Imagine being just 26 years old and being told you have stage 3 colon cancer. Just before Christmas. That's what happened to Chris Wark. What began as intermittent abdominal pain was actually a tumor the size of a golf ball. He was rushed into surgery, but woke up to the news that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. His options? He only had one: chemotherapy for 9 to 12 months.

But poisoning himself back to health didn't make sense to Chris. He wanted to build his body back up, not tear it down. He began researching alternatives. The books he read opened his eyes to the healing power of nutrition and how our diet impacts our health. Suddenly he realized that he'd created his cancer, so he could fix it. He immediately bought a juicer and went from a standard American diet to 100% vegan and 100% raw.

It wasn't easy to make that decision. His oncologist told him he was insane not to have chemo. He warned Chris that fruits and vegetables would "fight" the treatment, and that chemo was his only hope - without it, there was a 50% chance he would be dead within 5 years. Chris was crushed, and frightened.

Unfortunately, this is something that happens to almost all cancer patients. They are manipulated into believing that chemotherapy and cancer drugs are the only solutions. They're told that diet makes no difference. When Chris woke up from the surgery to remove his tumor, his first hospital meal was a sloppy joe - despite the fact red meat is classed as a "probable carcinogen" by the World Health Organization.

Patients are told their cancer is either bad luck or bad genes. This turns patients into victims of circumstance, whose only hope is to show up for "standard" treatment. But we know that cancer is multifactorial. Only 5% of cancers are genetic - 95% are caused by diet, lifestyle and environment. What this means is that cancer is not something that just happens, and it isn't something we are powerless against. We have cancer cells in our bodies all the time, but our immune system is designed to fight and kill these cells. The difference between someone with cancer and someone without is their internal environment. We can make our bodies somewhere cancer can thrive (through a poor diet, high stress, environmental toxins), or somewhere cancer cannot survive. But how?

Being hailed as "Sex and the City for Food," The Food Heals Podcast brings together experts in the field of nutrition, health and healing to teach you the best-kept natural secrets to being a hotter, healthier, happier YOU!

The Food Heals Podcast is hosted by Allison Melody and Suzy Hardy – two self-proclaimed natural chicks who will rock your world and change your beliefs about health! This sexy, savvy duo provides eco-friendly advice on a variety of issues including the healing power of nutrition, living authentically, turning your passion into your career, choosing the best natural health and beauty products, the benefits of a plant-based diet and so much more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices