[Update: I wrote this in October of 2014. It’s been 3 years, and I’m still doing great. Thanks to all of you who continue to check up on me and wish me well!]
It was February 5th, my mother’s birthday and a month before the 20th anniversary of my becoming vegan. I was sitting in a breast surgeon’s office in a paper gown, cradling my biopsied breast and waiting. After about an hour and a half, my surgeon finally appeared, apologizing for keeping me waiting because the results had only just come in. He took a deep breath and said, “You don’t have cancer.” I thought, “I didn’t think I did.” Unfortunately, as I would later find out, we both were wrong.
He went on to explain that the biopsy found abnormal cells, officially called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), but often referred to as Stage 0 or pre-cancer. While I was still reeling from the word “carcinoma,” he explained that these cells might become cancer, so they had to be treated like cancer. My options were a lumpectomy with radiation or a mastectomy. I asked whether there was any chance that the pathology report could be wrong, and my doctor said no.
I was stunned. I left in a daze and went over to my husband’s office nearby to give him the news.
Three months before, a routine mammogram had spotted a place that looked different from my last mammogram. I was sent to the Breast Health Center for another mam and then an ultrasound to get a closer look. The spot was so small and deep inside the breast that the ultrasound technician couldn’t find it at all, so I was given an appointment to return in three months. At that three month mammogram, the “spot” was clearly visible even to me as a glowing white circle in a sea of black and gray. A ultrasound-guided biopsy was scheduled for early the next week.
I’d had one of these biopsies four years ago, and that spot had turned out to be nothing but a harmless cyst, so I had been expecting the same results this time. Like most women, I didn’t think “The Big C” could happen to me. But because I was a vegan, I think I was even more positive that I couldn’t have cancer. After all, wasn’t I doing everything the vegan doctors tell us to do to protect ourselves from heart disease and cancer? Low-fat, lots of green and cruciferous vegetables and brightly colored fruit? No animal products? Moreover, no one in my family had ever had cancer. I naively thought I was immune.
So I didn’t really believe the pathology report, and I became even more skeptical when I read an article that said that DCIS is sometimes misdiagnosed. I decided to get a second opinion from one of the doctors mentioned in that article, a pathologist specializing in breast cancer in San Francisco. I had the hospital send him my biopsy slides, and a week later, I had a consultation with him on the phone. He was unable to confirm DCIS or rule out actual cancer because the radiologist who had performed the biopsy had noted that he had actually missed the “mass.” The biopsy needle had gone in front of the suspected tumor and gathered cells from there, just a few that looked abnormal. But until the actual mass was tested, the pathology specialist couldn’t rule out either DCIS or invasive cancer. He suggested I get another, more accurate, biopsy called a stereotactic biopsy, and I asked my doctor to schedule it.
I had high hopes that this second biopsy would show no DCIS and no cancer. Those hopes were shot down when my new medical oncologist called to give me the results: I had a small invasive cancer, Stage 1, that showed signs of being aggressive. She recommended surgery within the next 3-4 weeks. Just to be sure, I had the slides sent to the pathologist in San Francisco, who agreed with her diagnosis.
Snowball Fight with Daughter E at Oberlin College
So I did what any logical person would do: I took a vacation. It was Spring Break, and my husband and I had planned a 5-day trip to take our high school junior (now senior) to visit 6 colleges in the Midwest. We wanted to do it while we could because we knew that after the surgery, I would need 6 ½ weeks of daily radiation treatments and might not be able to get away during the summer. The trip was a great distraction, but as soon as we got home, I made an appointment with the surgeon and scheduled my lumpectomy for the following week.
The surgery went perfectly. The surgeon removed the tumor and the area around it, as well as three lymph nodes which tested negative: the cancer had not spread to them. A week later, I returned to the surgeon’s office for more good news: The final pathology report showed that the “margins” or edges of the material he had removed were clean, meaning that all of the targeted cancer cells had probably been removed. The only worrisome thing to my husband and me were some figures in the report that seemed a little scary, particularly a “grade” of 3, meaning the cancer was aggressive. My surgeon was unconcerned, and my oncologist said that she would order a genetic test called Oncotype DX to more conclusively determine my chances of having the cancer recur.
