First Holistic Care Steps to Take After Receiving a Cancer Diagnosis

In Holistic Cancer Care, seasoned medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera, MSC, FNIMH, RH(AHG), provides an effective framework for approaching a cancer diagnosis through a truly integrative perspective. Having seen many patients through to recovery, Chanchal is a powerful ally during the cancer journey from diagnosis to embarking on medical treatment and holistic support all the way to being cancer-free. Incorporating beneficial herbs, nutrition, self advocacy, exercise, and lifestyle choices, her book highlights the many different evidence-based factors that improve cancer outcomes.

In the mini-excerpt below, you’ll source ideas for how to initially approach a cancer diagnosis holistically and from a place of groundedness and calm. No one is ever prepared for cancer, but having an arsenal of proven tools and strategies can offer a welcome sense of preparedness and action, even so. Discover the full book excerpt and a video deep dive into the step-by-step process to follow after a cancer diagnosis–including the details of Chanchal Cabrera’s Immune Boot Camp and Clean and Green Detox Diet plan–in The Herbarium!

The following is excerpted from Holistic Cancer Care (c) by Chanchal Cabrera, used with permission from Storey Publishing.

First Steps after Receiving a Diagnosis

The world of cancer is a scary one. Even though 50–70 percent of us can expect to get this diagnosis in our lifetime, it still comes as a shock when the reality of the situation must be faced. When a cancer diagnosis is received, the ensuing stress and adrenaline impair our ability to make clearheaded and well-considered decisions. The stress hormones cause us to make spur-of- the-moment, survivalist decisions. On top of that, the conventional model is rushed, so there is pressure to start treatment quickly, and any delays are discouraged. Last, but not least, is the fear-based thinking of family and friends who are anxious or distressed if we choose to delay treatment. One of the most challenging issues for the cancer patient can be the well-meaning, well-intentioned person offering unsolicited and ill-informed advice.

Confronting cancer can be a daunting prospect for both the patient and the practitioner. Making sense of treatment options, both conventional and nonconventional, can be even more overwhelming. Few people are prepared to untangle the web of medical jargon and complicated decision-making that accompanies a diagnosis and a long-term understanding of the disease they may have. People want to do “whatever it takes” to “get rid of the cancer,” regardless of the consequences and without a true understanding of the impact on their quality or quantity of life. Clear answers are often in short supply.

Develop a Treatment Plan with a Holistic Practitioner

If you are reading this as a cancer patient, then I strongly recommend you seek out an experienced healthcare professional to help you navigate the difficult decisions that come with the process of pursuing cancer treatment. In addition to an oncologist, who will make a diagnosis and suggest conventional treatment options, you can work with a medical herbalist who can prescribe you cytotoxic herbs, given in carefully calculated doses and targeted to disable cancer cells. Naturopaths, nutritionists, a health coach, or other wellness professionals can also assist you in building optimal health. 

Start a Preparation Plan

A preparation plan can begin the day you receive your diagnosis. No matter what type or stage or grade of cancer, and no matter what treatment options you are offered, you’ll want to implement certain core practices in order to improve your circumstances overall. Not all of these are feasible for everyone, though, so don’t beat yourself up for what you can’t do; just make incremental steps in the right direction and know that it all helps.

Many of these are explored in more detail in Chapter 2, but you can start by doing the following:

• Clean out the kitchen cupboards and discard anything packaged, processed, sweetened, or artificially flavored or colored.
• Avoid fast food, takeout, and snack foods. If it is processed, packaged, or prepared in advance, then it is lacking nutritional value.
• Clean out the garage or garden shed and dispose of all noxious chemicals and solvents.
• Commit to buying organic foods and natural body care and household cleaning products.
• Eat at least three servings of leafy greens and one serving of dark berries daily.
• Drink 2–3 cups of green tea daily (and finish consuming them by 4 p.m.).
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Find ways to manage stress effectively.
• Get regular exercise.
• Avoid alcohol, except for the occasional glass of red wine.
• Drink 3–6 big glasses of pure water daily.
• Spend time with friends and loved ones. Be outside in nature. Laugh often.
• Use herbs for liver support, immune building, and antioxidant effects while waiting on test results, gathering information, and making decisions and choices about next steps.
• Use adaptogen herbs for managing stress.

SEE THE VIDEO IN THE HERBARIUM!

Interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of Immune Boot Camp and how to incorporate the Clean and Green Detox Diet into a holistic cancer management plan? Members of The Herbarium can join Chanchal Cabrera in a video as she introduces her process of addressing a cancer diagnosis through an evidence-based, integrated lens. You’ll find this invaluable video in The Herbarium, along with the excerpt of Holistic Cancer Care.

Interested but not yet a member of The Herbarium? Get access today with a 3 day trial for only $3!

The Herbarium is our ever-expanding, illuminating virtual collection of over 200 (and counting!) searchable monographs, unique intensive short courses on focused topics, and numerous informative articles, videos, ebooks, podcasts, and helpful downloadable resources. The Herbarium is crafted for herbalists to help you learn and grow in your herbalism journey!

Learn more and sign up for The Herbarium here.

Get a copy of Chanchal’s book, Holistic Cancer Care: An Herbal Approach to Reducing Cancer Risk, Helping Patients Thrive during Treatment, and Minimizing Recurrence, via Storey Publishing or via Amazon.  

Chanchal Cabrera, MSC, FNIMH, (RH)AHG, is a medical herbalist and has been in clinical practice since 1987 with a specialty for the past 20 years in holistic oncology. She is the author of Fibromyalgia: A Journey towards Healing and her latest book Holistic Cancer Care: An Herbal Approach to Preventing Cancer, Helping Patients Thrive during Treatment, and Minimizing the Risk of Recurrence. She held the faculty chair in Botanical Medicine at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster 2004-2016, and she publishes widely in professional journals and lectures internationally on medical herbalism, nutrition and health.

Chanchal is also a certified Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) practitioner, a certified Master Gardener and a certified Horticulture Therapist. Chanchal lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she and her husband manage Innisfree Farm and Botanic Garden, a 7 acre internationally registered botanic garden specializing in food and medicine plants, and where they host apprenticeships in sustainable food production and herbal medicine. The farm also hosts Gardens without Borders, a federally registered not-for-profit society established to run the botanic garden and provide horticulture therapy.