Members of my personal circle know that several months ago, after nearly five years of freedom from cancer, my final scan revealed another tumor on what remained of the lower left lobe of my lung. The cancer was very close to my heart and really presented a “worst-case scenario” for a return of my lung cancer.

I was extremely fortunate, however, to be a suitable candidate for a new drug designed to shrink tumors in cases such as mine. I have been taking the drug for several months now and was scheduled in mid-April for a scan that would reveal whether the tumor was, indeed, shrinking, or not.

Louie B. Free wanted to interview me for a second time, the day before my most recent lung scan. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed facing death, cherishing life, and preventing chronic kidney disease—which is also the way to prevent cardiovascular disease, many cancers, and most of the other diseases we fear.

Here is a brief excerpt:
“All suffering takes place in our minds…but adversity can help us to cherish being alive. After the initial shock of realizing my cancer had returned, I told myself, “I’m going to practice what I preach; and take inspiration from what my patients have done, only squared. I adopted an anti-inflammatory diet, made regular exercise a priority, and practiced stress management by staying in the moment through yoga, pranayama breathing, and quieting my mind, which reduced my feelings of anxiety. I also spent time with family and friends…to celebrate being alive. It works. If I think about my disease, yes, I can still get anxiety in the pit of my stomach, but I minimize the amount of time I spend on that ‘activity.’”

And yes, the scan revealed that my tumor is indeed shrinking!

Listen to the complete podcast here.

Buy Surviving Kidney Disease
Sign up for the Surviving Kidney Disease newsletter.