I have long been passionate about health and wellness, living a clean lifestyle focused on whole foods, low-toxin living, and holistic practices. Despite this, at 31, I was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer: primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). I believe this was the result of a combination of chronic emotional stress and environmental toxins — a connection often overlooked in conventional healthcare. Notably, large B-cell lymphoma was at the center of the landmark lawsuit against Monsanto, in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proved that the glyphosate in Roundup is linked to cancers like mine.
Despite the severity of my diagnosis, I was offered only one path: immediate chemotherapy. There was no discussion of root causes or integrative alternatives, leaving me to explore options on my own, which only deepened my stress and isolation. That lack of holistic support and patient agency was as damaging as the illness itself. A truly effective healthcare system does not just treat diseases — it prevents them by addressing the root causes, including stress, toxins, and even the foods we eat, which directly affect our health and wellbeing.
What I hope to see in healthcare is a shift away from a profit-driven model toward one rooted in prevention, empowerment, and access to science-backed therapies. Treatments like ozone therapy — widely used in countries like Germany and Cuba — should be available here, especially when they show promise in cancer care and prevention. A healthcare system that acknowledges emotional, environmental, and physical contributors to disease — and supports patients as whole people — is not only possible, it is essential.