Wildly Well

Hippocrates is my new best friend, both the Greek philosopher and Hippocrates Wellness. These two, though separated by centu-ries, have lots in common. Each sport the same name and echo the same sentiments with their joint mantra, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I’m tipping my hat to Hippocrates from 400 BC for being eons ahead of his time in understanding how vital the food we eat is to our health. Now, in the 21st century, the Florida institute is just as cutting edge with its alternative mind, body, spirit approach to health and wellness.

I found my way to an awareness of how critical their common messages are when I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in 2011. My initial diagnosis was stage 2 cancer in my right breast. When visiting another facility for a second opinion, I came away with a “buy-one, get-one”diagnosis of a more advanced cancer in my left breast. Not the kind of deal I was seeking in that second opinion.

But here’s the good news. My body didn’t know anything about stages of cancer or scary diagnoses and it wasn’t impressed with them. After initial rounds of radiation (which I would not do today if I could revisit that choice) and a wild ride on the fear train that Western allopathic medicine put me on, I began to listen to my inner knowing. I became my own health advocate and researched the treatments that were being recommended to me by my oncologist, along with their side effects, as well as researching what else was out there that had worked for others, all without a horrendous assault on my body and its immune system. Chemotherapy was counterintuitive to me. Why would I decimate the very system that I would need to support my healing? I also gave a big thumbs down to a five-year regimen of “after-care” drugs with side effects that rivaled those of any terrifying pharmaceutical commercial on TV. As you can imagine, I was not a popular patient in the Western medicine community.

I knew that if I wasn’t going to follow the standard treatment recommendations, I needed to go full speed ahead with my desire to heal my body, with or without the blessings of my oncologist. I also knew that I was going to have to get clear on what wasn’t working in my life that set up my health challenge in the first place. I found a holistic M.D. who changed things radically. First up was a major diet shift. Goodbye to sugar, dairy and meat and hello to acupuncture, high dose Vitamin C IV therapy, infrared saunas and a strong recommendation that I get to the Hippocrates Wellness.

That’s where my serious healing began. The, three-week,Life Transformation Program was aptly named as it was truly a transformative experience. Here’s where I learned how to implement all the pieces of a mind, body, spirit approach to healing. I was reminded that I was responsible for my life as well as my healing. Hippocrates’ part was to provide the resources I needed that were the foundation of that journey. My time there was filled with the most spectacular array of colorful raw food, nutritious green juices, wheatgrass shots and sprouts of every variety. There were classes, therapies, modalities and treatments intentionally designed to support my mind, body and spirit in healing. As a delicious bonus, I met magnificent people from all over the world who were there to do what I came to do, heal.There were also wise, out-of -the-box types who didn’t have a health challenge but wanted to pursue optimal wellness.

I returned from Hippocrates with a passion for implementing the things that I’d learned. I began a business with a friend who was so inspired with my experience there that she became a Hippocrates Health Educator. Together, Myra Harper and I have a health and wellness business called “Be Wild and Well.” We offer coaching, webinars, and workshops designed to help others make changes in diet and lifestyle, one bite at a time. We’re known as the, “Wild Women of Wellness.” For those of you who are asking the obvious question, “Am I cancer free?” I thankfully answer, “Yes, I am.”I don’t have cancer and cancer doesn’t have me. The American Cancer Society has cancer and they can keep it. To Hippocrates Wellness and Hippocrates, the Greek Philosopher, from centuries ago, thank you. I am well... wildly well!

By Jeanne Looper Smith