Meet Our Founder, James Templeton

The Diagnosis

But it wasn’t long before I felt tired, pretty much all the time. Environmental allergies worsened. I was feeling generally unwell, and started to feel signs that something wasn’t right. All I knew about health at that time was when you get sick, you go to the doctor. So, I scheduled a checkup and a cardiac stress test with an Internal Medicine doctor. All my results looked great, the doctor said I ‘broke the record” on the treadmill stress test, but mentioned I had a mole on my back I needed to have looked at by a Dermatologist. I had previously been treated for a basal cell skin cancer on the top of my head when I was 24 years old, so I took his advice seriously and saw a Dermatologist a couple of weeks later.

My whole life changed with this diagnosis. My personality went from relaxed and happy-go-lucky to serious and somewhat depressed. Friends and family were worried I wouldn’t live another year. My wife left with my daughter because the stress of it all was too much for her. I tried to put the cancer behind me and build a new life. I took a new job in a new city, and tried to focus on my career and on taking care of myself.

My 6 month checkup changed everything. The Melanoma was back.

Renewed Hope

I understood that what I was doing in the past had to change. My way of looking at food, my whole approach to life had to change. I had to look back at my life and see what really made me sick. And I felt poisoned even more by the chemo, so I knew I needed to leave that behind. And that’s when I snuck out of my hospital bed at 2am, and literally crawled out of the hospital determined to find a better way.

Alive Again

I charged like a bull into my new lifestyle. I was really excited! I spent many hours reading, studying, meditating on it, using positive visualization. I did stretches and exercises that consisted of tapping on meridians, the energy highways of the body. I practiced deep breathing. I was careful to chew each bite of food 180 times. I began to realize what real food tasted like, and started getting a tremendous amount of energy from what I ate. And, although not part of the macrobiotic program, I also took a lot of Vitamin C, about 20,000 mg per day, which I still do today.

I felt like I needed to exercise to get this poison out of my system. Getting back into exercising was a slow, gradual process. I started to run as much as I could, usually just a mile before I would throw up, which felt like a purge. I’m the kind of person who sets goals, and wanted to prove to myself that I was going to make it. I believed if I could run 18 miles, then that would prove to me I was going to beat this cancer. I exercised like I hadn’t in a long time. And still sore from major lymphatic surgery, I eventually ran that 18 miles. I felt dead tired after, and my leg swelled terribly, but I did it. Now I felt like I had a fighting chance. Running was too hard on my leg, so I bought a bicycle and rode 100 miles per week.

Diet, stretches, exercise, deep breathing, visualization – this new healing lifestyle kept me busy. I went back to work, which was sometimes 12 hours a day or more, driving up to 300 miles some days. Many times I would find myself dozing off at my desk just to keep my energy up. Then, I rode my bike in the evenings. I planned my meals ahead and ate leftovers at work.

After just 3 months, I had gained some weight back, was sleeping well, and even the swelling in my leg was starting to go down. I felt like a different person, better than I had in my whole life! It was amazing to me to feel so alive from natural therapies after feeling like I was dying using medical treatment.

I was lonely, and wanted support in my new healing way of life. I read a book where a couple of hippie hitchhikers led a big city doctor to healing his cancer by way of a macrobiotics institute. I knew this was an adventure I couldn’t miss out on.

Continuing On

Even though macrobiotics was part of my healing journey, it isn’t right for everybody. A lot has changed in the past 30 years. Down the road, I want to share what I’ve learned about cancer healing diets, and the universal keys they all have in common. But next time, I want to talk about the value of a good, supportive healing community, and the role it played in my healing.

Healing In Community

I read a book written by Anthony J. Sattilaro, MD. He was a doctor from Philadelphia, CEO of a hospital, who wrote about his healing from an extremely aggressive form of prostate cancer. His story started with driving down the road and picking up 2 hippie hitchhikers on an impulse, just because he wanted someone to talk with. He told them he was dying of cancer. These hitchhikers told him about macrobiotics and a local center, and convinced him to go there. To make a long story short, he went there, followed the lifestyle and diet advice, and got well. I decided to sign up for a week long residential seminar at the Kushi Institute in western Massachusetts, which was founded by Michio Kushi, who is considered the father of macrobiotics in America.

Felt Like Home

I went home and decided I didn’t want to live my lonely lifestyle anymore. I found out a man named Alex Jack, who was one of the main writers about macrobiotics at the time, lived in the same city I did. I met him, and his wife, and instantly felt a connection. It wasn’t long before we became very close, like family, and even shared meals daily.

Changes came to the Kushi Institute, and Alex accepted a position as General Manager there. He encouraged me to come up there, too. After some deep thought, and even though I had a job and a good life where I was in Dallas, I decided the best way to take care of myself was to go where I had gotten the most support. I accepted a work internship at the Kushi Institute in Becket, Massachusetts, and my lifestyle changed dramatically.

Jumping In With Both Feet

I was excited to be there and jumped in with both feet, helping out as much as I could. By then I felt strong and had returned to a healthier weight. I became Operations Manager for this 600 acre facility. Walking helped my leg, so when I wasn’t working, I took long walks in any weather – even barefoot in the snow. I practiced intense kundalini yoga at 5:30 in the morning, hiked the Appalachian Trail, and skied both downhill and cross country. I either slept on a futon on the floor or on the earth in a tent. I continued to eat very healthy, chewed each mouthful of food 180 times, and kept on the high dose Vitamin C.

My motto was “If it doesn’t work for me, it won’t work for anybody.” I became stronger and stronger as time went on. It truly felt like a miracle. I shared my story to inspire others at the Institute whenever I got the chance.

Healing Confirmed

This doctor said the reason I got sick was because my body and spirit separated. I worked on my emotional, psychological and spiritual body. I focused on meditation and visualization techniques to open up spiritually. And I felt whole, and knew this was healed as well.

The Next Chapter

I spent several years at the Kushi Institute, until a deep feeling inside told me it was time to leave. My journey was changing for me to grow spiritually and financially out on my own. And I would soon meet the woman who has been the love of my life for the past 26 years – Ann Louise Gittleman.