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12 Nov Love Lists: The Healthy Girl’s Guide to Breast Cancer

Let me say this, having breast cancer and going through treatment for it, is no easy venture. In “The Healthy Girl’s Guide to Breast Cancer”: A Memoir of My Unthinkable Journey”, Author Christine Egan, keeps it as real as it gets. While the book cover would imply that it was all fun, her journey had its share of ups and downs. What I absolutely love about Christine’s story, is how she took her experience and flipped it. As a busy wife and homeschooling mother of three, she chose not to play victim and more importantly would not let cancer become her defining moment.

Christine was already a “healthy girl” upon receiving her diagnosis. She was starting a private nutrition practice and served as the director of a local food movement organization when she discovered a lump in her left breast thanks to her dog, Zoe (you’ll have to read the book to find out how). It was later confirmed, that the lump was breast cancer.

Christine thought she knew healthcare. Her husband is a Dentist and she would often help out in his office. However, upon receiving her diagnosis she realized navigating her treatment would require a level of re-learning and self-advocacy that she was unfamiliar with. From the very start, she became the boss of her body. She enlisted caregivers, then began the grueling process of interviewing Doctors. It’s important to note that she did not go with the first Doctor that was recommended to her, but rather the one she thought would best suit her and her needs. This includes opting out of traditional treatment and choosing a low-dose unconventional chemotherapy option, called Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT).

As she re-tells her story, she provides step-by-step guides on how to deal with doctors, how to recover from surgery and treatment, dealing with major complications and maintaining her sanity throughout the entire ordeal, what Christine refers to as “the crappy parts of cancer”. Then she goes on to discuss sex, drugs, and fear in a way that only she could.

Even though Christine was a self-proclaimed “healthy girl” she realized, on a much deeper level, that there were specific foods to include in her existing healthy-eating regimen such as cruciferous vegetables, supplements like Vitamin D3, upping her antioxidant intake and avoiding processed foods like sugar and flour. She also emphasizes the importance of other lifestyle factors including exercise, slowing down, practicing gratitude and removing toxins found in home and beauty care items. Christine ends with some of her own tasty recipes and a bonus guide where she lists her favorite products.

The Healthy Girl’s Guide to Breast Cancer”: A Memoir of My Unthinkable Journey” provides self-care tips for those diagnosed with breast cancer and everyone else… because everyone should become the boss of their own body. Christine and I share many similar setbacks but she had me laughing (and singing) through the dark parts. She successfully highlights the blessings along the way and I can certainly relate to that! Be sure to grab a copy.

Christine Egan is a certified health coach and attended the New York School for Massage Therapy and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She lives with her three kids and her dog Zoe in Bayport, New York. You can get more information on Christine Egan’s book and read a FREE excerpt on her website.

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