A few weeks went by as I recovered from the surgery and waited for the results of the Oncotype test. I was expecting to start radiation soon when my medical oncologist called with the test results. They indicated that I was at a moderately high risk of recurrence. She was recommending that I have chemo.
This was the first time the other Big C word had been mentioned, and for some reason, “chemotherapy” scared me more than “cancer.” The oncologist explained that the type of chemo she was recommending was “well-tolerated” and without all of the serious long-term consequences of other treatments. I wasn’t convinced, and I began frantically researching the chemo itself and alternatives to it.
Walking and thinking in a cypress swamp
I was in a panic. On the one hand, I’ve always believed in fighting disease with nutrition and had always been opposed to taking any medication if it could be avoided. On the other hand, hadn’t I been doing just that for the past 20 years? My oncologist was telling me that chemo could reduce my risk of having the cancer recur and spread, that preventing it now would be much easier than trying to stop if it spread to my other organs. I went back and forth, one day deciding that chemo was just too dangerous and the next deciding that I didn’t want to take the risk of the cancer coming back. I was, frankly, a mess. I couldn’t sleep or eat for worrying about the chemo. I finally decided to get a second opinion from a highly recommended breast cancer oncologist at the University Medical Center.
My second opinion doctor came back with the same recommendation as the first: Have the chemo. She assured me that I was young (me!) and healthy and I could handle it. And it would cut my chance of recurrence in half.
My husband was very careful to stand back and let me make the decision for myself, but I knew that he hoped that I would have the chemo. And I was afraid that if I didn’t have it, I would be anxious for the rest of my life, afraid that I hadn’t done everything I possibly could to prevent a recurrence. I’d read the stories of people who had fought their cancer with diet and lifestyle choices, but those people weren’t already eating a whole foods, plant-based diet like I was.
So I decided to do the chemo, four rounds, three weeks apart. I read everything I could find about the treatments and armed myself with supplements that could help prevent side effects. And I found out my oncologist was right: the treatments, though no fun, we’re not as bad as I’d feared. My side effects were minimal, the most annoying being a bad taste in my mouth that would come and go and made it difficult to create new recipes.
Just after my initial diagnosis, I’d begun getting up at 5:30 every morning and walking with my husband and our dog. During chemo, and later radiation, I considered it a point of honor that I never missed a walk. On the weekends, my family and I tried to get out of the house and do a little hiking or local sightseeing so that I wouldn’t feel like the treatment was making me isolated. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables to support my immune system and was careful to avoid coming into contact with people who were sick, and I sailed through my summer of chemo without so much as a sniffle.
A Visit to “My” Lake at Montreat, NC
When chemo ended, I was determined to take a family vacation before I had to start radiation therapy, so at the beginning of August, we spent a week in the mountains of North Carolina and a few days in Nashville, seeing my newest niece for the first time (and, of course, my brother and sister-in-law).
I got back home and jumped right into daily radiation treatments–33 of them. Again, the treatments weren’t nearly as bad as I expected, but I was thrilled when they ended last week. I couldn’t wait to put all of this cancer stuff behind me.
I didn’t write about this while it was going on mainly because I was afraid that people would offer suggestions and criticisms of my decision to go through with chemo and radiation, and I just couldn’t risk the additional stress that would have put on me. So why am I telling you now? Even though this blog is recipe-oriented and not usually very personal, I wasn’t sure if I could go on writing it if I had to pretend like something this big hadn’t happened to me, something that has consumed the last eight months of my life and has changed the way I see myself and the way I think about diet, veganism, and health.
My first month post-diagnosis, before I had the specter of chemo to worry me, all I could think about was “why” and “how”: Why did I, a vegan who tries to eat healthy, get cancer when no one else in my Standard American Diet-eating family has ever had cancer? What had I done wrong? Had I eaten too few nuts? Too little cilantro? Not enough flax seeds? BPA? Soy?! I worried that I had caused my cancer by never being able to get to my goal weight and stay there, that I didn’t exercise consistently, that I had had only one child late in life and that I hadn’t breastfed her long enough.
I was blaming myself, and I had a lot of help from the Internet. I couldn’t visit Facebook without seeing posts about how eating X (broccoli, nuts, soy, orange) would help prevent cancer. Or people posting about their frustration that a friend or family member had breast cancer and refused to treat it by adopting a plant-based diet. If I, someone who had been eating all the right things (and not eating all the wrong ones), got the message that I was to blame for my cancer, how must other cancer patients feel, the ones who hadn’t been stuffing themselves with kale and mushrooms? Is there a way to promote a plant-based diet that doesn’t point the finger of blame, that doesn’t make grand promises of health, and that doesn’t make people like me feel so confident in the invincibility of our diets that we put off mammograms or other screening tests?
I don’t know. But for me, it’s been helpful to think of the vegan diet as promoting health, but not providing a “Get out of Disease Free” card. My friend Maria made me see that even if my diet didn’t prevent me from getting cancer, perhaps the cancer would have grown much more quickly if I hadn’t been vegan. Perhaps I wouldn’t have sailed through chemo without ever needing nausea meds if I hadn’t been nourishing my body with fruits and vegetables. Perhaps my immune system wouldn’t have stayed as strong as it did or my energy as high if I had been consuming animal products.
It’s also been helpful to me to remember my real reason for being vegan. Though I’ve followed a McDougall-type diet ever since I became vegan, my ultimate reason for becoming vegan was not to improve my own health but to decrease the suffering of animals. So if you’re reading this and worrying that I’m going to be another vegan blogger who goes back to eating animals for her own health, don’t. No diagnosis in the world could convince me to eat another animal or animal product.
As for my current health, I feel great, and I’m confident that I caught this cancer early and have done and am doing everything medically and nutritionally possible to make sure I never have to worry about it again. I’ve tweaked my diet to reduce or eliminate foods I don’t need (sugar, soy, wine, and coffee) and to increase those I wasn’t eating enough of before (broccoli sprouts, flax seeds, organics). I walk at least once and sometimes twice a day, and soon I’ll be starting a workout routine at the gym. I plan to lose the extra weight I’ve been carrying around, which is the biggest threat to my health.
I think the hardest struggle I’ve faced isn’t physical but emotional. My image of myself as a healthy person who never took pills and was confident her vegan diet would protect her from anything–that image took a pretty big hit. I’ve been worried about “coming out” as a vegan with cancer for fear that non-vegans would see it as proof that a vegan diet “doesn’t work” and that some vegans would skewer me for resorting to traditional medicine. In the end, I decided that I had to put my truth out there so that I can get past it and get back to blogging as usual. Next post, you can expect a recipe. Cancer isn’t on the menu.
Loki has become an excellent therapy cat–when he isn’t destroying the house.
Thank you to all my family, friends, and friends of friends who offered love and support. And to my church, the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Jackson, and my parents’ church, The First Presbyterian Church of Hammond, LA (love the shawl and cap, y’all!) And to Maria Maggi, Nava Atlas, Dreena Burton, and Stephanie Weaver–wise women all, whose words of advice and offers of support helped me more than they probably know.
Diane Bassett
I haven’t even met you and I hope you know how much we love you. I’m learning more about “xenoestrogens” caused by environmental pollutants and it’s clear that eating the way we do (low fat vegan) is important but not a 100% guarantee because it’s not the only part of the total equation. You’re awesome, and I’m so glad you’re going to be OK. You are a gift to us all. Thank you, thank you.
Deborah Harris
Thankyou for sharing.
Such a gift for us all.
Sending you much, much love and enormous gratitude for all that you are.
Looking forward to new recipes, especially ones without sugar too!
Danielle Girard
Susan, we have followed your blog for almost 3 years (since we became vegan after watching Forks over Knives). Your recipes are our inspiration and make eating plant base yummy and fun. We so admire your dedication to Whole Food Plant Based meals that are not covered in oil and totally agree that eating plant based made the last year of you life not as difficult. We wish for you a speedy recovery and full remission. Looking forward to many more yummy creations!!! Rick & Dani from Our Plant Based Life. https://www.facebook.com/OurPlantBasedLife?ref=hl
Debra Drew
God bless you, Susan,for your honesty , strength and bravery. I am getting teary after reading this. You’re so right, eating well is no guarantee of freedom from disease, and those who make such claims are dreadfully wrong. Although I haven’t experienced a major health crisis, I still have to take cholesterol meds and watch my blood pressure very carefully. Eating plant-based is still the best way to go, not only for general health, but ethically. Keep up the good work and know that your faithful followers wish you all the best in your journey of healing and health. And keep those tasty recipes comin’!
Marianne
Thank you for sharing with us, Susan. The results sound very positive and I agree with your friend that your diet and lifestyle helped to minimize the cancer and treatment side effects. I admit that I have also been feeling immune to modern world diseases because of a healthy diet and good genes. Your story is a cautionary tale for all of us to not skip regular allopathic checkups. All the best to you and your wonderful family.
JoAnne Zoller Wagner
Thank you for sharing, Susan. Your blog will help others who might be dealing with the same issue of eating a healthy diet, yet being diagnosed with cancer. I will selfishly be hoping that you have a long and happy life so that we can continue enjoying your valuable contributions to the world! 🙂
Diane C Nicholson
I know that when my husband was diagnosed with stage 2 colorectal cancer, almost 4 years ago, he said, “I thought being vegan would prevent this!”
We’d been vegans for 15 years. No, it doesn’t, but your chances do go down. And we’re quite certain that, because of the size of his tumour, it would have spread had we not been vegan.
We said no to chemo and radiation (our research showed it helped an average of 2.1% of the time). But the main thing I want to see is exactly what you did– your own research to make up your own mind about your own body.
Being vegan can only help. So does staying away from alcohol (which is something that the mainstream media tends to avoid admitting)– it’s a known carcinogen, even in small quantities and especially for breast cancer.
And I’m with you– I’ll take the health and earth benefits, but we are vegan to lessen animal suffering.
So glad you are doing well and there is every expectation that your good health will continue!
Judy
Susan, your strength and common sense are inspiring. Wishing you peace of mind, body and spirit.
Warm regards,
Judy
Suzanne Lyons
Susan,
Thank you for sharing your powerful story. I am wishing you all the best. I love your recipes and so appreciate all the work and time you spend on your blog.
Please take plenty of “me” time. We are all your cheering squad and well wishers!
Suzanne Lyons
Boston, MA
Lois Carter Crawford
Bless you, Susan. Thank you for sharing. I am holding you in the Light.
Lois
Marian
Thank you for sharing your story. Fifteen years ago I was in the shower when I noticed a small, hard nodule high on my left breast. My children were 2 and 4. I had just had my first mammogram, which was negative. Unfortunately, several of my co-workers (who were older) had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and I was scared. My husband held my hand through an incredibly painful needle biopsy and waited with me days later for the call that came to tell me the biopsy was negative. Since there was no family history, the surgeon recommended watching and waiting. A few weeks later at my annual OB-Gyn appointment, a smart physician’s assistant, sensing my residual concern, advised me to have a lumpectomy to conclusively rule out cancer. I made the appointment the next day and the lumpectomy was performed about two weeks later. The lump was very small and the surgeon told my husband she “got it all”, and frozen sections were negative. I had no pain and confidently returned to work the next day, and was sitting in my office alone and unexpecting when the surgeon called to let me know that “that thing’s a little cancer”. I was shocked and paralyzed. I knew that I was going to die and that my children wouldn’t even remember me. The next few days were spent interviewing oncologists and scheduling the sentinel node biopsy. Weeks later, I found myself with the diagnosis – stage 1, 8mm, no nodes, highly aggressive, triple negative. I had chemo and radiation. Luckily, I recovered quickly. The biggest change I made was giving up red meat. I had been committed to daily exercise before pregnancy and started running regularly one week after my final chemo treatment. It took a long time for me to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, panicking with every unresolved liver spot or shadow, and to begin to believe I might live to be a grandmother. Three years ago, my oncologist recommended genetic testing. I was shocked to learn that I have the BRCA1 genetic mutation. The statistics are shocking; up to 87% chance of breast cancer, and a high percentage of additional breast cancers after the first one. I felt so helpless. When a friend bought me the China Study, I realized that while I couldn’t control my genetics or even (for the most part) my environment, the one thing I could control was what I put into my body. I decided to become a vegan, and a few months later, did the Engine2 challenge and have been eating a plant-strong, whole foods diet ever since. While I know I don’t have a “free pass” and that I’m still at higher than normal risk, I like thinking/knowing that at least I’m doing something. Since I’ve been eating this diet, and subscribing to numerous vegan blogs, I’ve also come to realize that for years I was shutting my eyes and my heart to the cruel reality of factory farming and animal suffering, and also, to the numerous environmental effects of the growing global demand for animal protein. It feels good to know that even though the odds are against me, I won’t go down without a fight, and that I’m a better steward of this world and its inhabitants than I was before cancer. I wish you all of the best, and hope you’ll continue to write about your journey and feelings as you fully recover.
