It's amazing the power of words and how that can impact us in. Had I not been prepared and went through the mindset of okay, I'm just going to say thank you.

Thank you for sharing and keep moving. How that could have impacted me. And of course, we know healing, whether it's about cancer or just regular everyday gut dysbiosis, it's a lot to do with the mindset as well as the spiritual.

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Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Integrative Health Podcast with Doctor Jen. Today we're going to be talking about cancer and how to heal with Jackie.

Ruzek is off key. She originally was a CPA by trade, graduating from the University of Notre Dame. She is a mom of six adult children and Mimi to six plus grand children and dog mom to coach Nanny Annalee.

She's a certified Integrative Nutrition Health coach, a Certified Christian lead counselor, certified Holistic cancer coach, biofeedback practitioner, coach, Conquering Cancer Coach, host of the Healing Life Communities as the expert since 2023.

She's a birth with Spirit Doula of a leash, a legal league leader, and she's had coming up on ten years Thriver of stage three Invasive Lobular breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2014.

So she is such a wealth of not only knowledge, but personal experience and going through cancer herself. So I'm so excited to talk to you today, Jackie.

Welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? Oh, I'm delighted to be here. Thank you kindly. And Doctor Jen. Happy New Year everyone. Yes, happy New Year and this is an exciting year for you.

You were just telling me this is coming up on ten years post-surgery, correct? Wow. That's amazing. So for those listening that don't know your story, could you just tell us kind of what happened ten years ago, what the process was like?

Sure. Yeah. It's one of those things where, my throughout my journey, I had been getting a mammogram and then getting called back. Often times for further imaging, whether it was for an additional 3D or for an ultrasound, because there was always something that wasn't right.

And I had lumps and bumps along the way and was told that there was breast tissue that was dense. And of course, my joke to all of them would always be like, I don't understand how my breasts could be dense.

They went to college with me. But, you know, that was kind of like a joke because I didn't really understand why they couldn't see things that I was actually feeling.

So in 2014, there was a substantial lump that really protruded and made a big difference in the shape of the breast. And so, I was done with getting mammograms and being in more of a holistic approach.

I went and had a thermography done, and it was through the thermo gram that actually showed that there was an issue that really and indicated, as best as I could, that it was probably malignant or that was definitely a tumor.

So, kind of went on that journey, in the fall of 2014, then went and had an ultrasound of which they said it was benign, that everything looked the same.

And the doc that I had been seeing at the time, she didn't agree with that, nor did I, especially for anyone who's actually had a thermography done. The images that they show you are really indicative of, vascular activity if there is a tumor and it was like a little city that that tumor actually had going on.

So, then I had another mammogram, around Thanksgiving and they told me I was fine. So in my little white and pink gown, I, I disputed that and got pretty vocal about that.

And the tech, thank God, paid attention to me, went back and told the radiologist that I, you know, I was arguing in a nice way, right? Just advocating really, and speaking my truth and asking for clarification.

So they came back and said, all right, we want to do a couple more images. Fine. Do what you need to do. They did. And they said, I still think you're good to go.

And it was about five, six hours later when the call came from that same tech who said, guess what? Another radiologist looked at it. I think we want to do further imaging.

We want to do an MRI. I was like, Hallelujah! So, I went for an MRI. And the funny thing about that was that somehow it got missed at the doctor's office and no one contacted me.

So I went to the hospital to obtain those results. And I knew something was weird because right at that moment, my daughter, who was at college at the time, just sent me a random text, I love you, mom.

I was like, oh no, I think God is trying to prepare me for what I'm going to read. And sure enough, it had said suspicious of malignancy. So, I left the Dayton, Ohio area and went to the Columbus, Ohio area and, basically the rest is kind of history because then I had a biopsy and two days later, right around Christmas time, I got the call that nobody really wants to get, that it was a diagnosis of invasive carcinoma.

And, by the time surgery came, they had determined it was stage three and nine of the 47 removed. The lymph nodes were affected. So long story, but that's the story.

