Episode Overview

In this week’s podcast episode, I sit down with someone very special to me.

Chelsea Hassink is a client of mine who was diagnosed with de novo stage 4 HER2-positive breast cancer after discovering a lump shortly after turning 40. Within weeks, she was in chemotherapy and suddenly navigating the overwhelming world that so many of us know all too well.

But Chelsea’s story did not stop there.

As she moved through treatment, she began asking deeper questions about her health, her body, and the options available to her. That curiosity led her to explore integrative approaches alongside conventional care and eventually to the Hope For Cancer treatment centers, where she experienced a variety of non-invasive therapies designed to support the body, mind, and immune system.

In this conversation, Chelsea shares the honest and emotional journey that brought her to explore those options.

We talk about the fear that many people feel when they hear about integrative or alternative approaches. We talk about the questions that come up when someone suggests treatment outside the traditional system. And we talk about how difficult it can be to sort through what is legitimate, what is safe, and what might actually support healing.

This episode is not about telling anyone what path they should take.

It is about hearing one woman’s story, the decisions she made along the way, and the experiences that shaped how she now approaches her health and recovery.

Chelsea also shares how important it was for her to address the emotional and stress-related aspects of her health alongside nutrition, treatments, and lifestyle changes. She explains how learning to listen to her body and trust her intuition became a central part of her healing process.

If you have ever felt curious about integrative treatments but unsure about what to believe, this is a conversation that may open your mind and help you think about those questions in a different way.

And above all, it is a story about hope.

💌 Want weekly support, new episodes, and wellness tips in your inbox?

💌 Join my email list for weekly wellness tips & podcast updates → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach

💌 Join the Better Than Before Breast Cancer Life Coaching Membership → Life Coaching

💌 Join the Living Well After Breast Cancer Community → The Living Well After Breast Cancer Community

👩‍💻 Follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration → @thebreastcancerrecoverycoach

👩‍💻 Follow me on Facebook → The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach

🎙 Subscribe & leave a review on Apple Podcasts → Better Than Before Breast Cancer with The Breast Cancer Recovery Coach

🎥 Watch on YouTube → @BetterThanBeforeBreastCancer

Read the full transcript:

0:00
You're listening to better than before breast cancer with the breast cancer recovery coach, I'm your host, Laura Lummer. I'm a certified life coach, and I'm a breast cancer thriver. In this podcast, I will give you the skills and the insights and the tools to move past the emotional and physical trauma of a breast cancer diagnosis if you're looking for a way to create a life that's even better than before breast cancer, you've come to the right place. Let's get started. Welcome Chelsea, welcome to better than before breast cancer. Thank you so much for being here today.

0:40
Thank you, Laura, thank you for this platform, this opportunity. I am beyond grateful for you. I wish I could give you a hug, and I actually looked into flights and so to surprise you, to do this in person, but that just wasn't an option. So you're catching me. I just got home two days ago from what I can't wait to share with everyone which is my favorite place in the world, which is my my cancer center that I found. So should we dive into my journey and just start from the beginning and how I got there?

1:13
Yeah, let's talk about so you and I first met in October, as you shared with me just a few minutes ago, in October of 2024 and we went over some genetics with you and your amazing sister and your niece as well, right? Yeah, yeah. And you you already. So where I'd like to start is like, let's share what your diagnosis was, and like, how that What made you start looking into researching testing and alternative care and integrative care, and ending up here today and doing what you're doing to give back as well as to heal yourself.

1:45
Yeah, so in November of 23 I just turned 40 years old. Happy birthday to me, and I felt this knot in my breast through a self examination, and went to the mammogram, and it was shortly thereafter that we knew it didn't look good right away. And two weeks later, I was doing chemo. So it all, I think, when you just get into that system and the finding it all moves very fast, right? And it's like you need to start this now, it was scary. I was scared to go to sleep at night, to think that I wouldn't wake up I was, yeah, just scared for my life, and you just don't know what to think it was like a nightmare that you just couldn't wake up from Correct. You know, you know the

2:31
feeling? Yes, I do.

