snaror 410 Things | Learned About Living From Studying People Who Almas! Died
MindBodyGreen
10 Things | Learned About Living From
Studying People Who Almost Died
BY KELLY TURNER
JUNE 12, 2014 4:24 AM EDT
| study cancer patients who were told they had only months to live, that there was
nothing more that could be done, and yet are walking around cancer-free years later. |
call these cases radical remissions — instead of spontaneous remissions, as they are
more commonly referred to — because what I've learned from analyzing more than
1,000 (out of an estimated 100,000) of these cases is that there are common threads
among the behaviors of the people who have radical remissions.
(Please note, these common threads are hypotheses only. It will take many more
years of research before we can draw any firm conclusions.) But, after conducting
worldwide research, | see overcoming cancer against all odds as more than just a
completely random miracle.
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410 Things | Learned About Living From Studying People Who Almas! Died
Here are 10 ways I've changed the way | think and live after studying this group of
remarkable survivors:
1. [need to be the CEO of my life.
When their doctors told them, “There's nothing more we can do for you," radical
remission cancer survivors had no choice but to take control of their health. In
hindsight, all of them wished they had taken an active, as opposed to passive, role in
their life decades earlier.
2. No emotion is worth holding onto for too long.
Radical remission survivors believe that holding onto emotions like stress, fear, anger,
grief, or jealousy weakens the immune system (and many studies
agree with this), Even
happiness, when held onto, quickly turns into nostalgia for the past, as opposed to joy
for the present. Therefore, radical remission survivors live life under an “emotional
waterfall” - they let emotions in, feel them fully, and then release them fully.
3. | should really eat my veggies.
Salty, fatty, sugary food tastes amazing, | know. But that's only because our hunter-
gatherer taste buds still think those nutrients are hard to come by. Radical remission
survivors have gotten over their addiction to sugar, carbs, fat, and salt, and have
retrained their bodies to crave fresh, organic vegetables and fruits. Broccoli and
blueberries, here I come.
4 Laughter truly is the best medicine.
Radical remission survivors consider smiling and laughing to be as important as
flossing. They commit to feeling happy every day, even if just for 5 minutes, While they
may experience days or weeks filled with fear and sadness, that doesn’t keep them
from taking a daily, S-minute YouTube break so that cuddling cats can get their
oxytocin flowing again.
5. I should listen to my intuition.
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410 Things | Learned About Living From Studying People Who Almas! Died
Radical remission survivors listen to the voices in their heads that whisper, “Your job is
Killing you," "Move your body," or, "Look for other options.” These gut feelings come
from the oldest parts of our brains - parts that we all have but rarely use, because we
no longer need to predict hurricanes or know when a tiger is lurking. These natural
instincts sense sources of danger and paths to safety long before the other parts of
our brain even know what's happening - so it’s worth at least listening to them
6, Bodies need a spring-cleaning, too.
For better or worse, we live in a world that provides wonderful innovation along with
lots and lots of chemicals. These chemicals wreak havoc on our bodies, including the
immune system, which is in charge of noticing and removing cancer cells. That's why
radical remission survivors choose to take a personalized regimen of vitamin and
herbal supplements to get rid of toxins, absorb food better, and strengthen their
immune systems.
7.1 need to connect to something deeper - every day.
Radical remission survivors develop a spiritual connecting practice that they do every
single day. This could be meditation, visualization, prayer, affirmations, or simply
napping in the sun. Whatever the method, they “recharge their batteries" (and their
immune system) by stopping what they're doing, quieting their thoughts, and sinking
into a beautiful state of deep, soulful rest.
8. | see friendships and family as essential and healing.
Radical Remission survivors tell me all the time, “| don’t know how to explain it, but |
know that the love | received from my friends and family helped me heal.” Well, guess
what? Researchers know it, too. In study
after study
, loneliness has been
associated with more illness and an earlier death, while feeling loved by friends,
family, or even pets has been associated with less illness, quicker recovery times, and
a longer lifespan.
9, | must follow my dreams.
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This is a biggie. Radical remission survivors love life more than they fear death. Some
of them aren't afraid of death at all, believing that it will “happen when it's meant to
happen" - but until it happens, they try to pack in as much passion and purpose into
their days as humanly possible. There’s nothing like a cancer diagnosis to get you
thinking, “If | only had five years left to live, what would | do?”
10. Anything is possible.
When I'm sitting across from someone who was told they were going to die, and then |
realize that that was over 10 years ago, a spark of awe flutters up my spine as 'm
reminded, for the thousandth time, that anything is possible. In the words of one of
the alternative healers | study, "you just need to keep changing until you come across
the change that your body-mind-spirit was asking you to make."
Based on the New York Times bestselling book Radical Remission
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
To learn more about how to have a great relationship, check out our video
course How To Have The Greatest Relationship Of Your Life.
About the Author
Kelly Turner
Kelly Turner, PhD is the New York Times bestselling author of ‘Radical Remission:
Surviving Cancer Against All Odds founder of the Radical Remission Project
, and a speaker and researcher on healing and
resilience. Dr. Turner holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the
University of California, Berkeley, and she has discussed her research on The Dr. Oz
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Show and Fox News
‘video.foxnews.com/v/3587429248001/spontaneous-remission-can-
terminal-cancer-vanish/#sp=show-clips> . She makes sure to get her daily oxytocin
by cuddling her family and kittens daily, and you can learn more at
www.DrKellyTurner.com . Follow Kelly on
Facebook , Twitter
, and Instagram
.
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