Wow. Well, I think it's so important that you share the entire long story, as you say, because I loved how you said that you were advocating for yourself.

And the crazy thing is, is a lot of these new imaging I have podcasts on Thermo Grahams on CT scans because they're not mammograms. And, you know, whatever this archaic test that we've been doing for so long, it's not always taken seriously.

And not only that, you felt things. And we know that the breast self-exam is literally better than, than a lot of testing because we're familiar with our body.

So I just think it's beautiful that you stuck out for yourself because like you said, you were in your little pink gown like there's so many layers to how medicine, how the patients are just kind of put in this like awkward, you know, position where they're they feel less, you know, they're they're down there in like someone else's clothes.

It's just it's very psychological. And it's really hard to to do that, to be brave. So I just think that's a beautiful story, how you were the one that but advocated for yourself.

How did you know to get a Thermo Graham? What sparked that? Because this was ten years ago. No one was talking about Thermo Graham's really? Yeah. So, you know, and I think the thing is, is that there's such like you had mentioned a vulnerability that happens.

And so, believe me, right around the holidays, the last thing I wanted to do was to argue and think that I had cancer because I'm a positive thinking person.

So that was not at all what I wanted to be discussing, but it was my inner being that was telling me that I needed to do that. And that's what I encourage everyone to do, is to really follow that gut intuition and that instinct, because it is really put there for your good.

And so, I think, now I forgot what the question was. How, how how is Thermo Graham on your radar? Yes, yes, yes, yes. So actually being a little league leader and then working, with like the Juice Plus company, oftentimes we would have booths.

And I happened to be at the booth that the thermography was always at. She was always next to me. And we struck up a conversation and had a bit of a, you know, friendly, cordial relationship.

But throughout those, affairs for, the health fairs at the various places. And then she came and did a presentation about thermography, and I was like, yes, this is great because it also gives a different image and a different perspective.

And I think sometimes when it comes to our health, a different set of eyes, if you will, really can impact and fill out the greater story and maybe be the missing link.

That could be missed, just like it was in my case. Yeah, that's that's really amazing. And almost like you were put next to the Thermo Graham. You know, it's it's great.

And listening to that like you said intuition I call it the Holy Spirit. You know, those little things like that text you got from your daughter because she was thinking about you.

So really listen to those prompts. So here we are. You were diagnosed with cancer. What happened next? Where where did you start after that? After surgery?

Yeah, that was a hard one, right? Because like you said, there was just so many layers. And, at that point, several of my children were off in college.

I still had one son left at home in high school. There was just a lot of things going on. Other members in the family, and that were struggling with their own diagnosis.

And so that was really difficult. But it was through, the Holy Spirit for me to, his nudges were really great, and he put good and godly people in my path.

And one of them is Doctor Susan Silberstein, who is the creator of the center for Advancement in Cancer Education. So she was the holistic cancer coach that I worked with, and I literally listened to all the things that she said, prayed about many of them, and did probably 99% of what she had suggested and filed suit with all of those things.

And so, there were times I fired, standard allopathic doctors and opted for functional medicine or homeopathic, medicine. And it was really effective for me because it helped empower me to realize that if my body could create cancer, I could help my body create in an environment that would make it inhospitable.

And so working on creating that terrain, really was the focus. And, I changed everything. I changed where I lived for a while. There was a lot of things.

My husband and I even separated during that time so that I could really get to a healing point. And I just changed everything. Even though my diet was really focused on plants, I went into even a more, hyper state, I guess, if you will, because I focused on things that, maybe were not good for me, but looked good because there was some sensitivities.

So I took all of that into consideration, and I still do. And most of the things that I incorporated then, I still do today. Yeah. That's amazing. And here's the thing with the conventional medicine versus integrative, we're not throwing out conventional medicine.

And I've never said that. I think conventional medicine has its place, like you said, surgery, like you had to have surgery. They had to get the lymph nodes, get the biopsy stage your cancer.