2:35
And so it was within my first round of chemo that my sister gave me a book called Chris beats cancer by Chris work. I think it's a very popular one in this cancer integrative space, and that really changed everything for me. Of like, wow, there's this whole other world that is curing cancer that's not killing the healthy cells along with the cancer. And so that just really sparked my interest. Um, after only six rounds of chemo, I decided to just stop my body. I just woke up one morning and I thought, I'm not doing this anymore. Now, I had done a lot of research into understanding supplements. I self diagnose, self diagnosis supplements, you know, through research and what have you, of things that would make me feel better and less than the side effects. And so I was doing things like peptosol and Beta Glucan. And so what they told me is that Chelsea, your first chemo, is going to be your less, the less side effects. And as you get to your you know, further down, it's going to just cumulate, right? And it was the reverse for me. My actual last six and final round of chemo was my best because of all these supplements. That's the only other thing, you know. Only thing I was doing was doing these supplements. And so that just was sparked me again, of just like, wow. And so by that point, the six rounds got rid of my cancer in my breast, my lymph nodes were still swollen, and my liver had just it would just become stable. It just wasn't reacting to the chemo any longer. And so I thought, why am I putting this now? I think of it as poison. Why am I putting this in my body? If it's you know, what is the end goal here? And so I stopped and against the doctor's recommendation. And again, my oncologist and I have just a mutual agree to disagree, and we just meet in the middle and have respect for each other's opinion, and so I'm blessed to have that, because I've heard horror stories of things that are said to people and that are just never to be said ever

4:54
stop you for a sec. Chelsea, yeah, when you were originally diagnosed in November of 23 i. Was a de novo stage four.

5:03
So it was originally stage two, and then my body said, buckle up, Chelsea. It is stage four. And it was days later that they said it had metastasized into my liver. And so yeah, so I was stage four, her two positive breast cancer that had metastasized to my liver.

5:22
And then also you said, you you got the book by Chris wag. You started to explore this. Because also, another thing is, as you mentioned, you know, against doctors advice, you decided that chemo wasn't for you, but you noticed the improvement. So something that people are often told in chemotherapy is, do not take any supplements, right? Because the doctors are like, we don't know what interacts with what, so just stay away from any supplementation. What was it that helped you feel safe enough and we're and here's another thing that's so interesting in this part of your journey, is that many people are afraid to share if they're incorporating integrative treatments. Are very afraid to share that with their oncologist, which I think we must feel comfortable enough to be open. The oncologist knows not to do anything that might cause harm as well. They're working together. So what helped you feel safe enough, and did you communicate that with your oncologist straight from the

6:16
beginning, I am an open book, so I share everything. So I did bear with her, and you know, to be honest, I don't think it was malicious, but they were completely against everything that I was doing, except for there were a couple of supplements, such as practice all and Beta Glucan that they did approve. I listened to some of them, like as black seed oil. I know that was one that they didn't want me to take during chemo. They didn't know about the sauna and then the red light therapy. They just, you know, they just didn't know. And so they just said, you can do it, but we don't recommend it. And I think what gave me hope and what just gave me the courage was my body and just how much better it was making me feel. And I think that's a key point, is just to be into how your body feels after you do something. And that was something that I never felt in my life, right? Just being so in tune.

7:16
Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I think that is so important. And I think that there, well, I know that there are, from my own clients, a lot of places, that points in treatment, whether it's active or whether it's ongoing treatment afterwards with aromatase inhibitors. This, this feeling of my body doesn't feel right, but the fear of what might happen is a real big sticking point. So I love that you shared that like you were willing to give it a shot and see how you felt about it. So, all right, so you're taking the settlements. You notice you feel better. You decide that you're going to quit chemo. You tell your oncologist this, and I'm sure she's like, you're out of your mind, right? Yeah, go ahead.

7:57
Respectfully again. She knows, she knows that I drag my feet or say no to most things that she incorporates. So I think that we just have that understanding. So from about April to December of that year, so that was a 2024 after I stopped the chemo, I really was like, Okay, I'm on my own. Let's do some research. And so my sister, who, you know, has been my biggest cheerleader of all, she retired, and it was our full time, both of us retired, where I quit my job, and it was just full time research mode, podcast mode, seminars, which I found you. So this is just a full life circle of, you know, being on your podcast and talking and just book after book, right? And I can share some fun that really resonated with me later, but I really like to think about the things that I made. Changes were kind of falling into this bucket of will not hurt me may help. And so that's what I did for that entire balance of that year, is I just dove into things like I did weekly sauna and red light therapy. I did lymphatic drainage with a vibration plate, and also the lymphatic suit. I don't know if you've done that or not, that's amazing. Yes. Really getting out into nature. I just found like nature was so healing. And I don't mean a walk with headphones, I mean a walk in nature where you're just by yourself, listening to the birch chart, feeling the air, oxygen, oxidating your body like it was just Yeah. I really just took time for myself and listened to my body started working out again, because previously, when I was working, I was sitting sedentary for hours upon end, right? And so all of those modalities just fall into a bucket of they're not going to hurt me, they're only going to help me, and they may. Help me further with my cancer.

