lntroduction 5 weeks of volunteering, I was already researching graduate school programs. I attended the University 0f California at Berkeley for my master's degree in oncology SOCiaI 、 vork, with a specialized focus in counseling cancer patlents. ・み hile attending graduate sch001, my interest in complementary medicine deepened, leading me to read many books on the subject and complete an intenslve yoga teacher's training course. I spent my days counseling cancer patients and my evenings studying and practicing yoga. At that time' my husband was earning his degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs, etc. ) and also studying an esoteric form of energy healing, so I was surrounded by examples Of complementary medicine. lt 、 Mas during this time that I read Andrew Weil's book, which changed the course of my life by introducing me tO 、 vhat Weil calls "spontaneous healing" and con- vincing me to continue toward my Ph. D. , so I could study this fas- cinating topic in depth. From that point on, I have devoted my life tO discovering what people dO tO overcome cancer against all OddS. WHAT RADICAL REMISSION? ln order to understand what Radical Remission is, it is helpful first tO think about 、 Mhat iS considered "standard ” or non-radical ” re- m1SSion.. A. dOCtor expects cancer tO go intO remlSSion if it iS caught early enough and iS one Of tOday'S 1 れ ore treatable" cancers. For example, if a 、 MOman iS diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, She will be expected—statistically speaking—to be cancer-free for at least five years, as long as She completes the recommended medical treatment Of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. ト{0 、 Mever, if that same 、 V01 れ an iS diagnosed with stage 1 pancreatic cancer, there is only a 14 percent chance that she will be alive in five years, even if she completes all the recommended medical treatment. 1 This is

R A 田 C A L R E M 引〇 N and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Many Of the healers and survlvors I study believe that these complex chemicals, 、 are now ever- present ln our envlronment, send confusing messages tO the bOdy, leading tO dysregulation at best and disease at 、 vorst. one healer 、 Mh() believes cancer patients need [ 0 detoxify their bOdies Of any lingering bactena and Viruses IS a man named Dr. Katsunari Nishihara from Japan. Dr. Nishihara has a theory that there iS no such thing as an aut01mmune disease. Rather, he believes that diseases such as arthritis, lupus, and even cancer are the result of bacteria and viruses that have infiltrated healthy cells. Therefore, what may look like the body incorrectly attacking itself ()s in the case of autormmune diseases) or what may 100k like cells suddenly gomg crazy" as they replicate uncontrollably ()n the case of cancer) IS, in Dr. Nishihara's opinion, an indication that cells have been infected with either a bacterra or a V1rus.. According tO hiS theory, the bOdy sometlmes recognizes this infiltration and therefore trles tO attack the infected cells, 、 MhiCh iS 、 vhat 、 see happemng in autO- lmmune diseases 、 the bOdy attacks itself. However, sometlmes bacteria or vrruses are very skilled at hiding within cells (). e. , put- ting up chemical masks), and therefore the immune system walks right pastthem. We know this is what happens with the HIV virus and Dr. Nishihara believes this is also what happens with cancer. Dr. Nishihara's theory has some merlt [ 0 it, as screntlsts already know that the / /. アッ / 0 bacteria leads tO stomach cancer and the human papillomavirus (HPV) leads t0 uterine cancer. Therefore' it IS not SO extreme tO think that Other bacterra and viruses might lead tO Other cancers; in fact, many scientists already agree With Dr. Nishihara on thiS POint. 1 What iS most lnterestlng tO me, hO 、 vever, is the way in 、 MhiCh he uses this theory tO guide hiS treatment Of cancer patlents. He believes that a slightly low core body temperature—which