But conventional medicine time like puts on blinders to functional medicine. And sometimes there are functional integrative doctors out there that they have blinders on to conventional medicine to.

So that's where you have to advocate for yourself and you have to get all those different opinions, because it can be really difficult out there. And I my patients struggle with this.

You know what? What do they listen to? And I like how you said you prayed about it too and got some guidance there because our physical health is spiritual too.

And so people forget that. Now, you mentioned you got rid of some foods that you thought were good for you. So it sounds like you did some gut health work and food sensitivities, which makes a lot of sense because our immune system is in our gut and cancer and a properly functioning immune system is is very important to have that under wraps.

If you're battling cancer or trying to prevent cancer. Absolutely. And I think that was one of the biggest things, is that I wanted to make sure that my immune system was going to be strengthened and healed, and I knew that there was a leak somewhere, if you will.

So, of course, to talk about leaky gut, I wanted to investigate in that area, especially since I did do one dose of chemotherapy. And, I stopped after that because of, a nudge and a Holy Spirit, moment encounter, if you will.

When I was in that hospital room recognizing that, it was like almost an audible, I heard one and done I heard, you know, to just do one treatment and then to stop everything else.

And of course, everyone thought that that was, extreme. And of course, I look at it and I said, okay, well, but for me, I had extreme peace when I thought, yes, I'm done.

And of course, at that point, you know, my hair was falling out already. I knew I was going to be balls and go through that aspect of it. However, I now know that had I continued, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you here today.

For me, it was something that was not going to be in alignment with where my body was going to get the best healing, and I had to honor that. Yeah. And chemo is really tricky because, you know, in Arizona and I swear everything on the West Coast they do do the lowest dose chemo kind of thing like they do the, you know, I had lectures on this in, in my fellowship and there's different ways to approach chemotherapy.

But I have found in the Midwest it's just a blast blast blast. And if you do that, there's really bad side effects to these chemotherapy agents. So that's why it's interesting that you said, you know, you wanted you did the one, you know.

So that's going to help stop if there's any replicating cells. But you you weren't like keeping going. Like how many chemo sessions did they suggest. Like what was the plan before you said no more?

It was for a lot. And I actually, I believe it was for additional 5 or 6 more. I think it seems to be like 6 or 7. And then they wanted to also do 35 radiation treatments, and I said no to all of those.

And of course, then they wanted me at that point, I had been just around that perimenopause stage. Of course, that one dose of chemotherapy threw me into complete menopause.

And they wanted to take, that time to go ahead and add a pharmaceutical to stop any type of estrogen and progesterone, because that was what the tumor was.

And so I thought, I think I could probably find ways through foods and perhaps any other supplement to block anything that would be harmful, but yet still keep what's good, because not having any of those hormones is not good.

So it was like, how do we find this balance? So like what you said, I still have an oncologist as part of my healing team. And, she sits on the bench a lot.

I, I call her up once a year to do, some of the testing, and, God willing, I have one more appointment with her in July, and she said at that point, she will definitely set me free.

One thing about the type of breast cancer that they gave the diagnosis to me was invasive lobular, which tends to be more of a chronic metabolic rather than anything that is kind of, more acute and quote unquote fast growing.

So I knew that this was going to be in it for the long haul, and I had to look at my healing as it was going to be like a lifelong marathon, not just heal and then go back, quote unquote, to life before, because I tell everyone, that life got me into an oncologist office and I want my goal is to stay out of one.

Yeah, it's not like you just fix it once and you're good for the rest of your life. I've tried to explain that to my patients like I am your teacher, doctors, teacher.

And I'm going to teach you how if things get off again, like your gut health gets off again because you're stressed out, or you go to Mexico and eat, drink some bad water, you know that you know the steps to bring it back.

And I think that's missed a lot with cancer. Gosh, how many times, you know, you hear someone's diagnosed with cancer, and then the next year they're cancer free, but they're drinking alcohol to celebrate one year cancer free, you know, a big party or you see their diet.