10:02
I love that. So glad that you said that about nature too, because I do think that a lot of people one don't give it the credit, like we talk about this all the time, right? Yeah, honor your circadian rhythm. Get out in nature. And people are like, How could that be a big deal? And we just dismiss it so powerful. And as you mentioned, books, and I want to hear your books there too. And I'm sure one of them is radical remission. And for me it was as well. And that one story about the Japanese gentleman who started waking up before the birds and dying outside and breathing in the oxygen and listening. And when I read his story, I was like, wow, and that was really one of the catalysts to his whole healing. Was connecting to nature every morning.

10:46
Yeah, I love that. Yeah. So the books were obviously radical remission, obviously the crispy cancer, metabolic approach to cancer. And then lastly, there's a handful of books by Medical Medium that I didn't read page to page, but I really just like scrolled through, okay, those are my ones that I always go back to. So okay, I love it. Okay. So then from there, you know, again, after exploring for that whole year of just doing this research on our own, my sister had talked about this place called hope for cancer, and I just dismissed it. It was in Cancun, Mexico. And I know you would, would go away for weeks, and I have two littles at home, so I thought, there's just no way, you know, and I couldn't afford it, you know. There's just no way I can, I could do this. And so I just dismissed it. But you know, as cancer thrivers, as I like to call us, you always have kind of this idea of something else that's going to save you in the back of your mind, like, if this path doesn't work, I am going to dabble into this. And I don't know if you that resonates with you, but I always have had that. And so when she said, hope for cancer, I thought, Well, why now? And she said, well, so this is January of 2025 just last year. She said, I set up a time for us to just consult with them, and you're welcome to attend, obviously, and but it's, it's free, a free consultation, and let's just see how, see what they say. Let's let's see if this is legit. And so it wasn't two weeks later that we were getting on a plane and we were going to Mexico. And so another lesson was learned of why wait? If you know something can help you and it resonates with you, why wait? Listen to your body, listen to your intuition. So we are it was, it was three weeks that I was away from my family, and it was six days a week for seven to eight hours a day of non invasive treatments, and they really treat the mind, body and soul. So two things that I wanted to get out of just my cancer journey in general, was why did this cancer occur and an individualized plan? Because I felt like everything was so cut and paste of what I was doing. I will also mention that prior year, I had interviewed, I think they call it inner they they call it a consultation, but many integrative health practitioners will give you kind of a free 15 to 30 minutes to help you. You know, see if you guys connect, see if you're on the same page. 12, I talked to 12 people before I went to hope for cancer. So they really just approach it in exactly the way that I what wanted all along, which was extensive research on my body food that's to support my body supplements, exercise it in a, you know, integrated, innovative treatments at home that I could do. And so it really was just this individualized plan, and we found, and I'd already knew it in my heart, and another integrative doctor had told me, but the founder of hope for cancer, Tony Jimenez, he actually said to me during our one on one, he said, you know why your body created cancer, right? And I said, Yes, I do know. And before I could speak, he said, stress. And I said, Yes, that's exactly it. And so this was an awakening again, of just, I don't think it's talked about enough in the cancer world, even in the integrative space of how much stress plays a role in our bodies and compromises our immune system and causes inflammation and just a terrain that cancer can thrive in, right? So I knew that was something that I had to work on. I knew. Made all of these nutrition changes and supplement changes and movement nature, but I hadn't worked on kind of the stress or emotional sides of cancer, and so besides that, hope for cancer really brought a whole new aspect of faith into my life. They start every day, and it's optional. With a 15 minute worship service that you just hear, the room is filled with just such hope. And Laura, I would tell you, it was like the healthiest group of people that you will ever see. And I'm like lighting up right now, just thinking about it, because it's not like a regular church service. And even if you don't believe in a higher power, it is such a powerful room with just so much hope that's that's all I can explain it. And so from there, or when I was there, I actually got an email from my cancer center back home, and I get these emails all the time. I'm sure you've seen them, or it's a seminar that you can attend for stage four or whatever type of specific breast cancer that you have. And I always deleted them. I just wasn't, like, you know, interested in being a part of that community where I felt like they didn't speak my language, right, this integrative health, but God spoke to me, and he said, Chelsea, you're going to go to this seminar. And so I signed my husband and I up, so 8am on a Saturday morning, we're tracking to this. And I was really disappointed, because they all they were talking about was this panel of oncologist, and they were just talking about chemo after chemo. And, you know, chemo terminology, it is like a word. They're words that are even remember what they're saying, right? How is this going to help me? Why am I here? And I thought that God wanted me to get the microphone and say, there's a different way, there's a different way, there's hope for cancer. And I did get the microphone several times and talk about that, you did. I did, but that's not the reason that God put me there. There was a sentence that my oncologist said, and it was my specific breast cancer likes to spread to the liver, to the bones and to the brain. And I took that away, and I thought about it all night, and I woke up in the morning, and I still thought about it, because I'm like, Okay, we're scanning my liver and my bones every three months. What are we doing about my brain? And so I actually had an appointment with her that next week of just kind of reviewing my last set of scans. And so I said, Doctor, like, why are we not scanning my brain? And she said, it's simply just not the standard protocol. It is. We only scan your brain if you're having symptoms. Mind you, I have zero symptoms at all. And she said, you know, in three months, when we scan you again, we'll add it to your scan list. And I thought, Okay. And then I went home that night, and God said, No, you're going to need that brain MRI now. So the next day I called, needless to say, I had a rest, or, I'm sorry, a brain in where I and sure enough, we were celebrating my mom's 70th birthday, and never forget this day. It's like one of those, just those moments in your cancer journey that are just ingrained in your brain. Yeah, and we were out celebrating my mom's 70th birthday, and I had two missed calls for my oncologist, and then when I was driving my mom home, I pulled over because I could see that my oncologist was calling, and she said, Chelsea, that's not good news. She cut right to the chase. She said, You have a brain tumor.

