More and more people are discovering means for overcoming cancer against dire medical prognoses. For some, the words “get your affairs in order” are mentally the beginning of the end, while others find the recommendation tremendously motivating.

Factors that contribute to the final outcome vary, and there is certainly no one-size-fits-all. However, those who do survive seem to share a few things in common, including a sheer determination to live.

But none will attribute this singular factor for getting them to the other side; there are usually numerous therapies, practices, supplements, dietary changes, medical institutions and natural healers that all helped them survive.

The greatest scientific compilation of those who have survived cancer against all odds is the Radical Remission Project. This international database continues to grow with stories shared by survivors. It started with a study by Kelly Turner, PhD, a psychotherapist specializing in integrative oncology, who interviewed over a thousand people who defied serious or terminal cancer with a complete reversal of the disease.
Dr. Turner recorded all the things these individuals did and then identified the nine common factors, publishing the results in the life-changing book, Radical Remission: The Nine Key Factors That Can Make a Real Difference (2014). Her work has grown into the public database, a docuseries, a newsletter showcasing individuals and a certification program for survivors coaching others.

As a survivor myself, I always recommend the book when meeting someone facing cancer. Such is the case with William Hudson of Desert Hot Springs who shared his story of overcoming metastatic melanoma and his book, Death Can Wait: How I Beat Stage IV Cancer Naturally (2024). I thoroughly enjoyed reading his personal experience which is simply laid out and well resourced.

Hudson’s lesion was found on his lung and he was treated medically with surgery and immunotherapy before being told by his physicians that he probably had 10 months; there was nothing more they could do.

“They advised me to live life to the fullest while I still could,” he said, but his awareness of alternative therapies would not let him accept their recommendation. “With those words, my mindset changed from the fear of death to the fact that I didn’t have to die yet.”

Hudson wrote the book to inspire others to take control and do their research. “People don’t realize that there are a lot of options beyond what is recommended by your medical team. It’s just not in their sphere of work, and they are often unaware or unable to tell you about them.” Self-advocacy is required for this integrative approach. Six years later, his doctors are amazed that he is still with us, but have never asked what else he did to overcome the cancer.

“There are so many things out there and I was fortunate to find affordable things that worked for me,” he adds. Hudson performed numerous practices for mind, body and soul, but attributes his success primarily to two things: the Budwig Diet (simply flaxseed oil and probiotic cottage cheese) and natural remedies from the Bio Medical Center in Tijuana. While these therapies may be controversial, he is one of thousands who will attest to their success.

Was it the medical treatments that saved Hudson’s life, the natural therapies he committed to, or a combination of both? We will never know the answer, but what we do know is that his determination and will to live definitely helped get him to where he is today.

Make both books part of your research. Don’t give up on yourself, listen to your intuition and know that you are not alone.

Lauren Del Sarto is founder/publisher of Desert Health. Death Can Wait and Radical Remission are available on Amazon. William Hudson can be reached at [email protected]. For more information visit www.williamhudson.org.