The Right Mindset Helped Me Focus on Healing After Stage 4 Cancer

It’s been almost 10 years since I was diagnosed with stage 4 osteosarcoma (a rare and aggressive bone cancer). Cancer had spread from my right leg to both lungs and my left hip; I’ve had seven surgeries and five recurrences. The doubt, urgency and uncertainty were absolutely relentless.

I’ve experienced some pretty bleak times and I’ll never forget what it felt like having to keep rallying myself through one day after the next, especially when the future appeared hopeless.

Ultimately, I was extremely blessed to turn my health around. Doctors and luck are surely to thank, and I also believe the work I put in from my end outside the hospital played a significant role in my healing.

In my case, there was no magic pill to save the day. The journey was slow while I overhauled my lifestyle and did my best to “earn my health,” one day at a time. However, without any clear validation that I was doing was even working, I had to work extra hard to keep my mindset positive and focused.

Here are three reminders I’ve used to stay motivated and do my best to boost the odds of success:

1. “Be where your feet are.”

I recently wrote about how too much future thinking can throw us off in the present. At the time, I had a long, unfamiliar drive ahead of me, and while lost in thought about which lane change to make later on down the highway, I almost drove straight into a giant pothole.

When we’re too busy thinking ahead, it’s easy to get distracted and make mistakes. Plus, it tends to bring on anxiety because we’re trying to figure out answers to all different problems that aren’t even on our plate at the moment, and this riles up the nervous system which is counteractive to healing.

Be where your feet are. Be here now. Stay focused on… (see #2)

2. “What else?”

During the darkest days, I treated healing like a full-time job. Between nutrient-dense meals, supplements, detox and alternative healing protocols, I kept asking myself what’s the next healing action I could take to boost the odds. (Process thinking.)

This helped me keep my attention on healing as opposed to disease thinking (symptoms, side effects, survival rates). It also helped me sleep better at night knowing I left nothing on the table.

(Important: There are times where the best healing action is resting, or literally doing nothing and just chilling out. Too much perfectionism, I’ve learned, can add stress that offsets any health benefits.)

3. “0-0” (as in the score is zero-zero).

Whatever happened yesterday, whether I had a productive day or a setback, I leave that in the past and do my best to boost my healing today.

There will be setbacks and stretches where we just feel off. But I strive for consistency as much as I can. That means getting enough sleep, exercise, flooding my body with nutrients, detoxing, mindset and emotional work. Each day, I focused on supporting my mind, body and supercharging my immune system, again and again. (If you’re interested in learning more about my story, feel free to shoot me at note at steve [at] othercword.com and I’m always looking to support the community like other thrivers did for me.)

While it’s so easy to get caught up in results thinking (especially after scans), process is where we do have control. These tips have served me well over the years, and I hope they help you, too.

As always, one good decision at a time, one day at a time.

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