19:00
Shit. So

19:03
that's a moment, that is a moment, and I was so mad, you know, I was so mad at God, I was I was mad at the world. I felt like I had done so much, and why was this happening to me, and because I felt so good, but it takes me about two days. So two days upon hearing that information, I rose up. So I let myself be in those fields for two days. And then I thought, Chelsea, we got back up. What are the what are the things that we can do? And so just like when they found my breast and liver cancer, you quickly get into the pattern of appointment after appointment. So I was seeing the radiation team. I was seeing the surgeon team, and they wanted to do surgery and radiation the following week. Well, I was already scheduled to go back to hope for cancer for my. I check up visit, and I thought there is no way I am missing hope for cancer, because it's my favoritest place in the world to go. And so I didn't go. And I just thought they would have a different answer for me that they you know, I would go to hope, and they would just say, No, Chelsea, we can help you with this. And they did it. They said, You need to go through with this, and you need to have How did you

20:26
feel when you heard that? Because you were expecting something totally different,

20:30
um, frustrated, confused, and just I didn't feel congruent with it, and I just went home, and I thought, I'm not doing this. And so this was three months went by, and I just said to God one day, and he said a very bold prayer, which a beautiful couple at Hope me how to pray in a very bold way. And I said, God, if I'm supposed to have this radiation in this surgery, I need you to send me a messenger in the form of a person, and I need them to approach me in a parking lot that sounds so wild and woo, woo.

21:16
I love it specific, right? It's like, this. We all know

21:21
this is what I want. And you know, I've said that. And it was two days later, I was at my oncologist visit for an unplanned reason. I never meant to go there, but there was some medication that I wanted to try. And my husband and I walked out, we got into our car, and this woman got out of her car. Instead of going to the cancer center, she turned and came to my car, and she greeted my husband, and she greeted me, she greeted me, and she just said she had three messages for me. They're very clear. She said you're going to be okay. Get it out and get a second opinion.

22:07
So this random woman you've never seen walks into the parking lot and just like, Hey, lady, I know you don't know me, but and just blurts it

22:16
out, yes, if it didn't happen to myself, I would not believe it, right? It's like, one of those stories that you just hear and like, yeah, right, you know. And I'm so thankful that my husband was there to witness it, or else I would have thought, like I dreamt it, yeah?

22:32
You would talk yourself out of it, yeah, yeah, exactly.

