As I settled into my seat on the airplane that would carry me from Salt Lake to Orlando, I gazed out the window and was quickly led into a state of contemplation by the vast plains and mountain ranges below. Physical perspective seems to have a way of nurturing mental, emotional, and spiritual perspective.
The truth is, I’ve had a lot to reflect upon lately. The previous fourteen months have been difficult – the most difficult of my life in fact. I watched my brother’s life unravel before my very eyes – and because of my profound love for him – I felt strands from my own heart, mind, and soul being torn away in unison.
I went from hardily patting my brother on his broad shoulders after watching him play competitive beach volleyball on a sunny day in August, to delicately rubbing the protruding vertebrae of his lower back as he sat hunched over in agonizing pain on a hospital bed the following April. It was the last time that I saw him before he slipped away.
In nine months – the same interval of time in which a human life is created – the life of one of the most beautiful humans that I’ve known was utterly destroyed. Destroyed by the “black bile” that is cancer. The same black bile that also claimed the lives of two of my sisters in the rocky past.
To say that I hate cancer is inadequate. I hate mosquitoes. I hate rush hour traffic. To say that I hate cancer is as much of an understatement as calling the ocean wet.
So why was I listening to an audiobook about cancer, while flying to a conference about cancer in Orlando called The Truth About Cancer Live? Because, for lack of a better term, I hate cancer so much that I love it – for I now believe that love is the only way to conquer “the emperor of all maladies” once and for all.
Hate is what cancer thrives on. Hate for oneself. Hate for others. Hate for the truth. In practice, we show hate and hostility to our body’s cells each time we consume toxic food, breath toxic air, think toxic thoughts, or slather toxic chemicals on our skin. What do we often say when we stay up too late and don’t get enough rest? “I’m going to hate myself in the morning.” Sometimes the hate perpetrated against our cells is inflicted by faceless corporations and agencies whose all consuming love for profits leaves no remaining love for their fellow man.
Cancer cells are very much like a Pit Bull that has been beaten and hated on its entire life. That Pit Bull will likely go on to develop an unnatural ferocity and a willingness to do whatever it takes to survive. In fact, it is only concerned with it’s own survival and will cannibalize anything in its path. It no longer hears or obeys its master’s voice. It is lost, hurting, and damaged. It needs love, not additional hate.
Regarding conventional medical oncology, Anna Deavere Smith aptly states that “cancer therapy is like beating the dog with a stick to get rid of his fleas.”
Despite the countless billions of dollars of research that have been thrown at patented, profit-centric methods for treating cancer, the amount of actual progress that we’ve made in the “war on cancer” is highly debatable at best. The proverbial stick has gotten larger, but the fleas are as resilient as ever.
It’s time that we stop beating the dog and hoping his fleas fall off. It’s time that we start loving ourselves and our bodies, rather than blindly hating cancer and waging an endless war on our own misguided cells. In other words, let’s stop doing the things that may lead to the creation of rogue cells, and let’s start showing our immune system the love and support required so that it can go on to decommission the wayward cells that are past the point of no return.
THAT is why I traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend ‘The Truth About Cancer Live’ (TTAC Live) event. I could think of no greater way to honor the lives of my brother and of my sisters than to seek to learn how to better love my body’s trillions of cells, and to go on to teach others how to do likewise. I was not disappointed.
Now bare in mind, I’m a 34 year old red blooded American man who doesn’t loosely toss the word ‘love’ around like it’s some kind of frivolous confetti; and yet I wouldn’t be surprised if it topped my list of most frequently used words during TTAC Live. I found myself embracing near total strangers and telling them that I loved them – not because of what they had done, but because of who they were. Fellow human beings who have been willing to step outside of the box in order to seek answers to questions that not nearly enough people are asking. These are people who have lost loved ones to cancer – or are facing cancer themselves – and are courageous enough to take responsibility for their own health. How can you not love that?
There’s a principle that states that ‘like attracts like’, and I witnessed this principle play out first hand. I was absolutely amazed at the caliber of individuals that Ty & Charlene Bollinger rallied around them for this event – which is not only true for the presenters, but equally true for the attendees. I spoke to incredible individuals from around the world, including countries such as Trinidad and England.
One man from London remarked that he didn’t believe that an event like this would be possible in his country due to the medical and political climate. I quickly responded that I couldn’t believe that this event was taking place here in the United States!