Susan Voisin
Oh, Marian, what a harrowing story! I’m so glad that you found the lump and that the physician’s assistant advised you to do the lumpectomy. That would have never occurred to me if my biopsy had come back negative! Thank you for sharing your story, and I wish you continued good health.
Abra
Susan,
Thank you for your story. I am so glad you are doing better and on the mend. You have put this on a level I can relate to. Looking forward to many years together with good food and recipes.
Hugs,
Abra
Rose
Thank you so much for sharing. You are so right….any of us can get sick. But, eating healthy may have helped you get better faster. Thank you for all of your delicious recipes! My family loves so many of them.
Peggy Harris
Thank you for writing this. You continue to be an inspiration, and I am praying for your continued and full recovery.
Carol
Thank you so much for sharing. Wishing you health and happiness.
David Barry
I have a co-worker who tells me about his uncle that can not get cancer treatment due to his poor heart condition. There is no dispute that heart disease is a food born illness. Your diet has at least given you the benefit of a healthy cardiovascular system that allowed you the option to undertake the required therapy and possibly slowing cancer growth to help the therapy succeed. Besides, high fat, animal based foods certainly wouldn’t help nor are they recommended. I wouldn’t bet against you beating this. Besides I would always root for a fellow UU.
heather
You’re such a great writer, and this is one of the best pieces of yours that I’ve read. It was really amazing hearing your honest, personal thoughts on “to chemo or not to chemo,” we have medical issues in our family and that decision of whether or not to accept the help of doctors has been one of the most difficult issues we’ve faced. Stay strong! Can’t wait to read your future recipes.
I should note that I’ve been a fan of yours for over five years now, not just of your awesome vegan recipes (I can’t really picture life without the cheesy noochy sauce from your Mac & Cheese recipe) but of your photography and writing too.
Kelly
Oh, hon, what an awful thing to have to go through, both the physical and emotional aspects. But you persevered! I’m glad you have people around you for emotional support, that can be the biggest help of all.
Carrie D.
Thank you so much for sharing! I had spots show up on my mammo 6 months ago. Those stupid white grains look so menacing sitting in there. The breast specialist had me wait 6 months to redo another diagnostic mammo to look for changes before going in for a biopsy. My appointment is this coming up Monday and I’m honestly scared to death it’ll be bigger. Praying you never have to deal with this again.
Susan Voisin
Carrie, I’m sending you good thoughts and healing energy. Hope those spots have completely disappeared!
Dana
Thanks for sharing. It was brave and vulnerable.
Dana
Thanks so much for sharing this. After being diagnosed w SI breast cancer 2 years ago I only had a lumpectomy and switched to the McDougall diet and did his 10 day live in program.
I love your site and have gotten great recipes from you!
Recently I have had a reoccurance and now after speaking with Dr.s etc I am seriously considering a one of their “naturally-derived” chemos and had the same thoughts as you:
– I never “cheated” I stuck with the no oil, McDougall style diet perfectly, and loved it- what am I doing wrong? Why can’t I beat this?
– I rarely take even anything when I have a headache- and now I’m considering doing chemo?
