(45 Minute VIDEO) – 25 Year Breast Cancer Survivor Tells Us What Helped Her Heal!
Last September, hundreds of people made history as they attended an event uniting 22 terminal cancer survivors with top scientists and doctors in the field of cancer. The group of patients gathered there certainly seemed to have more differences than similarities. They lived in different places around the country. They held different occupations. They came from all walks of life. But the two things they did have in common were of the utmost importance: they survived late-stage cancer, and they all took an integrative approach.
The groundbreaking event was a true “celebration of life,” as it not only highlighted the lives of patients already saved, but also looked forward to saving future lives as well. Joined by a group of world-renowned scientists, doctors, and biotech companies, the guests at the three-day event learned about the evolution of integrative medicine and the place it holds in the fight to cure cancer. The stories told there were nothing short of spectacular.
One particularly inspiring speaker was Ann Fonfa, a remarkable 25-year breast cancer survivor who beat her disease without the use of chemotherapy or radiation. She now heads a non-profit organization called the Annie Appleseed Project, a foundation focused on educating cancer patients and their families about the power of holistic medicine.
But even though Ann now has a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to prevent and treat cancer without the use of harsh chemicals, she wasn’t always so informed. In fact, as she shared at the conference, she spent much of her early treatment journey in the dark. She has now dedicated her life to making sure no one else has to fight cancer that way.
Ann’s Incredible Story
Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 1993, just a few days shy of her 45th birthday. The diagnosis would go on to completely change her life, but not in the ways she expected.
“I knew nothing about medicine,” she said. “I didn’t even know that I could pick my own doctor. So I just went to the surgeon that was recommended. He explained my options and I came back the next day to schedule surgery I didn’t even think I needed a second opinion. There wasn’t a biopsy, so I didn’t know what kind of cancer it was. I thought it was a death sentence.”
But Ann is now 70 years old, and her cancer has been gone since 2001.
So how did she go from knowing nothing about her diagnosis to completely overcoming it?
Well, it started with a call that Ann received before she went in for surgery. “You don’t know me,” said the woman, “but I’m a 10-year breast cancer survivor.”
After hearing those words, Ann said she felt a huge weight drop from inside her. “If she could survive ten years, I thought I could too. I went to the surgery with a completely different attitude – a survivor’s attitude.”
That “survivor’s attitude” has carried her through years of surgeries, treatments, and 25 tumors. It’s what gave her the courage to say goodbye to her conventional doctors and find personalized, holistic care in which she could feel confident.
For Ann, choosing an “alternative” treatment plan wasn’t actually an “alternative” for her. She had no other options. At the time of her diagnosis, she was experiencing extreme chemical sensitivities to even mild substances like perfumes and air fresheners. Undergoing chemotherapy or radiation just wasn’t going to work for her. But Ann felt alone, as her doctors
blatantly ignored her concerned.
Choosing to forgo chemotherapy, radiation, and hormonal therapies, Ann took her health into her own hands and researched integrative healing methods. Despite her surgeon having told her that he removed all of her cancer, she had a recurrence 18 months later in the same spot as her previous tumor. While this wasn’t the news Ann wanted to hear, she was also encouraged to find out that her tumor cells were growing much more slowly than normal cells.
“I wanted to claim that as a victory for myself,” she said, “but not doctor would accommodate me because I didn’t do chemotherapy. I decided then that I had to do something different. So I went to CHIPSA.”
Having already made significant changes to her diet, Ann figured that CHIPSA would be a good place for her, as their main method of healing was, and largely still is, the Gerson Method. Having had no previous chemical treatments, Ann was the healthiest person in the entire hospital. Her body was in tact. She was even able to return home after two weeks.
Being diagnosed with cancer was certainly life changing for Ann. She made drastic changes to her lifestyle, which included switching to a plant-based, organic diet with vitamin supplementation and daily exercise. She attributes these changes as integral to her healing journey, as she has learned over the years about the power of healing through food.
According to Ann, “Studies show that when children eat organic food for a week, the chemicals that we don’t want in their bodies come out. There are up to 200 chemicals in the umbilical chord that brand new babies get. So even in the womb, they get chemicals, because that’s the world we live in. That’s why we need to take precautions. Even if you don’t have cancer, it’s a good idea to make moves. But if you think that something is wrong and you’re about to get a scan or you’re scheduled for surgery, make your
changes now.”
The changes Ann made all those years ago have by now become her natural lifestyle. She still does daily coffee enemas. She has very little exposure to synthetic chemicals and preservatives. She eats 100% organic food. She even made her audience chuckle after telling them she packed her own dinner for the event.
Ann is acutely aware of the issues that affect people who are trying to fight, survive, or even prevent cancer. Her non-profit organization is dedicated to sharing the information that Ann has found for the support of natural medicine.
Her talk at the “Celebration of Life” event was focused on empowering people to become more aware of the power that natural medicine holds. Unfortunately, this often means recognizing the many issues in
mainstream “conventional” medicine. But as Ann says, at one point, all methods were considered “alternative” before they were tested and accepted by conventional doctors. So while the doctors remain critical of newer methods, they can’t see that those approaches are actually evolving to become mainstream. By the time it moves, most people forget that it ever came from holistic approaches.
Although the concept seems discouraging, Ann’s point actually offers a lot of hope. Integrative cancer treatments like immunotherapy were once completely discounted by doctors in the United States, but they’ve now become one of the most widely-used and successful ways to treat certain cancers. Nutrition, exercise, and diet were once considered irrelevant to the treatment of cancer, but doctors are now acknowledging the power that these factors have to create healing in the body. Integrative medicine, which combines the best of both medicinal world, has produced some of the most powerful cancer treatments the world has ever seen.
“We don’t fail treatments,” she said. “Treatments fail us.”
The “survivor’s attitude” that was passed along to Ann all those years ago appears to be contagious. Just as she received it, she has given it to so many. That she’s alive and well today is a testament to her own courage and commitment, the innovative research performed by so many, and the doctors at hospitals like CHIPSA who continue to offer “integrative” medicine to those unwilling to wait.
Editors Note: Ann Fonfa is also the founder of the Annie Appleseed Foundation which advocates for cancer patients and provides information for those looking to figure out the best treatments.
The foundation supports integrative oncology, which is traditional medicine combined with natural therapy, as well as alternative or traditional on its own. They are supportive of whatever choices you make in your caner treatment journey, but they hope that the information they give will help you to feel confident in those choices. Ann does all she can to give back. “I got lucky,” she says. “And I want other people to get lucky, too. But that luck does require effort.”
For more information about Ann Fonfa and her a 501(c)(3) the Annie Appleseed Project, please visit their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieAppleseedProject/
You can also see Ann’s most recent Facebook Live Interview here: https://chipsahospital.org/long-term-cancer-survivor-ann-fonfa-shares-her-important-message/
If you or someone you love has a cancer diagnosis and would like to learn more about the CHIPSA Protocol please call us at 1-(888)-667-3640. We will be happy to schedule you a free 30 minute appointment to talk to one of our doctor
