Julie's Breast Cancer Patient Journey

Follow Julie's breast cancer journey through our interview below.

Shock. Disbelief. Sad. Felt let down by my body. I wondered what had I done wrong to deserve this disease. It came out of left field. I thought I was healthy. I certainly didn’t look sick or feel sick. I just wanted it to go away.

Julie's Breast Cancer Survivor Story


Q. What type of cancer were you originally diagnosed with?
A. Breast – invasive ductal carcinoma Stage II

Q. What year were you originally diagnosed?
A. 2014

Q.What is the current status of your health?
A. I am Cancer Free!

Q. How did your family respond to the news?
A. Equally shocked. Sad. Mad. Worried. They felt helpless to help me. My parents would have done anything to take this on for me. They didn’t like seeing their little girl in such anguish and emotional pain. My husband was sad and had great fear he would lose me. But they were all ready to help me in whatever way I needed and to support me in my choices.

Q. What were your doctors telling you?
A. Hurry up. Make a decision. You need surgery. You need radiation so it does not get worse. This was something I could handle if I would get moving on it. But no prognosis. They were confident we caught it early and with treatment I could live a healthy life.

Q. Where did you personally look for information about your diagnosis/prognosis and treatment options?
A. At first, I relied on the conventional medical cancer center in my city. They seemed the most knowledgeable and prepared to support me. I didn’t look further until my surgery did not come out as planned. The tumor was bigger, my nodes were involved. Now they were talking about chemotherapy as a treatment. And they didn’t care about my whole body. They weren’t offering ideas on how to help my body treat itself. How I could use food and remove the toxins from my life. That’s when I started doing research on the internet and reading everything I could about “healing myself.” I said “no thank you” to conventional medicine and explored alternative treatments. I started in Phoenix with naturopathic oncologist, then when their plan wasn’t helping me heal fully, I looked at Mexico and found Hope4Cancer.

Q. Did you feel like you had options at this time other than conventional treatments?
A. Yes

Q. If you knew back when you were first diagnosed,  what you know now, what would you have done differently?
A. I would not have had surgery. I would have flown straight to Mexico! I would have done more tests to truly understand my baseline — e.g., OncoBlot. I would have left the tumor in place so we could have monitored how my body dealt with it.

Q. Please add anything else you would like to say about this time in your cancer journey?
A. I’m so very thankful for the support and love I received at Hope4Cancer. They gave me the knowledge I needed to understand cancer and how my body heals. I learned so much about how to feed my mind, body, and soul in my 6 weeks at H4C.

Q. If you did any cancer treatments before coming to Hope4Cancer, could you explain those treatments and how successful they were for you?
A. Lumpectomy surgery on the left breast plus a breast reduction on both breasts. My surgeon did not get clear margins. She found a satellite and some pre-cancerous lobular tissue as well. Plus 2 out of 4 nodes had cancer. These were all surprises and were not indicated from the earlier scans. They wanted to go back in to clean up the margins or do a mastectomy. But I did not agree to that.

Q. How did you find Hope4Cancer?
A. A 4 am internet search! Then I talked to Collette later that morning, and by the evening I had planned my trip to Tijuana.

Q.What was your experience like at Hope4Cancer?
A. At first, it was a culture shock. I was scared and unsure. But patients I met early on helped me adjust and all the doctors and nurses were so lovely and warm. Within 24 hours I was so glad I was there. I finally felt like someone understood my desire to heal my body without burning, cutting, and nuking it. And knew how to support me.

Q. What treatments did you receive at Hope4Cancer?
A. In addition to the standard protocol of heat and light based therapies with SP Activate, I did the following IV therapies — Vitamin C, B17, PolyMVA, UVBI, IET. I also did the ozone wand therapy. Also coffee enemas and rectal ozone, the hyperbaric chamber, saunas and hot box.

Q. What were the deciding factors in choosing Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers?
A. It was comprehensive and affordable compared to my experience in Phoenix. I did not look at any other Mexican clinics. I was drawn to Hope4Cancer. I’d even say there was some divine intervention in getting me to Tijuana.

Q. Describe how your perception of the word “cancer” has changed, if any?
A. It doesn’t scare me like it used to. I understand it for what it is — something that is happening in my body with my cells — it’s not a foreign invader. I know that only a mind, body, spirit approach can work to keep rogue cells from multiplying out of control in my body.

Q. What perspective in life do you now have that you didn’t have before?
A. My perspective on life is very different. I live life on purpose now and with intention. I live and speak my truth and don’t compromise what’s best for me. I take one day at a time and live in the present as much as possible. I have let go of past regrets and fears about the future. I take one step at a time and really feel each step. I’m present to myself and the people around me.

Q. What does the next 3-5 years of your life now look like?
A. Live life to the fullest and with intention. I hope that the remaining tissue affected by my treatments will continue to dissolve and be worked out by my body. I will continue on my mind, body, spirit wellness routine and adjust as needed.

Q. What would you say to the person coming behind you, who may be experiencing what you went through, for the first time?
A. You have the power to change this. Understand what your body is telling you, and then make the changes you need to bring yourself back to center. Your body can heal itself when you treat it well — truly nourish yourself.

The mind-spirit work I did was almost more important than the body work I did to heal. I saw where I was holding on to regrets of the past and trying to control other people and situations in my life. I saw where I was giving up on what I needed to serve other people.

When I let all that go, I started to heal. Hope4Cancer’s BEST Healing program got me started. Then I continued that work with and study life coaching with the Martha Beck Institute, which helped me take further steps on the mind-spirit path to healing. I’m now a coach that helps clients who want to find a happy, healthier, wholeness in their lives.

Healing the body is not enough if you want to free your life of cancer.


If you or someone you love has been struggling with a cancer diagnosis or is feeling pressured to pursue treatment that doesn’t resonate with you, we want you to know there are other options. Reach out to our admissions department and schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help.

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