C H A P T E R 1 RADICALLY CHANGING Y 〇 UR DIET Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. ー H P 0 C R AT E S ippocrates, the Greek physician who is heralded as the founder of modern medicine, strongly believed that 応 od has the power to adjust, rebalance, and healthe body. lmagine, then, his disappoint- ment if he were to find outthattoday's M. D. 's receive a total of only 0 〃どルどどん Of nutrition education during their four years at medical SChOOI.1 Even at my own recent physical exam, I had tO explain tO the dOCtor that, as a vegetarian, I receive plenty Of calcium from eating leafy greens (her 0n1 メ suggestion was milk) and plenty 0f lron fror れ eating beans and sea 、 (her only suggestion was red meat). ln general, it iS not that dOCtors イみど″ど″ど in the healing power of food, but rather that they simply never learned about it. If dOCtors were tO study nutrition in greater depth, they 、 Mould find that we are indeed what we eat, because the cells of our food get broken down and transformed into the cells of our bodies. ln addition, what we eat and drink directly affects our vessels and tis- sues, making them more or less inflamed depending on 、 Mhat 、 put intO our bOdies. TO understand this concept, imagine giving a cup

R A D ー C A L R E M 〇 N of coffee [ 0 a five-year-old. After about ten minutes, you would have no doubtthat what we eat and drink directly affects our health. Our health—and indeed our entire lives—can be seen as the sum Of all our moment-to-moment decisions. ThiS includes hOW 、 choose tO eat and drink, think and feel, act and react, and move and rest on any given day. What makes 応 od so powerful is that it IS a very CO 〃 C / 0 〃 decision. ・行Ⅱ I choose a sugary cereal or oatmeal with fruit? 行Ⅱ it be the quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich or the longer-to-make quinoa salad? For most people, there is a nag- ging doubt underlying these daily 応 od choices, and it whispers, 'Does this really matter? Does 、 vhat I eat ど / ケ have a vital impact on 1 れ y health?" The Radical RemiSS10n survrvors I intervle 、 、 vhose lives are at stake—take that question tO the next level. They ask themselves, "Can what I eat help my cancer go intO rem1SSion?" The answer many ofthem find is yes. After analyzing hundreds of Radical Remission cases, one of the nine key factors that conslstently comes up over and over again is radically changing one's diet in order to help heal cancer. What's more, the maJority the people I study all tend to make the same four dietary changes. They are: ・ greatly reducing or eliminating sugar, meat, dairy, and refined foods, ・ greatly increasing vegetable and fruit intake, ・ eating organic fOOdS, and ・ drinking filtered water. After discussing each of these changes in depth, I will share two Radical Remission stories from people who radically changed their diets in order tO heal their breast and prostate cancer, respectively.

Embracing Social Support 19 / strong SOCial connections have been ShO 、 tO significantly lengthen your survival time as well—by an average of 25 percent. 6 ln one recent study, breast cancer patients WhO 、 able tO lncrease their SOCial support during their cancer journeys reduced their risk Of dying by an incredible 70 percent. 7 If メ ou are single with cancer, don't worry. You dO not need tO be married or have kids in order [ 0 benefit 伝 om the healing effect of social support. Rather, studies have shown that having strong SOCial support iS what matters most, and it doesn t matter 、 Mhether that strong support iS obtained OI t 、 MO close friends, thirty acquaintances, or one spouse. ln addition tO these broader studies, which observe the survival rates oflarge groups of people, researchers have looked into what happens inside an individual's body when he or she receives love and support 伝 om friends and family. Whatthey have found—through brain MRIs, blood tests, and saliva analysis— is that receiving love and social support leads tO significant increases in po 、 verful healing hormones, such as dopamrne, oxytocrn, serotomn, and endorphins. 9 These hormones in turn bOOSt the immune system by sending sig- nals tO decrease inflammatlon, lncrease blOOd and oxygen circula- tion, and increase the number of white blood cells, red blood cells, helper T cells, and natural killer cells.10 AII these changes help your body find and remove cancer cells. What these studies show us 、 Mhat Radical Remission survivors and alternative healers already believe is true: receiving love from others helps your body heal. 8 THE GOALIS NOT TO FEEL ALONE The second aspect of receiving love and support is the idea that the overall goal is not to feel alone, although the methods for achieving this will vary from person tO person. For example, some cancer pa- tients need only t0 be surrounded by their close family and friends

