Friends saw me often in a day,
and thought I am doing well,
but every day when evening set,
I entered my own hell.
I hugged my pillows close to me
I broke down quite a lot,
The fear I lived was so insane,
I thought it wouldn’t stop.
But today I am standing here,
And I am cancerfree,
I always knew that this new life,
Would be best to be »
My name is Anne-Sophie Camille, a 28 years old young woman from Luxembourg, a little country located in the heart of Europe.
My life has completely changed on April 23th 2015, the day I was diagnosed with skin cancer stage IV. (a tumor with a rare receptor between my left ear and neck)
Working as a lawyer at this period, I was sitting next to my desk when I received a phone call from my doctor: “Anne-Sophie, this is very serious, we need to talk”
Two weeks ago, a simple mole had been removed of my face and, as usual in Luxembourg, sent to pathology for a biopsy. I agree that I had recognized that this mole had changed in his form and color since a fateful day in October 2014 when my little brother was stabbed in London and battling to survive.
But for me honestly, those little changes of the mole were nothing to worry about as well as I hadn’t had any cancer related symptoms such as loosing weight, sweating in the night, swollen glands etc.
When I arrived at the hospital, doctors told me that there was nothing they could do anymore for me in Luxembourg. Luckily, a well-known Luxembourgish dermatologist and former director of the University Hospital in Homburg/Germany tried literally everything to get me in at the University Hospital the soonest possible.
One day later I was admitted and a long journey begun: The battle of my life.
As my tumor was so aggressive and didn’t stopped spreading, I needed to be operated more than 5 times in a row. For months, my left face half was completely open. Then and for being 100% sure that there was nothing left anymore, my doctors decided to take out some lymph nodes.
And they were right, 5 lymph nodes showed up metastasis. The good news about bad news was that the metastasis in the lymph nodes were said “encapsulated” meaning that they haven’t spread to the blood system yet…. 30 rounds of radiation followed.
A few days before starting radiotherapy and for the establishment of my radiation plan, a new Pet Scan was ordered and showed up a little shadow in my liver. At this time we were convinced that this shadow was still a left-over of the contrast agent, which has not been totally degraded.
Three weeks later and at the day of my last round of radiation, a biopsy was foreseen to check that the shadow disappeared. …But I shouldn’t have right.
The 31 July 2015 at 9 pm, I was told that my cancer had spread to my whole liver (not operable) and that there was no chemotherapy on the European market.
This was the first time that I felt the fear to DIE.
Being left in the hands of doctors with no evidence of working treatments or even the chance to survive, was the worst but at the same time the most powerful feeling I have ever experienced. I felt shocked, afraid, weakened, powerless but very strong and determinated at the same time. I remember that I tried to cry but no tears were coming out of my lacrimal gland. I had too many plans and goals in my life, there was no possibility that my life could be over at the early age of 27. I knew that If I wouldn’t fight for me, I definitely had to survive for my family.
One day later, we did a hardship application to the United States, where a fantastic doctor had found the key to my receptor a few weeks ago. As it hadn’t been on the European market at this time, a white little box was sent to me with no evidence if it could work or not. Today I know that he is one of my lifesaver.
Since the day of my diagnose, I started informing myself how I could support my body to getting rid of my cancer the soonest possible. Reading numerous of books, current studies and researches, I decided to heal my body by letting starve cancer cells and bringing it back to its equilibrium with the right nutrition, detoxing, speeding up my metabolism, resting, boosting my immune system and healing my soul.
And after 6 months of struggling and fighting for my life, I have been diagnosed cancer-free on January 25 2016. I consider this day as the best day of my life: My second birthday
But I was not the same person I have been before. Working as a lawyer was still fascinating to me but having experienced and seen so much tragedy, pain, fears, struggles and especially when it comes to childhood cancer had completely changed my mind, my soul and my perspective of life.
I couldn’t identify myself with my old “me” anymore
For me personally, living with the “old and the new” me was even worse than the battle against cancer. Should I give up 8 years of studies and experiences of Law and start from the beginning? After weeks of negotiations with myself, establishing advantages and disadvantages lists and deep conversations with my parents, I decided to let go the “old Anne-Sophie” and start a brand new life…beginning with going back to University to study alternative and conventional medicine.
Having been confused, overwhelmed and afraid about the amount of information I have found and seeming all right but controversial at the same time, have led me to the decision to create a blog and a little cancer guide ( I named it “Sophie’s Little Cancer Guide”, available for free) where I share all my researches and information about how I have healed myself and the “therapy-plan” that has perfectly worked for me ( how to boost your metabolic system and immune system, how to kill cancer with the right nutrition (“Eatcancerfree” nutrition plan), what are the right supplements to take, how to heal your soul etc.)
My biggest wish is that everyone gets the same chance as I had: to cure himself from cancer in combination with conventional therapies or not, or at least have the own control over the tumor or minimizing the side effects.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope that with my little cancer guide, I can make a small contribution to this world and helping a few cancer patients to heal themselves.
The last 2 years have definitely not been easy, but cancer changed my life in such a positive way that today I consider it as the BEST DIAGNOSE of my life.
To quote one of my favorite philosophes Socrates: „We all have two lives, the second one starts when we recognize that we only have one“
And this is exactly what I am doing now: LOVING what I am doing and LIVING, every second, every moment and every day.
IF I CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU:
Anne-Sophie
www.Grateful-Sophie.com (in the making)
IG: Grateful_Sophia