Apologies for being out of touch these last few months. It has been a very busy Spring and Summer fulfilling corporate orders as Sales Directors, HR Managers, and Corporate Wellness Managers are buying the book in volume to distribute to their traveling employees and teammates as an employee benefit. It is so exciting to watch these leaders inspire their friends and colleagues with the gift of how to eat healthy under the challenge of business travel. I have been receiving such amazing comments on providing the book as a resource and benefit, including “thank you, this book has changed my life”, to “thank you for caring enough to give us this book”, to “this gives me hope that companies can make a huge difference in employee health, and maybe influence move away pot-bellied sales culture”.
It really warms my heart to know that this little book of mine is making such a big difference one person, one department, one company at a time.
While the Spring and Summer were busy and full of planes, trains, and automobile travel, this Summer was also filled with great sadness. My dear friend’s life partner was diagnosed with a relapse of testicular cancer in April. The cancer spread rapidly to his brain leaving few options. He underwent several rounds of chemotherapy as well as targeted radiation. My friend performed a Herculean task of being primary caregiver, maintaining her job, and balancing the conventional therapies with alternative therapies.
She and I would have late night conversations as she entered what she would call her second shift of trying to figure out how to support him with alternative and natural therapies. As the cancer spread and inflamed all of his internal organs, his biggest problem was trying to stay regular. Everything the doctors and the naturopaths prescribed to relieve his transit issues didn’t work. I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to explore and experiment with natural healing approaches including diet, essential oils, and cleanses from a preventative perspective over so many years, that turned out to give him some comfort and relieve pain during this emotional, physical, and spiritual journey.
Overall, he was responding positively to the successive rounds of chemo, in part she believes due to the complementary naturopathic, acupuncture, and dietary therapies. Unfortunately the chemo was unsuccessful in controlling the cancer as the brain metastasis continued to morph in the brain. This increased inflammation in the brain ultimately caused a seizure. He started targeted radiation on the brain but it was too late to have the kind of hoped for impact. In the end, his body, mind and spirit could no longer keep up the good fight. Within one week of the seizure, he crossed into the next dimension. He passed away three and half months after his diagnosis at the end of July.
It is estimated that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer. This is really an unacceptable social statistic. My hope is that we can all work towards reversing this alarming cancer rate by focusing on what we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the level of oxidative stress that we put on ourselves, so that our bodies consume that which will strengthen, not weaken our ability to fight disease. Thank you my friend for allowing me to be part of this journey with you and supporting the both of you through something no one should have to endure.
On a cheerier note, I am looking forward to speaking at the Employer Healthcare and Benefits Congress alongside Julie Wilkes, Director of N. American Wellness and Disability at Accenture on the topic of Creating a Corporate Travel Culture of Eating Healthy. For a flavor of some of things we will be addressing take a look at this article, just published in Corporate Wellness Magazine–Travel Wellness – Why Companies and Traveling Employees Need to Know the Difference from Corporate Wellness.