by

A  Patient from London

I was 40 years old when I was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the bowel which had spread to my ovaries, uterus, liver and lung. My symptoms came on suddenly and violently. Within 2 weeks of feeling unwell beginning with a swollen belly, lack of appetite, and difficulty breathing, I was bed bound with hardly any strength to take myself to the toilet.

It was terrifying how fast I deteriorated from being a healthy active woman to being unable to dress myself. The initial CT scan at the hospital revealed a mass the size of a rugby ball in my abdomen. My right lung had collapsed entirely. I had 9 litres of fluid removed from my lung and was hooked up to a bucket collecting lung fluid from my body for three weeks. The specialist team had no idea where the primary cancer originated from. It took a month before I received surgery which left me with a stoma and no more lady bits. Today, I have a 12 inch scar running down my belly and wear a colostomy bag. It took some time to get used to my new body. However, I love my scar and my stoma now because without them I would no longer be here.

As I was poorly before receiving major surgery, my healing journey began with some setbacks. I was teary and scared. I felt so weak. I was traumatised by the series of events which rendered me from a healthy female to one who had returned from the brink of death –all within two months. My entire life changed beyondrecognition. I was told chemotherapy was the next part of my fight against the cancer still residing in my body. I could barely walk after the surgery. To get my head around the side effects of chemo was difficult.Although my body was healing slowly, psychologically I was a total mess.I cried and cried. My son is only 11 years old. Reading about the horrific effects of chemotherapy added to my anxiety.

I found Dr. Teo’s website by chance. I read the stories on the website night after night. I felt inspired. I reached out to Dr. Teo for help. It was therapeutic for me to communicate with Dr. Teo. My emails were answered. I no longer felt alone. Unlike the hospital experience of waiting for hours for the doctor to see me for ten minutes a day, Dr. Teo took time to read my emails (some of which were very long) and replied with kind and inspirational words. At no point did he ask me to take his herbs. During a check up appointment, I was told the average life expectancy of someone with my condition even with chemotherapy was two years. I thought two years was way lower than the many stories I read on Dr. Teo’s website. I stalled my medical team who was very keen for me to start chemotherapy as soon as possible for as long as I could to come to a conclusion: I want to take Dr. Teo’s herbs and follow his dietary advice.

The first week on herbs was quite an embarrassing week because I produced lots of evil smelling gas and my stoma was excreting more discharge than ever before. I had to change my stoma bag many times in a day. I also had strange pains in my abdomen, in fact I had a painful couple of hours on the first night of taking the herbs when I thought the cancer had come back. I took numerous naps during the day for a week. I felt like my healing had ceased and I was regressing back to when I had first taken ill. However, my condition took a turn for the better after a week or so. I felt stronger and my healing took off. I walked straighter. My surgical pains began subsiding. My appetite returned. I gained weight. Colour came back on my face. My skin looked clear. I no longer had any white gunk on the back of my tongue.

Cutting out sugar, dairy, refined flours, meat, table salt, and cooking oil has radically transformed my outlook on food. I no longer live to eat. I eat to live. I ordered Dr. Teoh ‘s cookbook online as a guide to eating healthily. I make my own meals to take to dinner parties. I have raw days when I eat only raw veggies. I have my moments of weakness when I inhale the aroma of steak pies and chocolate cake. However, I stay determined and stick to a salad instead. It is hard only in the first few minutes, but the temptation to eat meat passes quickly once I think of how sickly I was.

Dr. Teo checks up on me regularly. We stay in touch via emails as I am in the UK and he is based in Penang. I have learned a new way of looking at life through Dr. Teoh’s writings. I speak my mind nowadays. In the past I used to hold on to my feelings and keep them to myself. Now, I let it all out. Dr. Teo  also encourages me to stay relaxed and positive, to take each day as it comes. I have become grateful for every little blessing I receive each day – from being able to vacuum the floor, to making a nice salad to being able to garden – thanks to Dr. Teoh and Im his lovely wife, I eat well, sleep well and wake up happy.

From reading Dr. Teo’s stories and writings on his website, I have learned that nobody knows what the future holds. All we have is today and today – the present – is exactly that: a gift. I have chosen to take his herbs instead of chemotherapy, it is a choice which has allowed me to live like I used to and enjoy the present in comfort. I thank Dr.Teo and his wife in a prayer everyday for their work which has helped me and other cancer patients to live out their days in hope and in peace. I have been taking Dr. Teo’s herbs for six months. I pray I will be lucky enough to take his herbs for many more months to come.