Vanessa Bisla was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer 33 months ago and given just 6 months to live. Vanessa beat that initial prognosis and believes addressing spiritual and emotional blocks, in addition to positive lifestyle changes, were a turning point as she continues on the path to full healing.
In May 2016, Vanessa Bisla was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer and told she had 6 months to live without chemotherapy and radiation. Vanessa’s immediate response was to make significant lifestyle changes. Based on advice from her sister, she did a 3-day cleanse, watched all the videos from The Truth About Cancer and learned about the health benefits of essential oils, specifically clary sage, frankincense and myrrh. She changed her diet to mostly organic foods and gave up all red meat and dairy. She resolved a stressful living arrangement by kicking her boyfriend out of her house and also changed her attitude toward life by putting her “entire heart into living for Christ.”
Vanessa was terrified of the conventional treatments offered by her doctor, so she made appointments with several other oncologists, asking them to help her heal using natural treatments. They all declined her request, telling her chemotherapy and radiation were her only treatment options, and without them she would die by Christmas of 2016.
Vanessa was more afraid of the conventional cancer treatments than she was of death, so she decided to stick with her self-implemented natural treatment plan and went to live with her daughter in Utah. She stayed away from conventional doctors since none of them wanted to work with her on her terms.
This is the natural treatment protocol she followed:
Dietary changes: Vanessa gave up all processed foods, sugar, red meat and dairy. Her new diet consisted of only organic foods and a lot of juices (beets, carrots, oranges and tons of greens.) She also added a protein powder.
Supplements: She got her blood tested by a homeopathic practitioner, who gave her supplements to make up for vitamin, mineral and enzyme deficiencies in her body.
Essential oils: She began using frankincense, myrhh and clary sage (among others) by diffusing, putting drops of frankincense under her tongue and rubbing myrhh on the bottoms of her feet.
Essiac Tea: Vanessa drank this daily for the first month.
ASEA redox supplement: She initially drank 32 oz a day for 90 days. After 90 days, she switched to a maintenance dose of 2 oz per day.
Rick Simpson Oil (RSO): Vanessa began using this concentrated form of cannabis oil periodically for pain and to help her sleep, but slowly increased her frequency of usage over time as she realized how powerful it could be.
No chemicals: Everything that went and continues to go on or in her body is chemical-free.
Spiritual: While Vanessa always believed in, worshipped and respected God, she turned to prayer even more upon being diagnosed.
Avoided stress as much as possible.
Even though Vanessa was using so many natural treatments to heal her body, her health continued to deteriorate over the next 20 months. In the back of her mind, she never stopped believing that she was dying, because so many medical professionals had repeatedly given her that message. In February 2018, she ended up in the hospital and learned the cancer had spread throughout her body and was now in her spine, ovaries, pelvic bone, liver and lungs. Once again, she was told that chemotherapy and radiation were her only treatment options, but at this point the treatment would only extend her life beyond 2 months; it would not cure her.
Vanessa decided that since she was dying anyway, she would go ahead with the conventional treatments, which now included morphine for pain, Tamoxifen (20 mg daily) and radiation. She also increased her RSO dosage from ½ gram to 1½ grams per day. Since the radiation was causing damage to her throat, Vanessa took 1 gram of the RSO anally via suppositories and the rest via her mouth.
A few weeks later, Vanessa was in a very deep depression and on her deathbed. She had completely given up hope, told her kids to pick a tree to bury her under and was waiting to die. She wasn’t angry or upset; just depressed, but also at peace. Her daughter convinced her to visit a Christian church’s “healing room” nearby. While Vanessa thought it would be “weird” and her expectations were extremely low, the experience had a profound effect on her. Among other things, Vanessa acknowledged and forgave herself for a deep secret she had been hiding for a very long time and for which she was very ashamed – she had an abortion several years earlier. As the healers put their hands on her neck and prayed with her, she felt the heat of God pass through her body. She asked God to please heal her, because she had her grandkids and so much to live for.