C H A P T E R 6 INCREASING P 〇 SITIVE EM 〇 TIONS The purpose 0 「 ourlives is to be happy. ー H H 0 凵 N E S S T H E F 0 U R T E E N T H D A L A ー L A M A he secretto a good li may be as simple as one word: happiness ・ When we feel happy and loving, our physical bodies are flooded With cancer-fighting immune cells, our emotional lives are free Of stress and 、 MOrry, and our SOCial and 、 MOrk relationships improve. The survivors I study work diligently to find ways of increasing the amount oflove, joy, and happiness they feel in the present moment. lt iS important tO note that releasing emotlons that are held in the bOdy, such as stress, fear, anger, regret, and sadness, iS quite differ- ent from What this chapter explores. Releasing suppressed emotions from the past does not necessarily mean that you will increase the amount Of positive emotlons in your present, although it certainly paves the way for that to happen. ln this chapter, we will explore 、 vhat positive emotlons are and hOW they affect our immune systems. Next, we'll discuss tWO important aspects Of increasrng POSitive emotlons before we dive intO the healing story Of a stage 4 cancer patient named Saranne Rothberg who considered daily happiness to be her most impor- tant medicine. Finally, I will give メ ou a simple prescription for fun,

84 R A D ー C A L R E M 引 0 N making a decision. people alSO feel pangs Of anxiety or stress in their guts, but this iS alSO related [ 0 intuition, because it is the bOdy'S way of saying, Stop what you're doing. This situation is not healthy for you. SO, your gut can commumcate that it wants you tO remove yourself 伝 OI れ a stressful or SItuation, JLISt as 1 [ can C01 れ - nicate to you that 0 〃ど is the house you should buy. But why, exactly, should ℃ trust a gut instinct? One reason IS because researchers have found that system one Often knows the right answer long before system t 、 V() does. For in one study, researchers asked their subjects to play a card game where the goal 、 tO Win the most money.What the study subjects did not realize, however, iS that the game was rigged 伝 0n1 the start. There 、 vere tWO stacks Of cards tO choose fror れ ; one was rigged tO provide big wins followed by big losses, while the other deck was set up to provide small gains but almost no losses. lt took about fifty cards before the subjects said they had a hunch about which deck was safer and about eighty cards before they could actually explain the difference between the い MO decks.What is most fascinating is that after only な〃 cards, the sweat glands on the subjects' palms opened slightly every time they reached for a card in the dangerous deck. lt 、 alSO around the tenth card that the subjects started tO favor 6 the safer deck, without being consciously aware they 、 dOing SO ・ ln other words, long before the analytical brain could explain what 、 going the bOdily intuition knew 、 there 、 danger and guided them toward safety. A similar study looked at people's ability to predict whether a picture 、 behind curtam number one curtaln t 、 MO (though this 、 done on a computer, SO there 、 no actual curtains involved). Just like With the card study, the researchers measured the subjects' subtle physiological responses. Remarkably, they found that the subjects' bodies were able to predict the correct

Releasing Suppressed Emotions 139 better able to fight it 。圧 Of all the factors listed in the surveys, stress was the only one that made a significant difference in the out- come. ln Other 、 vords, this study shO 、 that holding on tO stress makes you more vulnerable tO developing disease. Since this groundbreaking study, hundreds of other studies have ShO 、 that stress iS associated not only With the COI 1 れ on COId but alSO 、 Mith more ser10LlS things like heart disease, aut01mmune disor- ders, and cancer. lt is still difficult for researchers tO prove 、 Mhether stress by itself can cause cancer, 1 れ OStI メ because it 、 be unethi- cal to make one group of people purposefully stressed and another group purposefully relaxed and then see which developed cancer ・ ト10 、、 vhat researchers know for certaln iS that stress 、 the immune system, and the immune system plays a key role in de- tecting and removing cancer cells from the body. One Of the 、 that stress 、 veakens the immune system iS by changing which neuropeptides our cells release. Neuropeptides are chemicals released by certain cells in your body that then latch on to other cells in your body and create an effect. Neuropeptides that have a healthy effect on your immune system include serotonin, dO- pamine, and relaxin; these are released whenever you feel relaxed and happy. Neuropeptides that have a weakening effect on your immune system, especially over an extended periOd Of time, include cortiSOI, epinephrine, and adrenaline; these are kno 、 as the stress hormones. What makes stress—or any emotion, for that matter—SO po 、 verful is that almost 印どワ化 / / 切 0 ぉ has the ability to both produce and receive these neuropeptides.3 ln Other 、 vords, the antiquated idea that the mind and bOdy are separate iS no longer scientifically accurate; lnstead, the mind—in the form ofemotion-driven neuropeptides—1S present every cell, 、 means an れ 0t10n such as stress can negatively affect every cell in your body, notJust your immune cells. One of the healers I met during my research trip studies precisely