It demonstrates that even though we may be living under the heavy thumb of a government which shares a very large bed with a profit driven medical-industrial complex (be sure to view G. Edward Griffin’s marvelous TTAC Live presentation titled “The Politics of Cancer” for more on this subject), an unbreakable strand of freedom is still very much part of our DNA. Judging by the approximately 1,500 max capacity crowd that attended the event in person, and the millions of individuals that live streamed the event online – it’s clear that the desire to live prosperous, healthy lives using holistic means is more alive and well than ever before. If the world of natural healing had a Bible, this event just might have been the book of Acts.
The lineup of speakers at TTAC Live was eclectic and comprised of individuals from all walks of life, ranging from natural cancer conquerors such as Chris Wark and Liana Warner-Grey, to distinguished medical doctors such as Rashid Buttar and Linda Isaacs, along with brilliant academic minds such as Thomas Seyfried – a professor of biology at Boston College.
There were more than 40 speakers in all, and together they did a fantastic job at addressing just about every aspect of healing imaginable, including mental (Dr. Buttar), spiritual (Dr. Zielinski), and of course, physical health. I particularly appreciated that Dr. Stuart Nunnally, DDS was there to address the importance of dental health – a critically important area that is often overlooked.
Would it alarm you to learn that the speakers didn’t all agree with one another one hundred percent of the time? For example, some were strong proponents for the ketogenic diet, while others felt that a high carbohydrate plant based diet is the optimum way to address cancer.
While this was occasionally a cause for fretting among some attendees, I personally found the existence of divergent viewpoints to be incredibly refreshing and a very real check and balance against one of the greatest threats to progress and innovation – a phenomenon known as “groupthink”.
As a western society raised in the large shadow cast by the conventional medical establishment, we’ve been conditioned to expect black and white instructions from medical professionals who are more or less charged with doing the thinking for us. The problem with this approach is that nearly all of the responsibility is placed in the hands of the doctor, leaving little if any responsibility in our own hands. Without responsibility, we lack power. Without power, we lack the ability to truly heal our bodies and our lives.
If the world of conventional medicine is a fast food restaurant serving up processed meals devoid of nutrients from a limited, clearly defined menu – the world of natural healing is a farmers market with dozens of different booths, serving up hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables.
Can this result in a certain degree of overwhelm? Sure it can – but we are fortunate enough to live in an age where there are books, websites, coaches, and holistic doctors to help guide us through our healing journeys. We also have our own intuition, coupled with the guidance of God Almighty if we’ll just ask and listen intently. As Chris Wark (of Chris Beat Cancer) wryly stated during the closing speech of TTAC Live, “There’s never been a better time to get cancer.”
Immediately following Chris’ presentation, the closing ceremony for TTAC Live was underway. As you can see from the photo above, it was a packed house until the very end. I’m certainly not alone in saying that it was one of the most powerful and healing events that I’ve ever attended. I simply did not want it to end. The love and energy present throughout the weekend was nearly tangible enough to reach out and grasp, and I’ve never been surrounded by so many like minded individuals. If a cord of three strands is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12), how much stronger is a cord of 1500 strands?
Shortly after the closing ceremony, I spoke to Charlene Bollinger and told her how my previously held belief was that I would likely have to wait until I was on the other side of heaven to find out how any good or purpose (Romans 8:28) could come out of losing my brother and sisters to cancer. Attending TTAC Live changed that perspective.
I could feel the presence of my late siblings there beside me in the rooms and hallways of that conference center. During one particular presentation, I glanced down at my brother’s bracelet which encircled my wrist and I just knew that he was sitting there along side of me. My brother was the type of man that would lay down his life for those that he loved, and I know that if any good could come forth from the suffering he endured, he would receive great joy from that.
I walked away from the Truth About Cancer Live with a renewed faith, knowing that my brother and sisters did not die in vain. I will march forward in this life, sustained by their memories and driven by a desire to help others avoid having to travel down that excruciating path that my siblings walked with such grace and dignity. For that sense of purpose, I am eternally grateful.
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If you missed any of the presentations from The Truth About Cancer Live 2017, there will be a free replay airing this weekend from Friday, October 13th at 8:30am ET until the evening of Sunday, October 15th. You can tune in at https://go.thetruthaboutcancer.com/2017-live-event and I would HIGHLY recommend it! I am not alone in my belief that this year’s event was even better than last year’s, which is really saying something. If you would like to access any of the 40 presentations at any time, The Truth About Cancer is offering digital and/or DVD recordings of the event for a very reasonable price considering the tremendous amount of content and value being provided.
If you enjoyed this article about TTAC Live, might I suggest also reading my article titled “Why Does God Allow Cancer to Exist”? If you’d like to learn more about what an amazing person my brother was, click here to read the tribute that I wrote about him shortly after his passing.
Additional Photos from the TTAC Live 2017:
