The Definitive Guide to Thriving After Cancer: A Five-Step Integrative Plan to Reduce the Risk of Recurrence and Build Lifelong Health

by Lise N. Alschuler, Karolyn A. Gazella

Overview

A companion to The Definitive Guide to Cancer, this practical and fully revised guide (formerly titled Five to Thrive) outlines a five-step plan integrating both conventional and alternative therapies for cancer survivors.
     There are more than 13 million cancer survivors in the United States who, although they have finished treatment, often live in fear of recurrence. The Definitive Guide to Thriving After Cancercombats that fear by teaching readers not just how to survive, but how to thrive after cancer. The authors' integrative health plan, Five to Thrive, combines both natural and conventional healing methods to support and enhance five critical pathways to better health: immune, inflammation, insulin resistance, hormones, and digestion/detoxification. While other health plans may focus on one or two of these functions, this book is the only program that emphasizes a comprehensive approach needed for optimal health and recurrence prevention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607745655
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/08/2013
Series:	Alternative Medicine Guides
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	886,933
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

DR. LISE N. ALSCHULER is a highly respected naturopathic oncologist and survivor of breast cancer. KAROLYN A. GAZELLA is a recognized leader in integrative health publishing and an ovarian cancer survivor.

Read an Excerpt

The Five to Thrive Concept

At the core, cancer prevention is the act of proactively reducing one’s risk of developing the illness. But we take our philosophy one step further. To us, this journey is about rediscovering vitality no matter what we encounter. The Five to Thrive Plan will make sure you’re the healthiest you can be if ever you do develop cancer. It may seem counterintuitive, maybe even radical, to describe a person with cancer as healthy, but the most effective risk reduction plan also prepares your body for the potential of battle. We need to create a foundation for success against cancer. The Five to Thrive Plan helps you look at cancer prevention differently. We show you—based on scientific evidence—that you have the power to change the course of cancer development, and in doing so, to transform your health. The scientific concept of epigenetics (the science of examining factors that influence the behavior of our genes) continues to confirm that we can change the way our genes behave. We can, quite literally, transform our internal landscape, and our plan shows you how to do that.

We begin by identifying the body’s five key pathways that have the most influence on whether we are healthy or become sick. These pathways are:
 1. The immune system
 2. Inflammation
 3. Hormonal balance
 4. Insulin resistance
 5. Digestion and detoxification

The Five to Thrive Plan helps you enhance the immune system, reduce inflammation, sustain hormonal balance, prevent and reduce insulin resistance, and optimize digestion and detoxification.

These five key pathways in the body can be positively influenced by focusing on five core strategies:
 1. Enhance your spirit
 2. Let’s move
 3. Enrich your diet
 4. Utilize dietary supplements
 5. Create rejuvenation

As you can see from the illustration on the opposite page, within each of the five core strategies, there are five critical action steps. These actions steps have been prioritized based on their influence on the body’s five key pathways. If an action positively impacts the five pathways, it becomes a priority within the Five to Thrive Plan. The connection between actions and impact must be validated by the scientific research in order to make it part of the plan. When you focus on the five critical action steps within each of these core strategies, you are positively affecting the function and health of all five pathways. As a result, you will significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer and live a more vibrantly healthy and joyful life.

Table of Contents

Preface 

Introduction The Five to Thrive Plan

Chapter 1 Core Strategy #1: Enhance Your Spirit

Chapter 2 Core Strategy #2: Let’s Move

Chapter 3 Core Strategy #3: Enrich Your Diet

Chapter 4 Core Strategy #4: Utilize Dietary Supplements

Chapter 5 Core Strategy #5: Create Rejuvenation

Chapter 6 Screening Strategies That Make Sense

Chapter 7 Our Genes Are Not Our Destiny

Resources
References by Chapter
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Index

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2013
Naturopathic physician Alschuler and medical journalist Gazella bring multiple recommendations for a healthy lifestyle after cancer together in an accessible book. The title is presented as a supplement to conventional medical treatments, not as an alternative treatment. Some recommendations are based on robust evidence from the medical literature, but others stem from single studies of healthy subjects or other nonsurvivor groups, so the reasons for these suggestions aren't as clear. The five-step plan, comprised of five key body pathways and five core strategies with five actions steps each, is easy to follow. A companion to The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing, this work was previously published in 2011 as Five To Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan. Some of the references have been updated, but this new volume contains much the same information. VERDICT For cancer survivors and caregivers who need a well-organized, comprehensible manual for healthy living after cancer and who don't already have the previous titles by these authors.—Margaret Henderson, Midlothian, VA

Library Journal

This incredibly valuable resource will serve not only to reduce the risk of cancer and its recurrence, but also decrease obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and many other chronic ailments in those who follow its sound advice.”
—Donald I. Abrams, MD, UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine

“By describing the epigenetic impacts on five key bodily pathways, the authors are able to effectively teach readers how to use this  information to positively transform their health.”
—Ajay Goel, PhD, Director of Epigenetics and Cancer Prevention, Baylor University

“Scientifically sound and deeply moving…a rare combination of education and inspiration.”
—Tina Kaczor, ND, Naturopatihic Oncologist and Senior Medical Editor of Natural Medicine Journal

“A powerful voice of compassion, optimism, and soulfulness.”
—Philippa J. Cheetham, MD, Department of Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center

From the Publisher