As Vanessa was leaving the healing room, she was awestruck by what had just taken place. Amazingly, she didn’t notice any pain when she walked out. The excruciating pain that was there a few hours earlier, when she was barely able to walk in, was now gone.
After the healing room experience, Vanessa changed her mindset from thinking negative thoughts to happy, positive thoughts. Instead of waking up thinking “I’m going to be in pain,” she woke up thinking “I’m going to get out of bed and do something today.” She gave herself daily pep talks about feeling better and being healthy. She looked at herself in the mirror and said, “You have so much to live for. You’re good to go!” She encouraged herself to keep fighting and to avoid feelings of sadness. When her granddaughter came into her room, instead of saying “Grandma isn’t feeling good. Let grandma rest,” she began saying, “Come here and give me a hug. Come in here and be with Grandma.”
While Vanessa’s mindset completely changed, she continued both her natural healing protocol along with the Tamoxifen and radiation. To her surprise, she continued feeling better. In mid-July, Vanessa went back to the oncologist for scans prior to beginning intravenous chemotherapy and to everyone’s surprise, the scans came back mostly clear! There was no sign of cancer in any of her organs, although there were still some remnants in her spine and pelvic bone.
Vanessa never did the IV chemotherapy, but she does continue her natural healing protocol, Tomoxifen, radiation and now hormone treatment to reverse the cancer in her bones. While she still has cancer, she continues to feel better each day and now envisions herself fully healed.
Although no one can say what the turning point was for Vanessa, there are some key aspects of her story that jump out as being incredibly relevant in terms of the healing support they provided and continue to provide.
Positive Mindset
Most forms of eastern, alternative (and sometimes western) medicine, consider a positive mindset to be an extremely important part of healing. For almost two years, Vanessa thought she was dying. She allowed others to convince her that no matter what natural healing protocol she followed, she was going to die anyway. It wasn’t until she visited the healing room that her mindset finally changed. Could the negative mindset have been causing an emotional block, allowing the cancer to continue to grow regardless of the healthy physical and lifestyle changes Vanessa had made?
Forgiveness
According to the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine, forgiveness (of ourselves and others) can play an important and positive role in our health.(1) Among other benefits, forgiveness lowers stress and anxiety and strengthens our immune systems, which "plays a key role in detecting and removing cancer cells from the body."(2)
In Vanessa’s case, she had kept the secret of her abortion buried deep inside for several years. Forgiving herself was incredibly powerful and finally allowed her to believe that she truly deserved to be healed. Could this deep-seated secret have been an emotional and energetic block for Vanessa, inhibiting her body’s ability to heal? Did Vanessa’s release of that emotional and spiritual block play a role in her healing journey? Vanessa believes it did.
While none of these mental, emotional and spiritual aspects have been proven to cure or reverse disease on their own, there is plenty of evidence to support that they can positively influence our health and be used as part of a holistic healing protocol. According to Kelly A. Turner, Ph.D. who has spent over 10 years studying thousands of cases of Radical (or "unexpected") Remission, (i) increasing positive emotions, (ii) releasing suppressed emotions and (iii) deepening spiritual connection are three of the nine factors all the stage IV cancer survivors she has studied have in common.(3)
No matter what we do to address the physical symptoms of an illness, it is also important to address our emotional and spiritual health and well-being. In Vanessa’s case, her mindset did not shift to thoughts of full recovery and healing until she addressed the emotional and spiritual blocks in her life. According to Vanessa, her healing room experience paved the way for her recovery, as she is absolutely convinced that Jesus healed her. Going forward, she plans to maintain her healthy lifestyle changes forever, and she is looking forward to the day when she is completely cancer free.
Sources
(1) Mayo Clinic Staff, Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness, Mayo Clinic (Nov 4, 2017).
The Healing Power of Forgiveness, Johns Hopkins Medicine, (Jul 8, 2014).
Forgiveness: Your Health Depends on It, Johns Hopkins Medicine
(2) Turner, Kelly A., Ph.D., Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, (New York: HarperCollins, 2014), 139.
(3) Turner, Ph.D., Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, 8.
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