Most of our lives will be touched by cancer at some point.
The latest statistics show that a woman in America has a one in three chance of contracting cancer during her lifetime and men have a one in two chance.
There was a time that a cancer diagnosis meant a death sentence but more and more, modern medicine and modern survivors are changing what it means to be diagnosed with cancer.
When Bob Ellal was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1991, he decided his diagnosis was not going to be a self-fullfilling prognosis. He kept rading and learning about people who had beaten cancer.
Through three more cancer diagnoses, he says he learned one of the keys to surviving a terminal illness — using the mind-body connection to complement western medicine.
He writes about what’s he learned over the past two decades in his new book, “By These Things Men Live: Chronicles of a Four-Time Cancer Survivor.”
In it, Bob explains what he learned about qigong, which means “energy work” in Chinese. Bob says he learned the practice of qigong and it helped him channel his energy during bouts of chemo. He says it’s something the Chinese have practiced for thousands of years, so there has to be something to it.
Bob says it helped him learn to use his body to help his mind and use his mind to help his body.
The man who was once told “I don’t think there’s anything we can do for you” has now been cancer-free since 1996.
He explains how the cancer has left him with permanent bone damage and chronic pain, but he still sees each day as a gift.
To learn more about Bob and for more information about his book, click here to visit his website.