And it's not we're not judging these people because, you know, we perish for lack of knowledge. It's it's they're they're not they don't have the knowledge because they're not getting it from these cancer doctors that they hold on such a high pedestal, you know, and it's it's very hard.

So I had a patient oh, gosh, years ago when I first opened my practice and he had colon cancer. You'll laugh at this, Jackie. So his doctor, his oncologist told him to eat canned vegetables and everything processed because he'd be able to digest it better.

And I'm like, oh my goodness. So we did a stool test on him. He had dysbiosis or imbalance of his gut microbiome. He needed digestive enzymes. So oh, when he came back to me a couple months later because he he did what I said, you know, and we were he was still getting some immunotherapy.

He was still seen as cancer doctor. But I was working on the nutrition and, you know, the behavior modification he had gained weight. He had his muscles back.

He's like, I feel amazing. The cancer is gone. And you know, we just we have to make sure that we're, you know, if someone's telling us to eat just canned vegetables and that's their diet recommendation, we need to take a step back and and be like, something's wrong here.

So yeah, it's it's really bizarre. I mean, I'm sure you've heard tons of stories like that, right? Yeah. And actually, one of the things is that I, I kind of raised a little bit of a stink in the oncologist office one time because they had a big canister of candy, and it was, if you are going for a scan, please refrain, but you can have one after.

And so I made a comment to the office manager. I said, excuse me, I was just wondering, can you help me understand why in an oncology office, you have this?

And they said, well, we want to be able to give a treat to, you know, our patients with cancer. Yes. And I said, don't I get it? I said, I just I sat there, I said, I got it.

Job security okay, snap. What what did her what did her face look like after that? I had no words. And then I just, I just kind of just sat there and nodded my head and I said, I'm ready to make my next appointment.

And I made the next appointment, and I walked out just kind of shaking my head. And I'm hoping that there was something that she had to think about. And I have to be honest.

And the next time I went back, there was no canister of cancer. Came be in good shape. And that's the thing. You weren't. You weren't being mean. You weren't angry.

You were just stating facts. Because we know sugar feeds cancer. We know this. So good for you. I think that's you. You blessed a bunch of people by not having the candy there.

And and it's hard. So when you were walking through this, what was your reaction from your family? You know, and and I know immediate family is different from, you know, extended, but I'm sure family and friends, some of them were like, what is she doing?

She's like, has a death sentence, right? And I'm sure there was a lot of like, word cursing and, and stuff going on right? Yes. And so many. And I realize now and I kind of knew then, but I couldn't articulate it because I was kind of in it, you know, and going through it.

But it was their own fear, right? They loved me. They cared for me. They didn't want to see me die. And I think a lot of it was, their own. Right. And I think oftentimes when we are surrounded by others that are dealing with a diagnosis, we project some of our fears and it comes out kind of backwards sometimes.

And I recognize that. And I had a cousin who told me one time just shortly after diagnosis around Christmas and she said, Jackie, be prepared. People will tell you crazy things, she said.

They will give you their opinion when you don't ask. She said they will tell you scary stories. And she said, you just have to learn to say thank you and keep your head up and keep moving and I thought, okay.

And so even people that you don't even know, I was bald and I was trying to be bold. And one time I went to one of my favorite little clothing shops here in town, and I went up to the upstairs boutique, and I had my wig off, and I was feeling pretty confident nobody was really in there.

And another woman was there, though, and she says to me, oh, are you going through a journey with cancer? Like whispering as if no one would know I was bald and and so I was like, yes.

And so she shared a story about her neighbor and how her neighbor did great after 7 or 8 years, however, then the cancer came back and now took her life.

And so I was just like, thank you. Thank you for sharing and I'm so sorry for your loss. And I walked out of that store and I thought, seriously, it's amazing the power of words and how that can impact us.

