20+ Year Stage 4 Breast Cancer Thriver Lori Lober!
Lori Lober - YouTube Interview
5/31/22
00:30 Lori was diagnosed in April 2000 (page 7 of her book); was 10 years in remission as of 2011 (over 20 years in 2022!!) Originally misdiagnosed
01:55 loves meeting like-minded people
all our paths are different; there is no right or wrong path – we need to embrace it and love it
When she was dx she had multiple tumors in liver and it was throughout the lymphatic system
03:12 was premenopausal so it was HER2+ (the most aggressive premenopausal cancer there is)
Found out there was a treatment center specifically for cancer - MD Anderson - they also had clinical trials
Also went to Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
Nutraceuticals, juicing, didn’t do coffee enemas but did colonics; reflexology of hands and feet to keep her lymphatics going
Did everything her doctors said to do, but looked at odds/stats and it didn’t give her much hope
Knew if she was going to beat it at 36 years (22 years ago) she’d have to pull out all the stops in her ability (body, mind, soul, spirit) - still here, glad she never gave up. Promised God that if He would show her the way and lead her to no evidence of disease that she’d give back to anyone who asks for her help.
6:05 Every single day she gets up to live is a gift, even in this tumultuous time that we live in; we can still embrace and see the best of the beauty of every day
6:55 They asked what the prognosis was and her doctor was very - Dr. Daniel Bruiser/Buzzer (?) at MDA - he texts her back immediately
Good relationship w/oncologist is important
Dr. Robert Felt in KS City
Director of St. Luke's Institute - Dr. Timothy Pluard - loves him - the connection w/the onco is huge
At the end of a long week of tests (Friday night) went in and Dr. said you don’t have what you thought - it’s stage 4, metastatic breast cancer
A couple of Liver mets everywhere in lymphatics
FDA approved drugs (in 2000) wouldn’t give her very good odds of survival
If your wife were dx with this, what would you do? He said a clinical trial
That monday got port put in and did first chemo (clinical trial)
Went on plane and realized she needed to do more - full time job moving forward
9:50 did not work anymore from then on; they were home builders and they were able to afford her time off
Went to local book store on reflexology - not sure where it came from - read how Move lymph hands/feet is important
She did it; her husband did it for her - it cost nothing - feels it’s been huge in her journey
Wanted someone w same dx and did well - in a few weeks found that a connection had the same thing she was going through - became wellness buddy
She was a little ahead in her journey - hooked her up with a holistic Nutritionist in KS City - so hard to find! leslie pittman, stays in contact with her to this day
Similar to Bailey’s list of supplements, was swallowing 120 pills/day
Resveratrol, d3, coq10
Some doctors thought she was being a little off the wall but also said keep doing what you’re doing at the end of every test
She taught her how to eat properly combined
Ate fruit in am after lemon h2o; nothing but fruit in am; for Lunch was juicing
Evening meal - no carb w/prot & fruit - can’t break down vegetables at the same time
Cut out everything white: white potato, flour, rice - sweet potato instead of baked potato (nothing on it) - listened to her like a sponge
14:15 Details are all in her book
15:10 Her website is Welovetolive.com anyone can reach out to her; she will stay true to her promise; to help others as long as it doesn’t negatively impact her health
audio book?
15:30 Why the name of her book? Main goal of her book?
A: We’re thrown into the pink sisterhood of breast cancer; didn’t like that some types of cancer didn’t have a specific colored ribbon - all needed to be treated equally for awareness, fundraising. She wanted what her life meant to her, which is that she loved to live.
17:35 What made her think outside of the box/not just accept her prognosis?
A: From a very young age she was a very hard worker and never wanted to miss a day of school for fear of missing out on something huge; be an overachiever - more than what you have to do
They have wonderful friends and a wonderful family; she didn’t want another gal to step into the life she had created; she had worked so hard to get what she had
19:00 The people she works with?
A: She’s met very successful people who have had stage 4 cancer who reached out for help; she gave them her heart and soul and done her best to lead them and many of them haven’t made it. We can only be another messenger; everyone has to be responsible for themselves. People have to make it their goal to beat cancer the primary goal of their life; you can’t put the oxygen mask on your kids and husband if you don’t put it on yourself first. One woman didn’t do it and she didn’t make it. She thinks we all have our own journey; some people are willing to fight like hell. She wants to work with people who are willing to do whatever they can do to fight. We all have the power to give up the white stuff and see ourselves whole and well.