22:35
And so I was like, Okay, God, I hear you. And this woman gave me her phone number, and she later confirmed she'd never done this before. She just saw the calling to speak to me, and she was just there for her annual checkup, and was seven years, no evidence of disease. So just a beautiful soul, and yeah. And so a couple weeks later, I got a craniotomy, a very serious procedure and radiation, and that all went very well. And so that takes us to today, where I just got back from hope for cancer, for this is now my fourth visit there. I just, I don't think many people go there four times, but it's such a beautiful, wonderful place that I don't think I'll ever stop going there. I don't think we, you know, as cancer healers and thrivers, we just, we're just absorbing information and learning new things all the time, and not even if you're a cancer patient, right. As just a prevention, all of these non invasive treatments and things that I'm doing are not just for cancer, they're for everyone. And so where I stand today is my brain cancer is gone, my breast cancer is gone, my lymph nodes are back to normal, and I went from three little nodules on my liver, and now they're now down to two, and those are shrinking or stable. So that's where I'm at now. And so my next chapter is I am exploring non invasive treatments to get these liver nodules out so that I'm giving myself some grace and time. It's only been six months since I had a very serious surgery, and they're not compromising my liver at all by sitting there. And so I would explore things such as histo tripsy and microwave ablation. And there's just always different pathways for us to go down besides just what the oncologist provides for us.

24:45
Yeah, so I want to, I'm taking notes here, because you mentioned so many things that I want to dig deeper into. Yeah, one of the things when you first started and your sister told you about hope for cancer, and you were like, I don't know what that place is. But you also said, I can't afford that, and I think we don't talk enough about the fact that cancer treatment is crazy expensive, yes, whether we have insurance, co pays, medicine, all the things, like, people who've never been in this system don't understand how much it costs. So then when we see or hear or feel or someone brings up an integrative or alternative path, many times, our heart might be saying, You need to go to this, and our mind says, I can't afford this, and we talk ourselves out of it. Can you walk me through how you decided, like you you suggested, when you heard them, when they presented what they do, it aligned with what you wanted. How did you work through the financial block of I got littles at home. I've got cancer. I'm going to be away. How did you do that?

25:52
Yeah, so I mean, to be honest, my family helped me, and then ultimately, what we found out while being there, this person that was there had his own business and helped people regain money back from insurance that were doing the integrative path. And he was actually there for cancer. He had just been diagnosed with cancer. So the irony of hearing about that person, so there are companies out there that when you go down these integrative paths, internationally or not, can help you recoup some of that money. So that has been a huge it's just like, you know, when you find a will, you find a way. And that could not be more apparent in this situation.

26:39
I love that, and I have to say to you that I 100% agree, we hear this all the time where there's a will, there's a way, I think that most of the time in our society, in the way that we think that it's just a hard No, when we hear something and we say, I don't have the budget for that, right, or I can't do that, It's a hard No. And we don't allow our brain to say, what if there was a way right? So if we just go straight to I can't afford that, we've just blocked everything. But if we hear about it, and if something in us is saying, I just feel like this is right for me, then and we open our mind and say, I don't know I'm going to trust and I'm going to see and I'm going to move forward. I have heard miracle after miracle. I've experienced it myself. It's absolutely amazing when we put our intention and we truly feel it in our heart of hearts, this was what I'm supposed to do. Doors open. I see it all the time, and I think that's so important to be able to just be like, I don't know how this is going to work, right, but I trust right? And saying trust, I want to come back to the spiritual aspect of this. So we mentioned the metabolic approach to cancer book, we mentioned radical remission. And both of those books, radical remission says, deep in your spiritual connection is one of the healing factors she found across everyone she researched. And one of the 10 healing buckets and the metabolic approach is emotional and mental wellness, right? Yeah, spiritual health. Now, a lot of people don't resonate with that, and that's fine, or people resonate with I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious, and that's fine, but I do 100% truly believe that whatever your approach to spirituality is, it is vital to healing, to to connect to that energy that is in you, around you, and in all of us, I am telling you, it's so powerful. And there are so many times when I've worked with a client who I can see the emotional, the I can just I can feel it come across zoom. And when I bring it up, it's like, let, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's talk about what kind of carbohydrates I should be eating, right? Yeah. And so many times I'm like, we need to move on. We need to check the food box. We figured it out. And we need to talk about all of this energy and fear and trauma and stress, yeah, we need to address the intangibles. So before you found hope for cancer, would you have considered yourself spiritual or religious?

