I volunteered to read and write about Chris Wark’s new book, Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally, about how he beat the big C. His story is almost as close to what a loved one went through a few years ago — being diagnosed with the big C, undergoing conventional treatments for cancer, opting for a holistic therapy, and regaining wellness. I wanted to know exactly what Chris did to overcome it.
Chris Wark is not a new name or face for me. I have listened to him on different online summits on health and the natural lifestyle. What struck me about Chris’ story was the fact that he was diagnosed with stage 3c cancer at the age of 26. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor but opted out of the nine to twelve months of chemotherapy. Instead, he did a lot of research on nutrition and applied this knowledge, together with other natural therapies, to heal. His upcoming book, Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally, is an attempt to share everything he did from sickness to wellness in the hopes that others in the same situation, or have loved ones diagnosed with cancer, can see that there are options before them than simply chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
Chris’ book is not simply an autobiography. All the chapters, especially those that give cancer statistics, mortality and survival rates, and other information on the medical profession and cancer treatments are properly referenced. In fact, 34 pages of Endnotes are dedicated to listing all the resources, a majority of which are published scientific studies, that Chris used for each chapter in the book — showing just how well researched Chris’ writings are.
This book makes some statements that may be controversial for those who are familiar only with conventional medical treatments, meaning Western medicine, so I ask such readers to go through this book with an open mind. As Chris says: “Science is not truth. It is an attempt to discover truth”. Let’s remember that there have been instances when pharmaceutical medicines given as treatment have been withdrawn years after when further studies show they could have harmful side effects. Even published scientific studies have been found to sometimes contradict each other.
For those who are open to learning about the natural world or are seeking more holistic ways of addressing their cancer or the cancer of a loved one, much of what Chris says will bring hope. For one, Chris does not view cancer as a battle to be fought and won; he sees cancer as something that needs to be healed. Cancer, in itself, is not the disease but just a symptom of what is really wrong in the body. Conventional medicine focuses on eliminating the symptoms but does not really focus on finding out the ROOT CAUSE/S of the symptoms. For Chris, his survival mission was to identity and eliminate everything from his life that may have contributed to his disease and replace those things with hardcore anti-cancer nutrition as well as health-promoting habits and therapies.
One important observation which made Chris focus on his nutrition, among others, was that countries on a non-Western diet had a low cancer rate. By Western diet, he clarifies it is not just limited to people living in the western hemisphere but covers anyone around the world who eats the Western diet like animal products, especially red meat and dairy, high in refined sugar, saturated fat, junk food and processed food. This is real food for thought for me here in the Philippines because while we are physically living in Asia, our everyday diet is far from just Asian. I grew up on both Western and the Filipino diets but sadly, even my Filipino diet consisted more of meats, dairy, and rice than fruits and vegetables.
In this book, Chris touches on what happens when our diet consists of a lot of meats, dairy (often pasteurized) and processed food but more than just telling us why this Western diet is a cause of so many health issues, he focuses in greater detail exactly on what diet he adapted, why those foods were particularly helpful for his cancer. Chris says “The vast majority of cancers are not caused by “bad luck” or bad genes, our unhealthy American diet and lifestyle choices are the main culprits. The two biggest cancer causers are from what we put in our mouths, cigarettes and unhealthy food. But the good news is you can change! You can choose to live your life in a way that promotes health, not disease. There are so many things you can do to help your body heal. And that’s what I empower people to do.”
The last half of Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally focuses on other important parts of Chris’ healing: physical exercise as well as emotional and spiritual well-being. Yes, it is not just nutrition. Anyone who wants to get well has to check EVERYTHING that affects him/her and that is one’s entire lifestyle.
By everything, I mean EVERYTHING. As a Christian, Chris mentions one aspect of his healing that mattered a lot and that was FORGIVENESS. As a student of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I learned that emotions are energetically tied to organs and when we harbor negative emotions like anger, resentment, worry, etc, these get lodged in our organs and eventually could lead to health issues in those organs. Chris says this of forgiveness: “Forgiveness is a huge part of my message and was a major theme of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Long-term bitterness and resentment are toxic emotions which cause profound stress in the body, increasing inflammation and decreasing immune function, both of which make you more susceptible to cancer and other chronic diseases.” I love how the Christian concept of forgiveness ties in perfectly with the TCM principles of emotions and organs.
Far from offering a quick fix for long-term problems, Chris describes the path he advocates as simple, but not easy. He says: “Health and healing require a massive life change. There are four components to health: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. All must be addressed. This involves addressing your physical needs with nutrition, healthy sleep habits, and exercise; and addressing your attitude, emotions and thoughts. Most importantly, the spiritual aspects of health need to be addressed as well, including faith, love, and forgiveness. This is not a quick fix. It’s not a magic bullet. This is a comprehensive approach to healing that requires determination, commitment and massive action. But these are things that anyone can do!”
I have personally come to believe that cancer is NOT a death sentence and that, given the proper, healthy environment and if addressed on time, it can be reversed. The story of Chris is just one of many that affirm this belief again and again.
This is a book I would highly recommend for anyone diagnosed with cancer, has a loved one going through cancer, or simply wants to know how to prevent the onset of cancer. It is a book that gives hope and presents options. Our body has a natural capacity to heal itself. We just have to be willing to cooperate in that effort.
Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally launches on Sept. 25. Here is how you can get the book on Amazon:
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for a hardcover version. (Note that shipping charges will apply)
Lastly, watch his fun, short book trailer:
About Chris Wark
Chris Wark was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2003, at 26 years old. After surgery, he opted out of chemotherapy and used nutrition and natural therapies to heal. He began sharing his story in 2010 with a mission to inspire people to take control of their health and reverse disease by radically transforming their diet and lifestyle. Chris reaches millions of people per year as a blogger, podcaster, speaker and global health coach through his social media channels and his website chrisbeatcancer.com. His forthcoming book, Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally will be published by Hay House on September 25th, 2018.
Disclosure: I received a personal copy of Chris’ book for review after I volunteered to read and comment on it. No conditions were placed upon me by Chris or the publisher in writing about the book.