

I've been working on leaky gut, and honestly, it drains me. It makes me feel awful a lot of the time. I wish I'd known sooner how much my gut affects everything: my energy, my mood, even my iron.

Here's what I'm using right now:

If you're curious about any of these, you can find them in my Fullscript dispensary.

The Daily Juggle

Every day I take several medications and supplements on an empty stomach. Some in the morning, some midday, some at night. It's very challenging, and sometimes it's so overwhelming that it makes me want to give up.

One thing I wish I'd known sooner: if there isn't enough time in the day, it's okay for me to get up in the middle of the night to take something, because that's when my stomach is empty again. (That's what works for me. Ask your own doctor about your timing.)

On top of everything, I'm in perimenopause. A lot of my friends my age are on hormone replacement, and they tell me they're so much happier and nicer. I can't go that route because of my cancer diagnosis, and it does make this battle harder. I wish I'd known to give myself more grace through this season.

But God walks us through what we can't carry alone, and He gives strength we don't have on our own. I really feel that it's in the hard times that He has something good for me.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, BSB)

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9, BSB)

Those words keep me going when it all feels like too much.

Choosing Hope on the Hard Nights

"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22, BSB)

Joy isn't fake sunshine. It's choosing hope when my body feels heavy. And some days it feels so much worse than heavy.

Sometimes I feel incredibly horrible. It can hit at any time of day, but lately it's been in the middle of the night. My stomach hurts, I feel dizzy and nauseous, and huge waves of hormones and nausea wash over me until I feel like I've been poisoned. Then I don't sleep, and often I feel awful the next day too. Not knowing why is so frustrating.

Those are the moments I have to choose hope the most. And I'm so grateful for the people who pray with me in the moment. Not just "I'll pray for you" later, but people who actually pray with me right there, when I'm in it. If you have someone like that, thank them this week. If you can be that for someone, it's a gift.

What I Learned About Ferritin

Another thing I wish I'd known sooner is ferritin. I didn't even know checking it was an option, or that low ferritin could be a reason for low energy. If I had known, I would have checked it much sooner.

At one point, mine was at five. That's severe iron deficiency, and it can leave you exhausted, weak, foggy, and just not yourself. I felt every bit of that.

Cancer can drain iron stores, and my leaky gut plays a part too. When the gut lining is damaged and inflamed, the body can have a harder time absorbing iron from food. So even though I eat well, my body may not be taking in all the iron it needs. That's one more reason caring for my gut matters so much to me. I'm also pretty sure my Middle Eastern roots play a part, because it showed up on one of the genetic tests I took.

I went through a course of iron infusions, and my ferritin climbed into the eighties. Then it dropped into the forties, and now it's back in the thirties, dropping a little each month. My integrative doctor prescribed more infusions, and we're watching my levels with blood work.

I'm not telling you what to do with your labs. But if you're always tired and don't know why, and you've never checked your ferritin, it's worth asking your doctor about.

Tiredness is real. Feeling unwell is real. And so is hope.

No More Guinea Pig

I also took a DATAR test. It's a genetic test that looks at your genes to see which supplements and medications may work best for you specifically. It's expensive. I hope to help people afford it one day, the way God made it possible for me through my husband.

Before that, I felt like a guinea pig, trying things without knowing. That wasted time and money, and it could even have worked against me, because some supplements can actually help cancer grow.

After my test, I realized I'd been taking things that weren't right for my genes. I had done a ninety-day fenbendazole course before, and it didn't seem to help me. Ivermectin showed up as a fit for my specific genes.

Still, this is my story, not a recommendation. Please talk to your own doctors.

"But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, BSB)

Waiting doesn't mean doing nothing. It means my strength isn't only mine.

Small Daily Habits Really Add Up

It's not only the big things. So what does caring for my body look like day to day? I wish I'd known sooner how much small daily habits add up.

Rest without guilt. Most days that's hard for me, because I have so much to do. But it's such a blessing that I'm able to rest when I choose to.

Drink your water. I've always known water is important, but it matters even more than I thought. Sometimes my stomach feels so full that I'd rather not drink and water down my food or a liquid supplement I just took. But when I don't drink enough, I feel crappy, tired and just off. My body tells me right away.

Add electrolytes. On a metabolic approach, electrolytes matter a lot to me. I add them to my water, either LMNT or a good sea salt like Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt.

Watch the carbs. I eat therapeutic high-fat, low-carb so my blood sugar doesn't spike and crash. In my own studying, I came across the Warburg effect. Back in the 1920s, a scientist named Otto Warburg noticed that cancer cells use glucose much faster than healthy cells do, even when there's plenty of oxygen. That's part of why I keep my carbs low, and why my doctor and I watch my ketones, especially as I head into hyperbaric.

Move gently. I used to feel better after exercising. That's not always true anymore, though it's gotten better since my iron infusions. On days I don't feel like exercising, a short walk will do. If you have a walking pad or treadmill, twenty minutes on it counts too.

Ask about the "cancer rules." I've learned to ask my integrative doctor about everything I take. He's teaching me what I call the cancer rules. A diagnosis changes things. Your system isn't running the way it used to, and some ordinary supplements or medicines can work against you. I'm still learning, but I'm asking more than I used to.

The Biggest One: Go to God First

The biggest lesson of all: don't depend on anyone but God.

I had hope in people, and they let me down. A cancer diagnosis is a burden, and I believe we're meant to help each other carry our burdens. I was hopeful, and expecting, that the people I thought would be there for me would help me carry mine. None of them did, and that was so hurtful.

I'm not trying to be toxically positive. It hurts. But we have a choice. We can become bitter, or we can trust that God has something in it for us. So even though it hurts, I practice forgiveness.

And God did use people to bless me at times. Often they were people I never expected. They gave me hope and reminded me of what humanity can be, and I will remember them for the rest of my life. People can be a gift when they're led by the Holy Spirit, but they can't be my foundation. God is the gift, and He makes good of what was meant for evil.

Then there's my husband. I met him four years into this battle. He knew I had cancer, and he committed to me and married me anyway. He is a godsend. He's what I prayed for, and more. His love, and God's hand in all of it, point me back to Jesus.

God never let me down. He carried me when others didn't. When I lean on Him first, I'm not crushed when someone lets me down.

Daily Bread

Just like my body needs food, my spirit needs daily bread.

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4, BSB)

God speaks to us through His Word. When I open my Bible, He meets me there. And He meets me when I spend time with Him personally, just me and Jesus: talking to Him, listening, sitting quietly in His presence. That time is where my strength comes from.

I'm not perfect at this. Some days I still reach for people first, mostly my husband. He does care. But men and women are different, and sometimes his short answers just aren't what I need when I don't feel well. That doesn't mean he doesn't love me. It just means only God can fill that place in my heart.

So I keep going back to Him first. It's a process, and I'm trying to be gentle with myself and give myself grace. Friend, be gentle with yourself too.

If you only take one thing from my story, let it be this: go to God first.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds— He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases," (Psalm 103:2–3, BSB)

God Isn't Finished

I don't have every answer. But I do know this: God is not finished with me, and He isn't finished with you.

If any part of my story sounds like yours, I'd love to hear from you. Tell me in the comments what you're learning on your path. I'll be praying for you.

A song for your heart: New Every Morning

I created this worship song from Lamentations 3:22–23. On the hard mornings, His mercies are still new. Listen to New Every Morning on YouTube

All glory to God! Stay healthy,
Jeanna

I'm not a doctor, and nothing here is medical advice. This is my personal story. Please talk with your healthcare provider before making changes.

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB). The BSB is in the public domain.

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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