And had I not been prepared and went through the mindset of, okay, I'm just going to say thank you. Thank you for sharing and keep moving. How that could have impacted me.

And of course, we know healing, whether it's about cancer or just regular everyday gut dysbiosis, it's a lot to do with the mindset as well as the spiritual aspect.

And so you can't compartmentalize and just say, this is a disease or an illness of the body without incorporating the mind and the spirit. It's impossible.

So I was just grateful that I had those encouraging people around me, the functional medicine doctor. He was great because, like you had mentioned, he taught me so many things and he'd say, okay, and if your gut gets bad again, maybe try some oil rekindle for a week and, you know, see if you can get it back on track.

And so he gave me tips and tools. And that is exactly what the cancer coach did to empower me. So that I felt equipped to combat anything or anyone who may get into the path of that would cause me to question what I was doing.

And my husband was really supportive of that. He didn't, kind of give me any comment either way. He just knew that if I didn't want to go through with the standard procedures, he was going to support me in that.

And I think that was really huge because like you said, there was a lot of, you know, I can't believe you're doing this. Don't you want to live? You have children.

Your children are still you still have one in, in high school. But now it's great because I see them telling their friends. Oh, yeah, my mom was diagnosed ten years ago.

She whipped it. You know, and so there's a sense of, victory for them to to have seen the, aftermath now. But knowing all that, I kind of had to contend with.

Right. Absolutely. So you're cancer doctors. So you said you kind of kept them on the sideline. I you're a cancer was estrogen receptor positive. Is that kind of what you. Yes. It was yeah.

It was estrogen and progesterone positive. Her two negative. Yeah. So I actually fired a couple oncologists and now ended up asking someone for, well, they work for you, right.

And so you want to get somebody who is going to be your best advocate. And so, she's great. She actually is happy to be on that sideline. She's always like, you know, put me in if you need me.

But most of the time she'll ask me, okay, I know you're busy 364 days when you're not in my office. Tell me, what did you do in the last year? And she's very curious and is working towards opening up a complementary, facility that will help and focus on women with breast cancer.

So, that's our goal, is that, after I get released as a patient, hopefully I can work alongside of her in that clinic. That's beautiful. And I love how it kind of played forward.

You know, with you in that office with your Thermo Graham and then going and like, like because doctors that either need to go through it or see a miracle with a patient right to, to to have their eyes open because otherwise they're so just we were indoctrinated we were groomed in medical school.

And it's it's really hard to change that. Can you share her her name and where she's at? Sure. It's Doctor Cowdery, and she is at Miami Valley, in the Dayton, Ohio area.

That's amazing, because I know women that would drive hours for that care, because in the Midwest, it's not very common. It's like out in Arizona, in California or Mexico.

So that's exciting. Oh, I can't wait till that opens. Yes. Yeah. So we these wonderful people I strongly recommend her. That's amazing. So when you you mentioned before a little bit about hormones because they talk a lot about hormones on my podcast and everything.

Now you were still in perimenopause so you were still making estrogen and progesterone. So when people have cancer that are positive, for those you had mentioned, they wanted you to be on an estrogen blocker and you refused.

So how how did that look? Were you just focusing on your estrogen metabolism to making sure that you weren't producing those toxic metabolites? And will you consider going on hormones when you hit that ten year mark?

Yeah, we had looked at how the, the whole process, I guess we did that like a big panel. And so we wanted to know how was I methylated, how was it, you know, all of those things working through?

I even did the saliva and urine tests and the same day because I wanted to make sure that they, you know, obviously the results would be inverse and I wanted to compare those and make sure that that was, accurate.

You know, that was just for my level of satisfaction. And I think when I went back to school and became an integrative nutrition health coach, I learned a lot about testing and a lot about how to look at some of these areas myself.

And I think that that helped me because I I'm open now to figuring out, okay, where do I stand? And I get those tests done every couple of years anyway just to kind of see where I am.

