Hope

We all have a story to tell and so we should. This is not just another cancer story, but a story about how coincidences do not happen. That everything happens for a reason is easy to accept when things are going our way, but not so easy to accept when they’re not. After I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and given little hope of living beyond the 12 months, I embarked on the biggest learning experience of my life. My story is a recall of events that have occurred in my life, the choices I have made along the way and the lessons I have learnt. My story includes the role of spiritual healing (meditation, prayer and connecting to my inner voice and intuition), energy healing, the power of belief, real nutrition, guardian angels and above all, how love changed my life. ABOUT ME “You have breast cancer”, are four words nobody ever wants to hear, but the reality is that on average, those words are repeated to 40 people in Australia alone every day. Statistics show that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, that is 14 940 women in Australia in 2013. I read the statistics and risks associated with this disease and I could not relate to any of it. “I do not carry the gene, I do not smoke, I do not drink, I’m a competitive runner and exercise everyday, age is on my side…so why breast cancer?” This is the question I kept asking myself. Well maybe, just maybe there is more to this disease than we think we know. “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” – Rene Descartes (1596-1650) After being diagnosed with DCIS (non-invasive breast cancer) in 2007 and having radical surgery I was given the all clear. More tests in 2011 revealed that my non-invasive cancer diagnosis in 2007 was a misdiagnosis and that my cancer was invasive then and has since metastasised to the bone, adrenals and lungs. Now faced with stage 4 cancer and little hope, I share the significant events in my life that allowed me to be here to tell my story. My wish in sharing my story is to contribute to the awareness of hope available to each and every one of us, no matter how desperate the situation may seem. Chapter 1: Liberation Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever write and share my story. This chapter is about the events that occurred, messages I received from strangers and the writing in the sky that ultimately led me to writing this book. When following your heart and listening to the wisdom from within we are taken to a place of peace and we can clearly see our purpose in life. The freedom that comes from this blissful state is liberating. Chapter 2: Facing My Biggest Fear Having felt unwell for an extended period of time, after numerous doctors visits and many courses of antibiotics, being told that “I’m a ‘picture of health” according to the medical profession, I finally begged for further testing to be done. My scans revealed stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and I am faced with my biggest fear. I provide details of the symptoms I had prior to my diagnosis and the numerous medical tests; about the waiting game I had to play after every test and my darkest day, when I reached the lowest pit of despair; about the shock of my doctors at the realisation that those same medical tests resulted in my misdiagnosis in 2007, 4 years earlier, is the start of my turning point. I now start asking the right questions. Chapter 3: My Guardian Angels at Work After being told in no uncertain terms that there was little hope of living beyond 12 months, with not many medical treatment options available, only pain relief in the form of morphine and a few hormone treatment options, I make a simple decision that would change the rest of my life. In this chapter I talk about how letting go of past beliefs (as I now understand it to be the disconnection with the ego), can heal and transform your life. I am divinely guided. Events happen that are beyond coincidence and only later do I come to understand that it was my guardian angels at work. Chapter 4: Meeting the Miracle Man in Brazil I travel to Abadiania to meet John of God, a spiritual healer. This is an explanation of my first encounter and experience with energy healing. Chapter 5: A New Beginning I turn the clock back to 2007 when we moved from South Africa to Australia. Six months after our arrival I found a small lump in my breast, which was diagnosed as DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ), a form of non-invasive breast cancer. Not taking any personal responsibility for my disease, I follow the medical advice of radical surgery after minor surgery failed to remove all the affected cells. I undergo a lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and then finally a double mastectomy. I am told that I am now 99% cured and I love hearing someone else tell me that, as I need the reassurance of doctors to truly believe it. My intuition, as I later discover was far more reliable than any medical test results or doctors opinions. Chapter 6: The Power of Intuition So often we dismiss our feelings or intuition and we don’t always trust the messages our bodies provide us with, simply because someone else has a different view. We become powerless when we believe that others know more about us than the messages we are receiving deep within ourselves. Why is it that we find it so hard to believe in what we do not see? Chapter 7: My Wake Up Call My wake up call is the realisation that I can create the life I want. It starts with my first visit to a naturopath who introduces me to real food. I have a qualification in nutrition, yet I feel like I know nothing. She introduces me to essential oils and wholesome foods. She also does an analysis of my iris (eye), which reveals distress in my liver and lungs, which is only much later part of my diagnosis. Chapter 8: Our Move to Sydney We move from Canberra to Sydney at the end of 2011 – a new city with new experiences and opportunities for learning. I continue my healing journey. I celebrate my 40th birthday and then later in the year return to Brazil to see John of God with my sister. While on holiday with my family, I am exposed to more information on cancer and healing, and I share my experience and new-found knowledge. Chapter 9: Letting Go The healing power of letting go has always been a difficult concept for me to grasp. We all know that letting go of negative feelings and thoughts is necessary to keep the body in balance and good health, but putting that into practice is often easier said than done. I use my meditation practices of breathing and visualisation to let go of emotions and feelings that did not serve me well. Over time I have come to understand that it is not necessary to make letting go a part of my meditation ritual, but that it could become a part of life, like breathing. If we are able to accept that our ego and thinking patterns of the mind are not truly who we are, letting go of ‘stuff’ comes more naturally. Our minds create a false sense of who we are. We have become so focused on what we have, that we forget to dwell in the ‘who we are’ part of our lives. Chapter 10: Invisible Energy In this chapter I share how God works through the Entities of Light to assist with healing in Abadiania, Brazil, as explained by Barbara Brodsky in her book Cosmic Healing. I am reminded of the endless possibilities I have to heal myself. Chapter 11: My Life Prior to my Diagnosis This is a short chapter about my life in South Africa. Chapter 12: What I Have Learnt I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn from all the great teachings available, beautiful people I have met and experiences I have had. In this chapter I share some of the most important aspects of my learning. This is my interpretation of the teachings and I highly recommend reading the books I have referenced.