"Three strikes, but I'm not out!" I am a 3-time cancer survivor, having had a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma at age 6 months along with breast cancer diagnoses at ages 34 and 45. At the time of my most recent cancer diagnosis in 1995, I unexpectedly found myself very angry.

I (naively) thought I had already "paid my dues" by having cancer twice and would not get cancer again. Upon finishing my surgery and chemotherapy after my third cancer, I realized I had to change my thinking about my cancer experiences to overcome my lingering anger. I found the quotation by Henry David Thoreau very helpful as I stopped running from my cancer history to begin embracing it:

"When the dog is chasing you, turn around and whistle for it."

I instinctively knew that it was time for me to go beyond coping (which I had obviously done very well for 45 years!) to finally begin healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually from the trauma of having 3 cancer experiences. Although I have used surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy with each diagnosis, this time I was determined to figure out what else I could do to enhance the long-term effectiveness of these treatments by identifying and changing various aspects of my nutrition and lifestyle. I wanted to be a full and equal partner in my health care, making my own decisions based on the best research I could gather, which also meant that I was taking equal responsibility for the outcome I might achieve. This seemed like a big job, but I strongly believe in the power of *active hope* and used a quotation from Dr. Bernie Siegel's book, Love, Medicine, and Miracles, as my inspiration for this new approach I was taking to recovering from my cancer:

"I encourage my patients to have faith in God,
but not to expect God to do all the work!"

I was ready to work! The challenge that I accepted for myself was to see if I could put together a "healing recipe," looking for the best "ingredients" that conventional oncology therapy had to offer and complementing it with additional "ingredients" from the uncharted world of "alternative medicine" and see if I could "tweak my fate." It has been five years since my last cancer diagnosis and I am still cancer-free even though my most recent cancer was very advanced and aggressive! I have also recovered (indeed healed) emotionally and spiritually from my cancer experiences. I no longer live with fear of my future. I may still die from cancer, but if I do, I will die satisfied that I have given my recovery all of my very best efforts.

I wrote my book, A Dietitian's Cancer Story, to give those interested in optimizing their own health after cancer using an integrated and comprehensive approach a "jump start" onto that path. My book is precisely what I wish my own cancer center could have given me when I asked, "What else can I be doing to help myself?" In providing the details of my own path and journey, I suggest you pick and choose the strategies that appeal to you, as you are ready to incorporate them into your life. I hope you find both information and inspiration in my book so that your cancer recovery journey is easier than mine was. I would like to end by sharing another of my favorite quotations:

"Every journey has a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware".
- Martin Buber

I never dreamed that I would have written a book or had a web site to help others. My hope for you is that your own cancer journey will also lead you, as it has led me, to unexpected, but also surprisingly wonderful, people, places, and opportunities. I wish you the very best for optimal health, healing, and continued hope after your cancer diagnosis.