How I navigated cancer at 23. My diagnosis, my treatment and the lifestyle changes that I chose to make for better health, longevity and prevention!
In 2012, at the age of 23, I got into the hospital experiencing severe abdominal pain and ended up in surgery, where a part of my big intestine (45cm) was removed together with a tumour (left hemicolectomy).
After a month of recovering in the hospital and all the essential biopsies and examinations, I was told that the tumour was a stage-2 adenocarcinoma of 4,2cm (size of a walnut together with its shell), that all my lymph nodes in the area looked clear and that the team of doctors suggested a round of preventive chemotherapy that would last 6 months.
They gave me 3 days to decide if I would go for the chemo or not (from the time they made the announcement of cancer to me), so without having enough time to investigate my options, I said yes to chemo, which I started in February 2013 until July 2013.
From the day I learned about my diagnosis, something inside me was telling me to ask myself
“What made my body develop cancer at such a young age? Which are the reasons and what can I do so that it never happens again?”.
So, I started looking for answers.
A very obvious one for me was the fact that as the problem was in my colon, then, food must play a biiiiig role in it. My second thought was, I don't have a regular exercise routine , so maybe that would help my body be healthier too.
Later on, I realised the importance of my thoughts and feelings and their power over my health as a whole.
So, the instructions coming from within were clear.
Learn how to take good care of yourself and your body, by creating healthier everyday habits.
Learn how to eat so that you can detoxify your system from chemo and help it be healthier while also promoting longevity. Establish a routine where physical exercise is a priority. Cultivate Self-Love and Self-Acceptance, and invest your time in people, things and habits that feel good.
This was my plan for myself. And so I did.
I visited a nutritionist in order to help me eat in a way that promotes health, only to find out that they have no idea how to help someone like me.
Packaged white bread with cheese and turkey slices did not feel like they were belonging to my path to health.
This is where I realised I needed to do the research for myself.
I searched for people that have had similar health stories like mine and investigated their own way to better health and healing. It was all leading to nutrition, exercise, healthy social life, balanced work-life, spirituality and creative daily practices. All ways to bring oneself closer to their own true self. Connect body, mind and soul. Become whole again.
The other thing I did was to subscribe to Yoga Classes . I had tried Yoga before, once or twice, and I liked it a lot because it reminded me of my childhood and the gymnastics I used to do back then. At that moment, I felt like Yoga could be a perfect gentle way to bring my body back to health after the surgery and chemo.
And I stuck with it. It felt like home. It felt like something I already knew how to do. It connected me with my body, its needs and its feelings. It connected me with my breath and its life giving force. It connected me with meditation and the power of stillness.
My relationship with Yoga was growing deeper and deeper.
Through this whole process, or my healing journey, as I like to call it, I have gotten into reading books about health, healing, nutrition, self-development and my big desire was to help others on their own healing journey.
Remind the world that a diagnosis or a prognosis does not mean the end of your life.
You are not cursed or unlucky. Your health struggle is an opportunity for you to take a better look on how you live your life. What really matters and what does not matter so much. Which are your priorities and which are not. It is an opportunity to choose to take another road. The road of health. The road of life. The road of connection.
What a beautiful and precious miracle life is!
Now, it has been 10+ years of unlearning the destructive ways and relearning the constructive ways of living and I am feeling healthier than ever. For the last 4 years I have been supporting and guiding other people through their own journey to health too. What an honour. What a blessing!
Katerina
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