29:16
No, no,

29:19
I would have. I mean, God was in my life, but never was I in touch with it as much as and that is the biggest gift that hope for cancer gave me, is just an eye opening moment, and for me to meditate more and to be in prayer more, because I started responding. And there's no way with, you know, the bold request, and I just gave you an example of one, and there's several others of just i There's I have to believe, right? Like I see you, God, I see you doing exactly what I'm asking for. So, and I agree. I've met people that don't have that aspect. And, um. I worry for them, because I do think it is so vital to believe in your core that you are going to heal through what your intuition or spirituality is telling you. And I think the other thing you said is detoxification is what I would call it mentally, of you need to it doesn't have to be with a therapist. If that doesn't resonate with you, personally, I really, I do have a therapist, but that's not where I get all my toxins out. I get all my toxins out by reading letters. This is something that a hope for cancer patient taught me, and it is life changing. And I've written letters, and she's like, Chelsea, you can say anything that you want. You know anything, and you want those letters of just a person that hurt you or a situation that hurt you, whatever it was, and I burned it, and I buried it in the sand of Mexico, and it sounds woo, woo. And I'm not a journaler. I'm not a writer by any means, but it just was like something lifted. And when I got back, I thought if I saw that person tomorrow, I would give them a hug. I mean, that's how much it like took the weight off my shoulders. So I think there's something around the spirituality and also the detoxification of these toxic energies within our body that is so important for us to notice outside of just exercise and food and all of the obvious things that we should change Absolutely.

31:32
And you know, did you think about this like when we first met in October 2024 we were going over nutrition, genomics and all that. So when you started on this path, did you have any idea that this would be a powerful part of your healing? Or did you think, oh, it's all about food and supplements is going to be like, where it's at?

31:53
Yeah, I thought food and supplements and in the integrative treatments, right? So like, non invasive treatments that I could benefit Never did I think of the emotional aspect of it. And you go really deep at Hope for cancer. So you go into what did your mom go through? Where did your grandma go through? They would have two different layers of your ancestry and really to understand who you are and what you've really been through that's been passed along to you. So no to answer your question, absolutely not. It was all just an awakening.

32:32
Yeah, and I love talking about this, because, like, as you're saying, that you know in the metabolic approach, also, it's like we know that our genetics are influenced by a minimum of three generations prior to us and what they were going through. And then also, another book that comes to mind that I absolutely love, I'm sure I've talked about on the show before, is called, it didn't start with you. And this is a gentleman going through his own healing journey and discovering what his parents went through and all these things that he wasn't consciously aware of. And, you know, you say it sounds Woo, woo, right? And people will use that terminology. They're like, it sounds woo, woo. But we are much more than just physical creatures. And you know, you were so kind before we even talked about the show. You said, Hey, this was a big part of my healing spirituality. But do you want me to not talk about and I was like, No, you talk about what supported your healing, because it's true, and it is true for me as well, processing the emotions, looking at where I had anger, looking at where I still have anger or grudges that I have to see and take responsibility for and work through, where I have expectations of people that I allow to frustrate me, or, you know, all of that is so huge, and I don't care how clean you eat if you don't touch on that, and I've heard so many well respected integrative practitioners speak about this, that you're just not gonna heal as you're not gonna optimize everything that you can if You don't address that aspect. So whether you want to call it intuition or spirituality or knowing yourself or not, I don't care what you call it, yeah, but you have to be willing to look inside of yourself 100%

34:12
Yeah, yeah. Absolutely agree.

34:15
So speaking of that, I want to just go a little deeper into your decision for hope for cancer. Because, as you said, when we get a diagnosis, and I don't care what kind of diagnosis it is or what stage it is, it's terrifying. But then when somebody says it's a stage four diagnosis and it's spread throughout your body, then you feel like the clock is ticking even faster. Yeah, and I know from my own experience, I had all kinds of people saying, go here, go there. Test your hair, go to this place, go to that place. And it's you're so scared in that moment, you're just, I just want to live. And then you do hear things from maybe conventional oncology, from all around I mean, there's lots of offers being made to you, and you have to sit with what. Resonates and what feels right. And I think sometimes things can feel right, even if they are scary right, because not everybody will say I'm done with conventional oncology. I haven't right. So I have an integrated approach where I take some medicines and when I fully work on, you know, the supplements, the food, the emotional stuff. So whatever feels right is the right path for you. But I love talking about this, because I think a lot of people might see I've certainly seen hope for cancer has come up. And now that I'm saying it out loud, I'm sure my phone will hear it somewhere, and I'll see ads all day long for it, right? But so many people, and definitely in conventional oncology that kind of stuff is just like, that's quackery, you know? And it doesn't feel safe to a lot of people, and especially because it's in Mexico, right? And that's not why people say I'm afraid to go to Mexico, or if it was legit, it would be in the US all these thoughts we have about it. So I love sharing from somebody who went there, who can share your experience and validate how you were, what you experienced, what you were treated with, and I aside from, or in addition to, you feeling safe, that they aligned with the integrative approach you were looking for, what was it that landed like? What was it like? I think this is legit. Yeah, I'm gonna leave my family for three weeks and come here. Yeah, that's a big

