Complementary cancer therapy conference plants seeds of hope

At the conference with Annie Appleseed founder Ann Fonfa (right), whose story is featured in From Incurable to Incredible.

My most important takeaway from the Annie Appleseed Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies Conference boils down to one word: hope. I met so many people living well and long with stage IV disease. There were miracle survivors everywhere I turned.

There was a massive amount of information; too much to relate in one post. Presenters covered everything from the magic of mushrooms to cutting-edge infrared hypothermia treatments. 

One of the breast cancer panel presenters from a clinic in Germany even dropped the “F-bomb” to the delight of the audience. But renowned author Christine Horner, MD, stole the show with her theatric performance explaining why diet and lifestyle choices are most important to achieving health. One of her statements stuck out to me: “All diseases are reversable.”

The most powerful part of the conference for me was the patient panel, comprised of  stage IV cancer survivors, including Jonny Imerman, who is featured in From Incurable to Incredible. I was particularly amazed by Marisa Harris, who has been living with pancreatic cancer 13 years.  She described how she went to all the top hospitals and doctors all told her how there was nothing they could do for her.  She finally found one who told her there were lots of things she could do: diet, exercise, acupuncture and a support group that taught her how to handle fear.

“The first miracle was my shift in perspective,” she told us. “The second miracle was the love I received while I was going through treatment and learning to love myself. The most serious disease to heal is self-judgment. You have to love the smart self and the stupid self. Emotional healing is so important.”

Another treat of the conference, besides the delicious organic meals, was the opportunity to meet so many people I’ve only gotten to know online. I was pleasantly surprised to see Peter Devereaux, a stage IV male breast cancer survivor who has been featured on this blog.  He’s such a fun, warm person who has an amazing positive presence.

I also had the opportunity to go out on the town with Jonny Imerman and his friend from Chicago. We had lots of fun and I felt honored to get to know him better. It’s no wonder people call him Jonny Angel!

I’ll provide more details in future posts. It’s getting late, so I’m signing off!