In her book she put in some very raw pictures of laying on the couch with a bald head; some of them she was crying, wondering why is this going on. In a weird way she believes . She wouldn’t give up her stage 4 cancer journey for anything…it led her to the rich and abundant life she has now. “I love my life.”
21:45 All things are worked together for good (to those who love Him)
Q: How do you encourage people on their journey? Do you recommend taking the same steps you did?
A: I encourage people on their own path. No matter how one person does it/what works for him/her we all have different lives/lifestyles. We have to constantly pull out toxins, build up our immune system naturally. Some people aren’t willing to give up soda, or aren’t willing to drive to get organic fruits and vegetables. Lived in Missouri and crossed into Kansas. Took supplements that had to be with and without food… Started incorporating Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Had to find a flow that worked for her; everyone has to find what works for them. There is no right or wrong; you have to believe in your path so that it will work.
24:45 Q: How did you figure out what was best for you and how do you instruct people to make their decisions, given all of the information and opinions out there?
A: Go with your gut. Try to find all the books you can written by survivors and read them.
Was drinking Essiac tea until she couldn’t drink it anymore. Maybe after 6-7 months stopped it. Did everything she could then after 7-8 yrs she felt toxic - maybe her body didn’t need 120 supplements and nutraceuticals.
Started backing off little by little. People and things come into your life at the right time. Found a regime that was easy and has been doing that for 14-15 yeras no. Still very cautious. The same rules still apply in her life.
Has a yearly test at the end of the year - her Christmas present. Annual scan in early dec. No evidence of disease call or text is her present each year. The other 11.5 months are preparing her for her ultimate Christmas gift.
27:25 Q: What is your diet like?
A: Her husband is a hunter and fisherman; “you kill it, cook it, clean it.” Eat a lot of fish, turkey, pheasant - anything he can cook and clean, he’s a very good cook. They don’t buy a lot from the store… as far as protein goes. Hormone-free chicken only if it’s from the store. It’s more expensive but you are what you eat. Food is our medicine (Hippocrates). Would rather spend more money on organic food than other things. I eat to live, not live to eat. Not perfect though, does love a hot fudge sundae every 4-5 months. Italian Ice every once in a while, though tries to get high quality. If we can pull the bad stuff out - we can’t control the air in our environment and skin. Eat organic, locally owned. They make sauces, grow asparagus, grow everything they can themselves then supp w/highest quality they can afford. Would rather have that medicine than other medicines, shots and chemo, though she loves chemo bc it does what it needs to do; it’s expensive.
30:10 Still on treatment, it doesn’t stop the fast-growing cells but blocks the her2 oncogene that her stage and type of cancer has. Looks at food as her medicine.
30:30 Q: The name of the treatment she’s still on?
A: Intravenous Herceptin; gets a triple dose every 21 days. Loves it in a way because it keeps it real and she loves visiting with new patients and the nurses. It’s her drive, what you do when you get built up by the nurses; they are friends on FB and familiar with her journey. Feels blessed to go to the chemo room.
32:08 You have to see yourself whole and well. Did you (Bailey) see yourself whole and well?
A: I didn’t start off with that mindset but had people around me who believed I could get well and encouraged me to believe that too. I didn’t know what I believed about God at that time, but I prayed, “God if You’re there, please give me a miracle.”
34:12 We are not special (we are, but) - if we can get better, others can, too.
(Bailey): “And I experienced other situations in the past year in which I thought my mind was not going to change about certain things because the pull (in one direction) was so strong, but for me, reaching out for help and wisdom from others, and the prayers of others and God changed my heart, helping me go in a better direction.”
35:05 Her onco Dr. robert Belt brought in a psychologist - Dr. Moira mulhern - The Turning Point nonprofit. In your own voice, do an audience recording
My body is whole ans well, i believe i can live a strong, lovely life moving forward”
Went to sleep hearing her voice say everything she had written and truly believed it. It soothed her and gave her permission to move forward and the power to believe if others had done it before her, she could do it too.
36:05 I don’t The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword
Both ways, we ended up where we wanted to go.
37:50 Any advice?
Reach out to us, we are alive and well, our arms are open and we want to help people find their path. Nutrition and all of that plays a huge role. How we fuel our body plays a huge role going forward.
Believing in the power of God is huge. She had not been baptized before diagnosed at stage 4 and did get baptized. Felt that was a huge huge part of her journey. Finding someone at MD Anderson when she thought she was dying who was able to baptize her on a moment’s notice - still had to do a lot of thinking but that was a huge part of the beginning of her journey and very powerful for her. Embrace where you are and do something new for yourself every day - even if it’s just picking up the phone and call someone who you feel guilty for not calling. Something like that can build your immune system.