I just make sure that I also have my C-reactive protein, my homocysteine level, my A1. See, you know, as well as the regular, you know, comprehensive metabolic panel and the CBC, which is that complete blood count.

And so, yeah, I learned this year that the, is it my C-reactive protein? Yeah. Some reactive protein was like in the blue zone. It was. I didn't even know it could go that low.

So I was really excited. With those results of my functional medicine doctor was too. So, we are definitely monitoring hormones. We are going through a lot of, aspects, especially now as I'm approaching that ten year mark.

Now would you ever go on hormones or do you think you were not just it's one of those questions. You know ten years post that sometimes doctors put put breast cancer in remission.

They put them on hormones. Yeah. We've we're looking into that right now. And so I'm actually, taking a couple supplements, to kind of test through that and to kind of see how that works.

Yeah. That's exciting. Yeah, it's it's really hard to see, you know, I've had breast cancer patients that I'm just supporting them from an integrative standpoint.

And, you know, they're on the estrogen blockers and it really affects and affects you your mind and your body and bone health and all that. But there are things that you can do if you have to be on that, if you genetically are really susceptible to breast cancer because some people have that, then there are other things you can do to support your body.

So there's always there's always herbs, botanicals, supplements that that can support you. And I think that's what you have found in food. Right. Your diet.

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that that's that's important too, because it's not just the foods that we eat and drink. It's also the thoughts and the feelings that we tend to keep, as I say.

And it is really true because oftentimes those toxins don't always come from food. Sometimes we do have a pretty clean diet, but it could be from the people we live with or the thoughts that we have or just, you know, the lotions that we use.

And so it's so many toxins that we are bombarded with in today's society. And as a matter of what are you going to do to reduce them or the exposure to them, as well as how are you going to detox on a daily basis, you know, are you getting exercise?

I see you're on, you know, it looks like a walking desk or something. And I thought, oh, I should be doing that right now too, because it's like really snowing that outside.

But, you know, I have a gym downstairs. I have an infrared sauna downstairs, you know, and I'm a rebounder, you know, so it's like I always make sure that I have what I need so that there is no excuse for me not to be able to get through the toxins and to process through them effectively.

Absolutely. It's such a great point, and it's the whole picture. And I love how you spoke about toxic people are toxic thoughts. And if we think about you getting this diagnosis of cancer, I mean, the enemy is going to try to attack you with all sorts of intrusive thoughts.

So could you give any tips because you are a Christian counselor? If people have those intrusive thoughts? You know, I always tell people like those thoughts are not from God, they're from the enemy.

So you need to you need to take them and release them and rebuke them and fill them with, you know, the Bible or Scripture or positive thoughts, right?

You know, there is a reason why it is instructing us to take every single thought captive against the Word of God. And it is because those thoughts do come.

But like I tell people, okay, you don't have to welcome them in and have them spend the night or, even take up residence. You know, you can stop them at the door and send them packing.

But it does take that intentional. Sometimes it's an exhale, sometimes it is a refocus. I've been known to yell out, when I'm even home alone, I'll be like, you know, pivot or not today or, you know, some type of, phrase.

And I have a lot of words around my office that helps me stay focused, like be strong and courageous. Based on Joshua one nine. I've got another one that just says you're going to make it.

You know, just all of those things. And I think it has to be individual because while those things work for me, they may not work for the next person.

And so oftentimes it's important to ask questions. And that's what I do when I work with clients, is ask them enough questions to get to know them so that they can come up with a plan that's going to be effective for them in those moments, because you kind of need to have something as a go to immediately.

As soon as you catch yourself having those thoughts or having those feelings. Yeah. And sometimes you'd said, you know, sometimes it could be someone living in your house.

And whenever I get frustrated with other people, I just, I, you know, I'm just like, not today, Satan. You know, how you're just like, oh, and you pivot and I'm just like, not today, Satan.

And I'll walk away. I'll pray, you know, and then I'll come back. And then they didn't even know what happened. They're like, everything's fine. So that's where I'm like, oh, that was some spiritual warfare.

