Breast Cancer

Jannette Kortman will be the first one to tell you that she is not a doctor.

She is not a medical professional. She is not a nutritionist. She is, however, a compassionate, caring person who wants you to live a healthy, joyful life. She is also a breast cancer survivor. In her book, The ABC's of Breast Cancer, from Victim to Survivor (AuthorHouse), she offers her research, her wisdom and her hope for others who are dealing with breast cancer, or any other type of illness. She also gives good advice to anyone who wants to live a happy and healthy life.

"Your mind is a very powerful tool," she said. "I encourage you to use your mind to your advantage. The words you speak will determine whether you are a victim or a survivor. A survivor detaches from the problem, and has a moment of clarity. 'I am going to survive.' How you choose your words will determine your destiny."

The recurring theme throughout the book is one of taking responsibility for your choices, your health and yourself. What you eat, the medications you take and your attitude toward yourself and others all take a toll on your general health. Attitude, nutrition, knowledge and the love and support of your family and friends are key to cancer survival.

Attitude is very important to all aspects of life, but especially when you are ill. Kortman never said "I have cancer" she always said, "I am a cancer survivor." If you say you are sick, you will be sick.

"The toxic effect of negativity brings only destruction to your life," she said. "I believe you need to make your words and thoughts positive and life giving."

Another form of negativity to avoid is anger. Carrying around such negativity in your heart and mind is not conducive to healing.

"The only person you are hurting when you cannot forgive, is yourself," she said. "You are not hurting the person who you are angry at. Staying mad at someone else is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

After doing much research, she was shocked at the lack of proper nutrition she had given her body for most of her life. She had saturated her body with "dead foods" such as colas, fast food and processed foods. She changed her ways to much healthier, life-giving foods.

"Nutrition pays a huge part in your recovery from cancer," she said, "Cancer cannot live in a healthy environment. When you quit feeding the cancer, the cancer will die."

Undergoing chemotherapy was a very painful process. Being pumped full of toxins to kill the cancer made her violently ill. Her doctors prescribed medications to deal with the side effects. She did her research and was shocked at the overuse of "heavy drugs."

"With each drug that is prescribed, there are ten or more side effects," she said. "When a side effect appears, another drug is given to counteract the side effect from the first drug, and so it goes on and on and on."

She weighed every decision carefully, whether it was which doctor to use, undergoing chemotherapy, taking a certain medication, what kinds of foods to eat or having breast reconstruction. Research and clear, careful thought are key.

"Knowledge is Power, and laughter is healing to your body and soul," she said. "Arm yourself with knowledge, and laugh as though nobody else is looking. You create your own Karma with the power of your own beliefs. You owe it to yourself to change any negative thought patterns that are causing you pain and suffering."

Whether you are a cancer survivor, beating your cancer, or never destined to have cancer, that is good advice for anyone.