Always does something for herself the day she gets home from treatment- gets a mani/pedi, picks up something fun for dinner, gets a new blouse or new pair of earrings (rewards herself). The other thing that’s so important is not seeing ourselves as a victim.
Have a pity party but come out of it stronger than before. :)
40:30 (Bailey) I was feeling so tired recently, last time I was that tired I thought I had lymphoma but I didn’t and I was probably just down emotionally. The author said to not quench the Holy Spirit but the next time you hear Him saying to do something then do it, and that night I read it I did a couple of things and the next morning I woke up feeling so much better. So like you said, taking action can make a big difference, physically; maybe my immune system was a bit suppressed from whatever was on my mind and my heart.
41:35 Seeing every day as a new day to be grateful for everything we have; we have the organic fruit we can embrace and get into our body; beautiful flowers in the yard we can put in a vase and brighten our day, things that don’t even cost anything; reflexology on yourself, soaking in the bath with a candle and book. Her oncologist said she was doing herself more harm if she didn’t have the glass of wine, doesn’t mean you have to have one every day but have it and enjoy it; we can’t be perfect all the time so give ourselves some grace and leeway. If we mess up, start new in the morning. She was taught to do something new once per week. She says “I know you can’t commit to the water mixture every morning, but next week start doing that; the week after that try to give up white potato, white rice the week after; white bread the week after. Make sure you drink quality water that’s not contaminated. Finding nourishing water was important to her; really important to have good water and staying hydrated. Otherwise, then potato chips or our guilty pleasure is more tempting and helps us make better choices during the day; always having a bowl of fruit… all that comes at the point of purchase. Don’t blame kids for eating junk; whoever bought the junk is the one to blame. She goes in the store with blinders on, doesn’t go down the middle aisles. If she’s going to eat popcorn, she has to figure out what kind, and knows it’s not going to come from a bag.
45:00 None of us is perfect, we are all a work in progress, even these many years down the road. (Bailey - “oh yes”, giggles). Be gentle on yourself and through the course of time you’ll get better.
(Bailey) There’s a verse I’ve been embracing recently, from the book of Isaiah (42:3) which says, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” If we feel down, discouraged, broken, hopeless - keep moving forward, keep going and hoping, even if we’ve gone so far backwards we don’t know if there’s any farther back we can go. There’s always a way forward.
46:05 There’s always hope, always tomorrow; we can be the best version of ourselves and still be human along the way. So many people are walking around with cancer and they don’t even know it. If you ever feel like there’s something in your gut and somethings not right, be your own advocate and keep fighting. If you can rule out what it might be, or even if it’s nothing, you’re still being vigilant about your health. Keep pushing, it’s never too late. Even at stage 4, it’s not too late! :) There are more and more survivors of every type and stage of cancer; she meets them every day! Why not you?
48:02 Sheena: Love that it’s ok to be gentle and loving with yourself. Lori hit so many important things. Diet is really important especially in the beginning when we’re deficient in certain things.
Learning to listen to your body’s cues and Lori stopping the Essiac tea. Not necessarily “am I hungry” or “tired” but it can be deeper and praying for that guidance, intuition and wisdom from God is incredible. Feels this interview was extremely valuable. Everything that was said she resonated with really deeply, so thank you so much.
49:03 Lori has another Canadian holistic nutritionist… we are what we eat and our food is our medicine. The more we can get that out there the more long term survivors there will be and more happiness in the world and hopefully with that comes world peace. We can just do the best we can ourselves and we can control our diet and lifestyle.
Sheena: We definitely have healthier, happier people. I can feel more of that; when we properly digest our food… food combining is really important. It’s all connected; you’ve done your research.
Lori: I’m tearing up here. :) So grateful for social media and being able to connect with you guys because there are probably people praying to be able to hear this call.
Sheena: Yes, the hope and letting people know that they can do it too. When we get into harmony with how God created our bodies and the foods God provided and when we seek Him spiritually I think everyone can find their path to alignment, the way God created us to be.
Bailey: Lori, thank you so much for this interview; is there anything we can pray about for you or for others, or do for you?
52:22 Lori: You know what, right now it’s pray for the world; that we can all get along and live our highest and most powerful life, which is what we’re working on right now. There’s so much to it and let’s just be the best people we can be and then lead the way for others who are going to follow in our path and journey; cancer isn’t going away. Let’s be the best guiding light we can going forward.