36:21
decision, right? It's a big decision. Yeah,

36:24
yeah. So, you know, the thing that resonated the most is that, because I had interviewed all those doctors in the US, and not to say that there's not one, right? I have 12 of how there's how many innovative doctors out there, but they all were specific, like this one would do nutrition. This one could give me infusions. I had one guy who said, I can't cure you. And I thought, okay, I should have just hung up the phone now, you know, over then, and I had one that would do like hyperbaric oxygen chambers and hyperthermia. I couldn't find one that did everything, and so that is really why hope sunk in. Is because they were teaching me not only the things that I did know and do and did want to change and find and heal with, but they had also been in business for at that point, 2425 years. And so I I'm glad that you brought that up about Mexico, because I think that we are misled by movies. Or, I don't know what puts that in our brain, but I would say it is the most where hope for cancer is they have two locations, but the one I go to in Cancun is, it is the most beautiful, safest place ever. I left my bag to go swimming in the ocean. I mean, it is safe, yeah. So, um, it was scary. And I remember, you know, showing up that first day, and it just was. It felt so different. First of all, it's very spa like, you know, it's not your typical medical office. And then the culture there is so even if they replicated that place in the US, the culture of those individuals and those nurses and doctors taking care of you is like nothing else. They have such empathy for the patients and they and there's a greeter at the door that hugs you every day just to show you love. I mean, it just goes to show like they're a very loving culture. And so I just, right off the bat, they just made me feel safe. And the patients, you walk around and everyone is so happy. I mean, if I think about when I compare that to my cancer center back home, everyone is just doom and gloom. They're not talking, they're not smiling, you know, they're going in for chemotherapy. And this was, like I said, the healthiest group of individuals, both spiritually, mentally and physically, that I'd ever come across. And so I thought, Okay. And then there was a gentleman they had just got out of worship on the first day, and I didn't get to attend it, and he just looked at me, and he said, You're in good hands. You're gonna love it there. And so I'm really in depth, just as I've done my follow ups. You know, wanted to be that person for people's first days, and greet with the greet them with just like you're in a safe place, this place is gonna help you in more ways than you think it is.

39:40
I love it well. And you mentioned a couple of things a couple of times. You said non invasive therapy, non invasive treatments. And I want to hear more about that. And I also want to say that I love, you know, one of the things that is so important to me with my conventional oncologist is that when I show him what I'm doing, which with my. Naturopath, he's open to looking at it. And he's saying, okay, you know this is legitimate. I see the science behind this. I understand. I'm on board. He's even, like, I want to talk to your naturopathic doctor. Like, let's, let's do this together. And then on the opposite side, with my naturopath, and a couple of naturopathic doctors I've worked with, they have said to me, like, I've gone there going, Okay, can I get off of xgva? Can I stop doing this? And they're like, No, this is helping this. This is helping that. This is helping this. So I love that you said when you went there knowing you had metastasis to the brain, they're like, You need to go get conventional medical treatment. Yeah, because it's important that we know that that can save lives, and that there is a time and a place where I where I guess what scares me is a lot of times I work with people who are 100% closed off to anything that has to do with conventional medicine. And it's not for me to tell anybody to do anything one way or the other, but when I hear it and I see it, and I just think, what if they could save your life? Like, what if you just asked what's available? What if you're just willing to listen without making a commitment, it might save your life and vice versa, right? Vice versa for people who are unable to naturopathic care, sometimes I see them so depleted, and I think, what if you just listened to what else was available to help you have a better quality of life, right? So I love that balance. So tell me what you mean about non invasive treatments. What does that look like?

41:30
Yeah, some non invasive meaning not no chemotherapy, no radiation and no surgery, right? And so you want specific treatments that I was doing there

41:39
you can if you want to share them, if you're comfortable.

41:43
So we did hyperbaric chamber every single day, hypothermia, which is, we called it the pizza oven, which is literally a one person sauna that keeps your head out and it gets your body temperature to about 108 degrees, as cancer hates heat in the diet, in the eyes of Dr Tony studies. And then we did where they pull your blood out and oxidate it and put ozone, and then put it back into your body, so they're flushing out and cleaning out your blood. And then infusion, such as B 17, which is a very controversial in the States, and high dose vitamin C, and different infusions that are all natural have all natural compositions. And you know, minerals and herbs that are just shown or backed by science that help cure up the terrain for cancer to not thrive in, you know, and I think that's the thing is, like I knew when I was interviewing those doctors that vitamin C, high dose vitamin C, was not going to save my life, and changing my diet was not going to save my life. And so it was. I always saw it as a curation of things. And like, I'm so glad you brought that up around. I was always open. You know, I was not scared to get brain surgery. I really just why, like, tell me why I should get this. And I just wanted to understand my past. And so I think that is really critical of just saying, okay, my oncologist has told me to do X, the surgeon has told me to do x. Now, what does my integrative doctor says? And then sit with that, meditate with that, pray with that. If that's what is comes to you and your intuition will guide you in the direction that you should go. It's like that nagging voice that won't go away, that always just comes back to you of how to feel congruent with your plan. And that is so key. You cannot just do a plan and just think negatively about it. I think it will only work if you feel congruent with it. And so about that all the time.