– Great. Now everyone (whoever everyone is?!) will be like see?? All your nutrition doesn’t matter. Failed little vegan
So thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience. I will never go back to the Standard American Diet. I love myself too much, I will continue to give my body the best nutrients every single day. And I could NEVER give any of these companies and industries that push products that they know steal precious moments from people’s lives ever again one cent of my hard-earned money again. But I need to explore a multi-faceted approach, and I know my plant-based lifestyle will help my body move with grace through any treatments.
Susan Voisin
Dana, I am keeping you in my thoughts, and I have faith that you will make the right choice for you. Your plant-based diet can only help. Good luck!
Katherine
You are amazing and inspiring. Sending you so much love and warm thoughts…
Jacqueline Jeffreys
Susan,
Thank you for your candor; I do so appreciate it. And I am in great admiration for your courage all the way through to the moment of posting this article.
In deep gratitude~
Jacque
Jenna Henderson
Sending so much love to you and your sweet family. So glad you had the best food to get you through such a hard time. Nobody is immune from illness, no matter how healthy they are. Thanks for helping to keep my family and loved ones over here at our best w/your wonderful recipes.
Anne Stohrer
Thank you so much for sharing your humanity and your wisdom. Each of us struggles with our own issues, and we need each other. Keep on keeping on, my dear and all the best.
PS looking forward to more wonderful recipes
Alex
Thanks so much for sharing your story.
johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe
So sorry to hear about what you have been through with cancer – but also admiring of the courage and strength you show in writing about it. I am sure the vegan diet and the food you choose has helped you cope with the cancer in many ways and wish you the best with your health. And of course will look forward to more healthy recipes on your blog.
jean nielson
Susan, I am 60 years old. I have my bachelor’s in home economics, and have been a registered nurse for 29 years. My path has always centered around healthy food and spirituality. One of the truths I learned at college is that food does not heal disease. It can help your body to heal itself sometimes. If you have a vitamin deficiency, then it certainly will eliminate that symptom when that vitamin is restored. The other truth I learned was how to evaluate nutritional claims. Who did the study, what is to be gained by the claim. Unfortunately, so many want a magic pill and to believe false claims, and don’t look farther. Look at all the animals that are vegetarian and still get all kinds of disease. I got very ill in my late 30’s following a strict diet of mostly raw organic vegetables, juicing and distilling my water. Spriritually speaking …when it is your time to go you will go. You are making the decisions that are right for you, and I am so glad you shared your story.
Fortunately I do not take any medications, and am very healthy, and am not over weight. I eat meat and drink wine some too! I guess what I’m trying to say is that no one has the right to criticize you, and I hope they haven’t. I really like your website and all your recipes…sincerely…Jean.
Joy
You are such an inspiration, Susan! Thanks for your honesty and willingness to share with us. I have only been frequenting your blog for the past couple of years. You have brought great comfort to me in my transition to a vegan diet and being far from family. I’m also from Jackson, MS and now live in Rochester, NY. Many of my memories are tied to food and you’ve helped bring some southern comfort to this Mississippi girl in New York. I’m very grateful to you and wish you all the best.
Barbara
The big C is always a mind blowing thing! I think most people go though the different stages from not me, why me, what did I do wrong to… Eating the best diet possible only reduces your chances of cancer, it never eliminates it. There are just to many variables. What I believe is eating a plant based diet helps my body to do a much better job to ward off the bad and recovery is faster and easier than those who eat a SAD diet. You are a strong and generous person and you have made the right choices for yourself. Your honestly in telling your story has helped so many others. I for one thank you and wish you all the best.
Susan Uccelletti
Your story is so moving…I googled Curried Kale and found your site. My story is pretty much like yours, except my Big C was lymphoma..next month will be 9 years. My doctor said..I can give you 9 years, so imagine how I am feeling!!
Always and still eat healthy, take supplements, exercise ..maybe not as much as I should, be still fit what I can. I run 3 hair salons in retirement community, but my love and life is my art..painting abstract expressionism, which I started after my cancer. I was looking for something to help me cope.