And it's trying to like, have us take that bait, right? And then have us be angry and anger and stress is just going to feed cancer and feed disease and CRP.

Right. And increase the C-reactive protein. So absolutely. Yeah. I mean, what are some tips for dealing with other people? Like if it's just not an intrusive like thought that we're hearing, but other people around us, how how do we deal with that?

Well, I like what you said. As far as like being able to pray. I have a friend who always says it's, the triple P pause. Pray gives perspective, and it is something to really think about because even if you're just going to take a few deep breaths, it doesn't have to be long, right?

It can actually be done in less than a minute or about a minute. If you even do that for seven eight, breath or, you know, the box breathing, which is that for and for?

But I think the biggest thing is just to take that time, that intentional time to step back. And I think that that's where that empowers the Holy Spirit within to really give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear what's being spoken aloud.

And again, if we look at it through the lens of Christ, oftentimes we see a wound that someone has or a fear or just their own, sense of mortality that is really, at the root, not anything against us or, you know, I think there's a saying that says that, you know, 90% of the time what someone says has nothing to do with you.

And it's everything to do with them. And even if it does have that 10%, you know, put that through a filter lens to, to try to determine, is that really something you need to own, or is it something that you can just offer it back to them?

And to me, sometimes if we don't say anything and let their words be the last thing that's kind of floating around, that's kind of a loving way to give them our acceptance, even if it's not that we're accepting what they're saying, if that makes sense.

Absolutely. Yeah I, I love that how you said it's usually about them. But then you know give them forgiveness. But then it can also be an opportunity to, to share and be vulnerable and you know and I love that sometimes because you're like I see that you're you're hurt.

Let's you know, let's talk about this. So that's, that's really special to like that lady in the that boutique you were talking about. She had fear. She probably has fear that she's just going to die.

And she she just kind of projected that on you. And first of all, you don't accept that and you rebuke it, and but then, you know, you can pray for her or, you know, talk with these people that, that do that.

So it definitely can be tough. But yeah, physically, spiritually, environmentally, we really have to cover all the bases to get great success. Like you've had.

Yeah. And I think oftentimes people will look at one aspect, right. It's kind of like, well, I need to have this, you know, physical thing addressed. And then they're not even recognizing that that emotional link is what drives the physical thing sometimes.

Yes. There's some genetic predisposition. But if we really look at disease in general, it's a very limited percentage of diseases that are actually genetically driven.

And so it's kind of like, okay, well, you know, just because it's loaded doesn't mean we have to explode it. You know, we get to choose what we're going to turn on, right?

That light switch may have a lot of power behind it because ancestrally it's been an emotion or, disease. But we don't have to flip that switch on. You know, there is ways that we can, prevent that.

And I think it's really important that we make that our focus on prevention, more so than, than maybe we realize because we do have the power within. Oh, yeah.

Let's talk about October, how that's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And I'm like, shouldn't it be breast Cancer Prevention Month? I mean, I'm sure as a survivor that drive all the pink drives you bonkers because it's all sponsored by, like, bad food companies and alcohol companies.

Yes. Yeah. I just really wish that they would spend more time talking about it, you know, as far as how to prevent it, like you said, rather than giving us the foods that cause it.

It's one of those things, too, where I look at it as, And I've done talks on Breast Cancer Action Month, where it's like, we all know it exists, but it's kind of like, what are you going to do about it?

And I think that that's the one thing that I say to people to, you know, cancer or any disease, process or circumstance even comes into your life for a reason.

So it's important to ask the question, what message is it trying to convey? But more importantly, what are you going to do about it? And recognize that there are choices.

And those of us who pray can turn to the Holy Spirit for the guidance and the discernment. And we're not always perfect. There are paths that I've gone down that I thought for sure was what the Lord was telling me, and yet it didn't turn out the way that I anticipated.

