How do we define healthy? It’s pretty safe to say that we no longer live in a culture where the majority of its people are disease-free. I know a lot of truly healthy people who live with cancer. Some of these people are far healthier than the average citizen. Just because an area in your body is struggling doesn’t mean the entire system is broken. Everyone wants the journey to be “over,” to “get their lives back.” Well, if you’re deeply committed to making the changes outlined in this book then what life are you going back to? You’ve outgrown that old paradigm. Remission? Cure? Those are wonderfully tricky words that can get us in a lot of trouble if we’re living solely to hear them.

One of the first questions people ask when they find out everything I’m involved in is “Did you beat cancer? Are you in remission yet?” Yet? Oh, the pressure! At first that dreaded question took the wind out of my sails. It felt invasive and nosy, as if I were being quizzed on my net worth or, worse, my weight. But on a deeper level, I was just ashamed to admit that I hadn’t kicked it yet.

• Remission: No signs of cancer left in your body.

• Cured: After five years of remission, you are considered cured.

If neither of these terms applies to you, don’t fret—create your own! I used to bang my head against the wall trying to come up with ways to explain the cancer I have to people.

As hard as I tried, I was never successful. They’d scratch their heads and give me that confused what’s-gonna-happen-to-you look. But as soon as I invented the term progression-free remission—lazy and (thankfully) unproductive tumors that just hang out like warts—they got it. Deep sigh! Progression-free remission was a necessary coping tool. I had the big C, which = CANCER. Now I have the little c, which = chronic. I don’t think of my tumors as deadly invaders that must get the hell out of Dodge; I see them as a part of me that has wandered off, is confused, needs some loving, and is ready for health. It took me a long time to get to cancer (not that I created it), and healing will take an equal load of soul-maturing patience. When you embrace this lifestyle, you may expect instant changes, better scans, tumors to dissolve, and a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to be thrown in your honor—I did. Guess what? All those wonderful things may happen. If they do, mazel tov.

On the flip side (’cause ka-ching has a twin brother named ka-splat) you may not see one change in the cancer. It may even grow. Naturally, this will be discouraging. But let me remind you once again of the bigger picture in this brilliant health mosaic. You will see other ailments dissolve, you will feel empowered, you will feel like you’re stepping up to the green plate of life, you will watch your relationships change, you will trim the fat and cut the deadweight, you will get closer to your God and begin to see that you have a direct line for a chat any ol’ time, and you will heal. You may not be cured, but you will heal.

Healing, true healing is a remembering. We get out of our own way and let the love in. We move, acknowledge, accept, and revolt. We fill our bodies with the fuel (physical, mental, and spiritual) needed to shake off the darkness. No disease can thrive when we are at ease. So my goal is to carve that path, create my owner’s manual and do unto others, as I would want done to me. There is only one way to really do that: Dismantle the present culture.

Nothing is guaranteed. If I could guarantee that juice and a positive attitude would “cure” you I’d be a zillionaire. I can’t. What I can promise is that you will grow and create peace. Quality is far more important than quantity. When I stopped focusing on being cured I started healing and living in a ginormous way.

Sometimes we’ll move like crabs in life and in cancer. Crabs get to the joint, but they skitter sideways and backward to do it. Your setbacks are part of the process—hard to imagine but true. Cancer really doesn’t want to kill you. After all, you’re the host. If it screws up this bash, who else is gonna buy the keg?

There is a time and a season for healing. Don’t compare yourself with others. Anxiety, stress, and frustration do not cure cancer. Trust and believe that your healing has begun in a BIG way. Take your mind off the cure and raise the bar on your standard of living. If you have doubts, remember to act “as if.” Sometimes we need to listen more than we speak, because the signs are all around us.