44:05
Yeah, and I love that you said, sit with it. I mean constantly, I'm telling people, what does your body tell you? And constantly too, and you tell me, if you agree, Chelsea, that, yeah, we talk ourselves out of what our own self is saying this is right for me, and then we talk ourselves out of it, because we're listening to someone outside of us, and we don't trust ourself, right? Yeah, that's right, yeah. And I found, like through my healing journey, yes, it was important for me to understand the nutritional needs of my body and the mechanical treatments that would be helpful. I have one of those little toasters as well, the toaster sauna that my head sticks out of, you know, in my house. And I have all of those things, but I found I had to become a student of energy, a physical energy of Spirit. Spiritual energy and what that meant to me, and I'm constantly studying that. And one of the things you know when you talked about that sign, like, I love the signs of this woman walking up to you, and are you familiar with Dr Tara Swart? She wrote the books. She wrote the books the source, and she wrote the book signs. And she is a neuropsychologist and a neuroscientist. She's brilliant. She wrote the book, the source and one of my favorite all time books, because it brings together actual neuroscience of manifestation and why you have to like you said, You've got to believe, if you do not believe healing is possible, and you're working with people who are saying, well, healing is not possible. We're just treating symptoms that's going to make it really tough, really tough. And people may hear this podcast and go, but everybody and I, if I had a penny for every time I heard this, well, cancer is incurable. If you keep telling yourself cancer is incurable, cancer is going to be incurable. And now don't like throw science at me or say, oh, Laura's pretending that science can be curable. I'm saying for your own sense of peace, right, for your own sense of belief in what you want to create and what, what does curable mean? You know for me, for me, healing means that this little bit of activity I still have stays right where it is, and then never goes away. I don't care, because I can live just as I am. It doesn't have to be gone. So curable can mean different things to different people. For some it means I want no sign of cancer anywhere in my body. So you decide, but it's so important. So anyway, the book, the source is, talks about how you have to align with what you want to create, and how your brain works with you to do that. It's awesome, absolutely, yeah. Then she wrote book the signs her husband passed away from leukemia, I believe it was, and she walks you through her experience of losing the love of her life, and how she started to see signs about him. And then how she started to learn about how we're so connected energetically. And she wrote this book signs and exactly what you said. And part of this book is like you must say specifically, if I need this, or if this is true, or if you're trying to tell me something, I want to see this specific sign. And it's fascinating. It's fascinating. I love it. I love that that happened for you. That's so cool.

47:31
Me too.

47:34
So if I wouldn't have done that surgery, I mean, it saves my life. So obviously, I'm very, very grateful for that woman that listened to her, you know, sign from God, thank goodness.

47:47
Well, I'm grateful you listened to yourself, that you believed in us for every step. Because isn't it awesome to sit here now and look back at the steps that led you everywhere, where you ended up, including sitting here today talking about your experience, touching other women's lives, and speaking of that, how can other women find you that want to hear more?

48:08
Yeah, so I'm on Instagram, and I just share little tidbits. You'll find all sorts of things of kind of my treatments that I'm doing on a daily basis or weekly basis. But it's Chelsea summer, and then it's has ink, it's H, A, S, S, I n, k, and then it's half sync, underscore, health, underscore. Bites is my handle so

48:31
and I'll share that link too in the show notes for this episode. Absolutely, I encourage everybody follow Chelsea. You're so inspirational, and you do literally just emanate hope. And you always, I met you. You just like I believe, and I know there's answers out there, and I'm open to them, and that hope just comes out so brilliantly and so beautifully from you. So I thank you for sharing that here today and with this audience. And I just look forward to following the rest of your healing journey.

49:05
Amazing, Laura, thank you so much.

49:11
You've put your courage to the test, laid all your doubts to rest. Your mind is clearer than before. Your heart is full and wanting more. Your Future's at the door.

49:30
Give it all you got no hesitating. You've been waiting all your

49:41
life. This is your moment. This is your

49:59
moment.