But then I'd say, well, it's kind of like a GPS is. It doesn't make it go all the way back to where you first began. It just reroutes you and puts you gently back onto the path.

And that's how I look at it, is I believe that our Heavenly Father is gentle like that. You know, he wants to get us on the path, and if we go awry, he gently brings us back to center.

I love that, that's beautiful. And not only did you go back to center, you are just rocking it with certifications, helping others. It's it's beautiful.

So can anyone work with you? How how does that work exactly? Because you're in Dayton. So how do people work with you? Yeah. So actually most of the clientele that I have right now doesn't live even in the state of Ohio.

And so through telephone and or zoom meetings, we have those. I do FaceTime sometimes, if they're not necessarily, computer savvy or interested in that.

And so whatever is going to help them feel the most connected and comfortable, that is the best way that we can do that. And I always like to make sure that whether they want to do how all holistic or all standard protocol or hybrid method, I think it's important that they get their needs met because each choice is going to have either a stumbling situation that they need a little help or a little hump, you know, to help them get over or just to process through the emotions that they're not going to get in an oncologist office, because that's not in their wheelhouse.

And that's okay. Yeah. Or simple things like if there's candy outside, you know, you're oncology office, don't eat it, you know, because they're probably like, oh, it's good because it's there.

I'm going to go home and buy a bag of candy. Oh my goodness. Right. But it's it's good to not only have a guide, you know, a functional doctor, integrative doctor that can support you, but also someone that's been through what you're going through.

Yeah. And I think that was one of the reasons why initially I had kind of regretted doing the one dose of chemotherapy, but now I don't I look at it as I've embraced it and I've found that I get it.

I understand what it's like, because in a short period of time from, let's say, February until, you know, like October or whatever, in that 6 to 8 month period, you know, I lost my breasts, I lost my hair, I lost my dog.

My dog died a couple days after chemotherapy. I switched homes, separated. You know, there's just a lot of things. And my husband and I are back together.

But the during that time, I needed to go somewhere away. And that's not always right for everybody. But for me, it was because I was contending with so much loss and having gone through the chemotherapy, I understand what that process looks like.

I understand when they're, you know, infusing you. But again, they wanted me to do, a port and I had the, the schedule for that. And I called the day before because I felt God was saying, no, and I'm grateful because then that would have been a whole nother surgery.

To have that then removed, if I would have continued to say no. Right. Well, it's beautiful the path that you've been on obviously passing through his hands, using it for good.

Now, now you have a website. You have a lot of information out there that those listening, if they're going through cancer or a family member is how can they find that information and find you?

Well, right now my best for you health.com website is actually, being redone. I have a gal who is helping me revamp it and put up some new photos and some other things, so I'm hoping that that will be up.

But they can reach me at Jackie at best for you health.com and the for you is actually the number four in the letter. You because I want to make sure that people understand it's kind of like they're going back to college.

They're or they're going to college if they've never gone. They want to learn more about themselves and what's going to be right for them, because I'm not going to tell them what's right.

But my goal is to make sure that I get to know them and ask them enough questions and provide them with enough resources that then they can make the decision that it'll be right for them in their healing journey.

Oh, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for the discussion today and just being so vulnerable with all of us and sharing your story. I'm sure it's going to help out so many people that are listening.

Absolutely. I appreciate this opportunity and the time, and I appreciate all that you've done, because I really enjoyed when I had the opportunity to interview you for, ask the experts on, healing life.

So thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you. Jackie, thank you for tuning in to Doctor Talks. We hope today's episode has enlightened and inspired you on your path to optimal health.

Each day is a new opportunity to make choices that empower your well-being. For more insights and strategies, subscribe to our podcast and visit our website WW di doctor Talksport.com.

Stay connected, stay healthy and join us next time on Doctor Talks. Real talks from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most.

Overcoming Stage 3 Breast Cancer: Jackie Ruzek’s Holistic Healing Journey

Jen Pfleghaar, DO, ABOIM

Jackie Rusek Zofkie

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