Definition for Ladies Spring 2014 Issue 001 April 2014 | Page 41

“Stage one breast cancer,” my new oncology surgeon told me, as I sat in her office feeling dumbfounded. No one in my family had ever had this condition, and besides, I was the thinnest, most fit sister of four girls. I didn’t fit the demographics at all!
Nonetheless, the treatment plan was created, and a lumpectomy and radiation were in my future.
As I cowered in my surgeon’s office and listened to her explanation of cancer and its growth, I pondered the real reason I
was there that day. If I was such a model of physical health and could still get breast cancer, the answer had to be my diet. I
had been feeding my body the wrong fuel. That evening, I researched and hired a vegan nutritional counselor and literally
changed my life overnight.
Seven bags of processed, sugary, animal-based foods went to my neighbors, and stainless steel pots and pans, a water filter,
and bags of whole foods made an entrance instead. My kitchen suddenly had a rainbow cornucopia of vegetables, fruits,
grains and beans sitting on the counter. I had The China Study next to my bed and several plant-based cookbooks in my briefcase. I lived and breathed the diet, kept a food journal of everything I ate, talked about kale, collards and protein with my
sisters and generally drove the people I worked with crazy. They began hiding their barbecue take out bags from me.
The proof, though, arrived just four days later. I was the vegan Energizer Bunny who recovered from her lumpectomy in a
day. I was up eating, cooking and laughing just two hours after surgery and spent the next five weeks literally running in and
out of my radiation therapy appointments each morning. I’d get zapped at 8 a.m. and then head to work with no side

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