In this episode of Unstress, I talk to Cathy Biase about the importance of circadian rhythms, fasting, stress and detox. Cathy works with cancer patients but there is advice here for everyone.

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Cathy Biase websiteCathy Biase books and resourcesJason Bawden-Smith episode

Dr Ron Ehrlich:

Hello and welcome to Unstress, I’m Dr Ron Ehrlich. Now today's episode deals with some important questions. Why is it important to attend to the health of the microbiome in cancer care? How do circadian rhythms impact on cancer prevention and treatment? How can fasting be used in cancer care and why should you avoid detox programs when going through cancer treatments? Well, my guest today is Cathy Biase. Cathy is a registered holistic nutritionist and cancer coach who's dedicated to helping people understand the power that lies at the end of their fork. Yes, your food as medicine. A breast cancer survivor herself, Cathy specializes in the functional application of nutrition for root cause health. Improvements for chronic disease with a particular focus on cancer care. Cathy has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto with a major in psychology. She graduated from the Canadian school of natural nutrition and is a certified professional cancer coach. She's currently the host of the health hub, a radio talk show and podcast covering, various aspects of integrative health. It's always good to talk with hosts of podcasts. I hope you enjoy this conversation, I had with Cathy Biase.

Welcome to the show, Cathy.

Cathy Biase:

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.

Dr Ron Ehrlich:

Cathy, a nutritionist, a cancer coach, a major in psychology, all of those things obviously very much connected, but I wondered if you might share with us your own journey that's brought you to this point.

Cathy Biase:

I was working with my father, so still within the investment industry and, after his illness, we had to shut down his business, about, oh, I would guess within a month and a half. I felt a small lump in my right breast and went for my first mammogram because I was only 47 at the time. And really, no history of breast cancer. My mom had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, so the history hadn't been really developed, so I was not really flagged to come in early. So I went in for the mammogram and, long story short, it was breast cancer. So I went through a year of allopathic treatment in combination with integrative care. And from that journey, my dad's business closing down because of his illness and then my illness and the subsequent year of fighting off that, I just found that there needed to be something more within cancer care.

Cathy Biase:

And to be clear, I was extremely happy with my care. I loved my physicians. I loved everything about where I was at Sunnybrook Hospital. But what I also had, and it was serendipity because I had just joined a small boutique gym and before I had my diagnosis. And then when I got the diagnosis of breast cancer, this group of three went to task for me and developed, a very loose but powerful, supplemental exercise and nutrition protocol. And I just felt, that it really helped me through everything. I didn't experience much in the way of side effects from my treatments. I recovered very quickly and that, alongside of what I had seen going through my year in the medical side of things, was other people who didn't have what I had.

Cathy Biase:

You know, when you're lining up and you're waiting for your treatments, especially on the radiation, you know, you sit and you wait and it's because you're going continuously day after day for, you know, on average about 25 sessions. You see the same people. And you know, I chatted to a lot of people and, and a lot of people had quite a difficult time getting through their treatment. And, I just felt that that piece which had been so crucial, I felt for me, was missing.