Embracing Social Support 215 ・ JOin a support group Of Other cancer patients if that is some- thing that appeals to you. You can try to find one through your cancer hospital, your local American Cancer SOCiety chapter, or atthe very least in an online support group. If talking with Other cancer patients sounds tOO depressing for you, sign up for a different group activity that gets you out of the house and meeting new people, such as a photography class, a hiking club, or a bridge-playing group ・ ・ Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Your friends, family, and even acquaintances truly 、 Mant tO help メ ou in any way they can, but they won't know メ ou need help unless you ask for it. lfyou don't feel comfortable asking for help directly, tell a close friend what you would ideally like help 、 Mith (cooking meals, running errands, SOCial visits, etc. ), and then ask him or her to e-mail your larger group of family and friends about what you need. You Are the Loved One 0 ′ 0 ( 0 e 「 Pa 耐 ・ Call your loved one who has cancer and simply tellthat person you were thinking about him or her. That is all you need tO dO. ThiS person may not ans 、 because he or She iS not feeling 、 Mell; in that case, leave a message that you 、 thinking of that person and you Just wanted him or her to know. End your message by explaining thatthis person does not need to feel obligated [ 0 call you back. Just this one, simple action 、 cause a surge Of healing hormones tO be released throughout your sick friend's body. Try to do this at least once a 、 Meek. ・ Drop 0 仼 healthy meals. Check in with your loved one about what he or she is eating these days (since that person may be

R A 田 C A L R E M 引〇 N ing minds dO not yet understand 、 Mhat'S going on. That'S because in- tuition operates れ the part Of our brains that developed at a tlme 、 vhen hidden dangers could jump out at us at any moment, such as a tiger hiding behind bushes. This part of the brain became highly skilled at sensing immediate danger as well as places ofsafety. How- ever, because most of us now (thankfully) live a relatively safe day- tO-day eXIStence, that part Of our brains iS not triggered very Often, and 、 it IS, we are not familiar With it, SO 、 tend tO ignore ItS messages. However, we all still have it, and the Radical Remission survlvors I study have learned hOW tO harness itS PO 、 ver. IN TODAY'S WORLD, talking about following your intuition can make people think you are W00- W00. " That is certainly what happened With Susan KoehIer. S intuitl()n came roaring up inside her 、 Mhen She 、 Mas diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatlc cancer, and ev- eryone thought she was crazy for listening to it. As you read her complete healing story, I invite you tO think about tlmes in your li when your intuition has suddenly kicked in. Have you ever felt a pang in yourstomach that made you pick up the phone and call someone Just at the right time ~ Did the next 1 れ a. ) or step in your li ever come tO you in a flash Of inspired creativity or through a beau- tiful dream? As you will see in Susan s story, we shouldn't ignore these flashes Of intuition, because they Often have important—・ perhaps even life-saving—information tO tell us. 、 , ・ 0 , Susan's Story 。 0 ・一 - When Susan Koehler was fifty-four, she started coughing every once ln a while, even though she did not have a co 旧 or flu. lt started very slowly at first and then increased in frequency until, a