I float from vegan to vegetarian, love cheeses …there’s pizza, ice cream, etc. I stay away from corn, soy, peanuts..eat kale, collard greens, broccoli , cabbage and more…
I paint and work, I work to paint and to be able to eat all my organic foods..I am 71 years old and received my 1st award for one of my paintings last week, have not sold anything ..YET! Yet is the word……I am not giving up yet.
One more thing, I never blamed myself, never felt it was something I wasn’t eating or taking right, I always felt and feel it is our world, what progress has done to our earth.
Don’t believe in eating animals or the awful treatment that is done to them in order to feed humans.
Plan on following your site and your recipes….
Eva
Thank you for sharing your personal story. I’m so happy that you are healthy. Not one of us is immune to cancer or anything but I think your thoughtful, healthful, meaningful lifestyle was key to your awesome recovery. I wish you the most vibrant health and happiness beyond your dreams. Keep the wonderful recipes coming!
Lisa Becker
Susan-thank you so much for sharing. I understand how surprised you were with your diagnosis, given your healthy lifestyle. Two years ago, I was in the best shape of my life-I’m 48 now-Vegan diet, running, bootcamp, etc. Then I had heart failure, followed by surgery, then internal bleeding from an ulcer, resulting in yet more blood transfusions and ER visits. I think some of the people-not friends, just acquaintances-that were always sceptical about my veganism felt like it was somehow something I brought upon myself by not eating a so-called “balanced diet”, meaning animal products. I truly believe that is I had not been so healthy to begin with, that my prognosis could have been much worse. There’s always a chance that any of us could get a serious, even life-threatening illness or disease. I think what gives us a better chance at recovery is taking care of of health long-term-which includes a clean diet. Also its comforting to me to know that I had health problems in spite of my lifestyle, not because of it. Keep doing what you’re doing. All the best.
Cheryl Heartfield
You provide the recipes for my table almost exclusively whenever I need to get inspiration or something to deal with whatever ingredients I have on hand. I have only been practicing this fat free vegan lifestyle for about 3 years and have never commented before and only very recently subscribed to your facebook offerings. I realized as I sat pondering after reading the account of your journey, so real, written with such integrity and grace, that this new way we all have of ‘mingling’ with others does still give opportunity for authentic relationship. I felt, as I read, that we were breaking bread together. You have provided a great service to many and many will now keep you close in thought at the dinner table. Thank you.
Maryellen
Thank you for sharing your story, you’re a brave woman. Until you walk in someone else’s shoes there should be no judgement. I have been Vegan for 3 years and at 59 I feel great. Sometimes we question if we are doing the right thing for our health and body…….if it feels right for you, it’s right.
So glad your doing well, and thank you for the great recipes.
You rock!
Dianne
I’d like to think that your healthy diet is what kept that cancer contained and not spreading. Glad you are happy and healthy (still) and recovered. A growth experience for sure, but one that I’m certain had some unexpected joyful consequences. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving (Canadian) 🙂
Frances
Wow Susan, thank you for your courage in sharing your story and I’m so glad to hear that you seem to be through the worst. Like so many others, I enjoy your recipes all the time and I can relate to so many of the emotions in your story. Sharing your situation has helped all of us remember that the low fat vegan lifestyle is not a guarantee against disease and that we still need to take the “normal” precautions like everybody else. It is still the healthiest approach. Anyone who says otherwise or uses this as a proof point is fooling themselves and looking for justification to continue a SAD lifestyle. So sorry this had to happen to you but I truly believe it is a wake up call that will help so many others.
Diedra
Thank you for trusting us with your story. I read your blog and use many of your recipes. I’m happy to hear you’re doing well.
Pat Willson
Synchronicity. Tomorrow I am having one stereoptic and one single biopsy. I’m full of anxiety and have been for the last two weeks waiting for this. It is good to hear your story. It gives me hope. thanks so much.
Susan Voisin
Pat, I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Good luck!
Jani
Thanks for sharing your journey. It took courage to be open and honest about what you have been through. Your blog is wonderful and trying your recipes are always a delight. I enjoy making vegan food taste good for everyone who chooses to eat what I’ve made.