When I was first diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma, it was like the bottom dropped from my stomach the way it did when I was a kid on a roller coaster holding on for dear life.

As I wrote about in my book, I Used to Have Cancer, my perfect world—my wife, our baby daughter, our home, and the businesses we had built, everything that I was looking forward to in life—came to a sudden and painful halt. I felt like I had hit a brick wall. I was in the prime of my life. How did this happen to me?

If the doctor who was pronouncing that diagnosis was right, and I hoped with all my being that he wasn’t, my whole world was about to crumble before my eyes. It’s a miracle that I made it home after that appointment as I could barely concentrate on driving. I was in shock.

But the diagnosis turned out to be true. Stage 4 Melanoma — the deadliest kind.

I wasn’t given much hope by medical professionals… and that led me into a whirlwind of depression and events that changed my life forever. I credit three people in particular for stepping in at a time when I needed them most – when I was lying helplessly on my hospital bed. Ultimately, my prayers were answered with “Three Knocks At My Door” (Chapter 3 of my book).

And — fast forward — here I am today, 40 years cancer-free and dedicating my life and my resources to helping others find their way out of a similar devastating diagnosis. I’ve been through the battle myself, so I understand what it takes.

The Importance of Mindset

Looking back, I’d have to say that it’s very common (and understandable) to focus on the physical side of healing—what to eat, what supplements to take, what treatments to try. And don’t get me wrong, those things matter. But what I’ve come to realize is that your mindset—your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions—can be just as powerful as any medical treatment you undertake.

I often say that your mindset is 50% of your healing. What you think and what you believe has a direct impact on your health. The emotions of stress, fear, and negativity release very potent hormones in your body and, if left unattended for long periods of time, can weaken the immune system, making it harder for the body to fight disease.

On the other hand, hope, determination, and a strong will to live can boost the body’s natural defenses. I’ve seen it firsthand—not just in my own journey, but in countless others who refused to accept a grim diagnosis and went on to beat the odds. I believe that a positive mindset is so important that I devoted an entire chapter to it. (See Chapter 9 of my book, “The Power of A Positive Mindset”).

So, how do you shift your mindset when facing something as serious as cancer? In this post, I’ll share what worked for me—and what’s worked for many others as evidenced in our growing library of cancer survivors. We talk about many things including visualization, stress reduction, the power of belief, and why finding a reason to live can be the greatest medicine of all.

Because when it comes to surviving cancer, your mind just might be your strongest weapon.

The Physiology of Stress

The cells in our body react to every thought and emotion that runs through our mind. It’s been proven that negativity suppresses our immune system. Each thought we think acts as either soothing nutrition or a poison dart that releases destructive toxins in our bodies. What we choose to think about plays a central role in creating and maintaining our health.

It’s when we suffer from chronic, repeated stress, that the body can experience problems. Our immune system gets fed up with constant high alerts. It’s like calling the fire department every day and telling them your house is on fire. After weeks of repeated calls, they may stop coming or, at the very least, they may send only minimal help. Similarly, when the immune system is really needed, say to fight off an infection or something as serious as cancer, it may no longer be in peak condition if it has been weakened by a barrage of chronic stress.

Stress truly can destroy your immune system.

Some Suggestions

While working at the Kushi Institute, I got to meet Dr. Patch Adams who helped transform the lives of many through his non-traditional practice. His prescription was laughter (or humor therapy if you prefer a more technical term). When you consider that laughter not only releases endorphins and other natural mood-elevating chemicals, but also improves the transfer of nutrients and oxygen to internal organs, it’s no wonder that the old saying, “laughter is the best medicine” may very well be true.

Another technique I frequently used was visualization. Many athletes practice this to improve their performance. Visualization is simply a mental exercise in focusing your thoughts. You create images in your mind of having or doing whatever it is that you want in as much detail as possible. You then repeat these images over and over again, daily. It’s a way to use your imagination to see yourself being successful in whatever goal you may have. It wasn’t always easy to get the negative thoughts out of my head at times, but I would try anyway.

The Bottom Line

I believe if you’re diagnosed with cancer, you have to fight like your life depends upon it… because it does.

To have a fighting chance against aggressive forms of cancer, you have to get serious… and I mean fast. Clearly, I understand how devastating being told you have cancer can be. Unfortunately, too many of us either freeze in place and let others choose the treatment options offered without asking questions, or worse, we accept what we believe is our fate and do nothing. While I initially chose the treatments that were offered to me, I knew that I needed to take back some level of control over my body. I came to realize that I needed to be more than a cancer victim. I began to see cancer as my enemy and that I needed to stockpile every weapon I could find to fight it.

Whether you’re reading this as someone who is fighting cancer, or as someone who desperately wants to help a loved one, please know that there are alternative solutions out there. Solutions you may not have heard of.

Please check out the resources I’ve made available to you not just through my book, but the extensive website I’ve worked years with my team to develop – including some of the most in-depth interviews with cancer experts from around the world and truly inspiring cancer survivor stories from people just like you.

Do you have a story to share? I’m always interested in hearing from other long-term cancer survivors and how they survived the odds.

Contact us at https://templetonwellness.com/contact-us/

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