Good out of Bad

[Bette]

Hello, I was just wondering, is there anyone else out there who has become vegan after/during a serious illness? I became vegan after treatment for breast cancer when I discovered that a vegan wholefood diet would be my best bet for preventing a recurrance. I also began to attend group healing sessions (on the NHS!) - basically meditation and breathing and so on - and this lead to a heightened awareness of ... everything. I'm struggling to explain here, but what I mean is, I didn't want anything on my conscience (possibly so that if the cancer came back I would know it wasn't a "punishment"), so I eat organic, fair trade, no animal products, environmentally friendly household stuff/toiletries etc, no supermarkets and so on.
I was a bit of a wishy washy liberal vegetarian before I got cancer anyway - I always meant to have the lifestyle I have now, but always found excuses not to! I just wondered if anyone else had radically altered their life on the back of a terrible experience. (Not that I want to hear about everyone's personal problems, but I'm interested in the uplifting aspect of a bad situation;) ).
xxx

[Kristin]

I am glad to hear that you have had an uplifting lifestyle modification but please do not call cancer a "punishment." I don't think that little kids who get cancer are being punished for having enjoyed a chocolate bar that wasn't free trade every once in a while.

[Bette]

Oh please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is 'punishment', I don't think I was 'punished' , but if you have such a diagnosis, you think 'why, why, why?' and desperately search for a cause and during your blacker moments you think 'I must have done something terrible to deserve this'. For myself, I figured it was a combination of diet, stress and bad luck, other people come to their own conclusions about themselves. What I wanted to get across was that I wanted to do everything possible to keep me physically, mentally and spiritually healthy and that means trying my best to live a cruelty free lifestyle. I know many other cancer patients who have lots of other ways of coming to terms with their illness, I was just sharing my personal experience.
Re-reading my original post, I see the 'punishment' remark could be interpreted as glib - the usual problem of inability to express things properly in the written word. I'm a little upset it's been misinterpreted, I'm not a smug monster who thinks disease is sent to those who deserve it, I'm just a person trying to get on with my life in the wake of a terrifying year and wondering if anyone has gone down the same route.

[Fiona]

I haven't had a similar experience, and can't imagine what an awful time you must have had. Just wanted to say that I thought your message was a very positive one.


Fiona

[Bette]

Thanks Fiona.

[tina]

I have never had a serious illness, but the reason my husband finally agreed to becoming vegan was after hearing testimonies from people who cured themselves from cancer as well as many other diseases by switching to a vegan, raw-foods diet.
For more info on this you can check out http://www.drday.com/
or http://www.hacres.com/
We found this information while my granmother was dying of cancer. We were unable to help her, but we decided that we would start with prevention for our family. I have had many family members die of cancer.
BTW...I'm so glad that the information about whole foods and vegan diets being helpful in these type of situations is getting out to the world. You are a great example to us all.
Tina

[VOW]

I was diagnosed Diabetic, Type 2, in December, 2002. Because of family history, I decided that was my "wake up" call and I began to do intensive research on the subject.

One of the most mind-boggling discoveries I made is that this diagnosis is often part of a larger problem that the medical profession is calling "Metabolic Syndrome X." People who have this Syndrome X are at a much greater risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and other life-threatening complications. And Syndrome X is defined as the presence of Diabetes, Type 2, along with High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol.

Well, I'm on four different medications for High Blood Pressure, and I'm taking medication for High Cholesterol.

I have BIG PLANS for my retirement! I want to be able to enjoy life and participate in the world around me.

THEN I found this study:
http://www.pcrm.org/research/diabetes.html

Veganism seemed to be the smart thing to do.


~VOW

[alexis]

I don't qualify as having a serious illness, but i definitely know i'm at risk for alot of serious stuff...that's probably one of the main reasons i became vegan...both my grandmothers died from cancer. one was liver cancer caused by Hepatitis B and the other had a tumor in her pancreas...my granddad died of a heart attack and the surviving granddad has had a bypass and is on medication for high blood pressure and high cholestrol(?)
My dad is a hepB carrier and my mom has a thyriod disorder along with heart trouble...and i'm at risk for disbetes or kidney failure or BOTH since i've had an infection when i was three months old...it was near my kidneys and i was on three years of antibiotics for that....and that's other than my being allergic to everything dairy...

And thing is i'm starting to show symptoms (according to my mom) of thyriod disorder like shaky hands and stuff...so i decided to play it safe and become vegan so at least i know there's less chances of me getting real sick...;) i plan to live longer than the sixty years.... ;)