Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds

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Dr. Turner, a researcher and psychotherapist who specializes in integrative oncology, studied spontaneous healing, which she calls “radical remission” — when cancer goes away despite medical expectations, such as in cases of advanced or aggressive cancers. She found that 75 healing factors appeared in these cases, but nine were common among all of the cases she studied. She calls them, “The Nine Key Factors That Can Make a Real Difference.” Marianne Cirone: That’s amazing. That’s a big goal, but I think you’re well on the way and there’s a lot of momentum. If you read only one book on healing this year, Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds would be a great choice. In this New York Times bestselling book, author Kelly Turner, PhD, summarizes her interviews with one hundred cancer survivors and analysis of over one thousand cases of people who experienced a “radical remission” from “incurable” illnesses.

Well, lo and behold, 18 months later they’re better. Right when their COBRA runs out, they’re better. They get the clean scan. That’s not a made-up story. That was about somebody I just interviewed. These things really happen, Kelly Turner: We need to look at these amazing survivors from every angle, including the medical angle, but in the absence of anyone doing that, from my perspective, without a medical degree–but with a PhD in social sciences research — I came at it and said, “Let’s apply anthropology to them.”

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In her PhD, she interviewed healers and survivors about their experiences with radical remission: cancer recoveries that beat the odds through natural methods, whether combined with conventional medical treatment or not. By the time she wrote the book she was drawing on over a thousand case studies. Only two items are physically related to your body: changing your diet and taking supplements. While some diets and supplements may be more well-founded than others, at least the author periodically reminded readers to consult their doctors, e.g., "Remember, always speak to your doctor first in case your fast needs to be medically supervised." (p. 28)

I will first distinguish her term radical remission from the more common term spontaneous remission. Spontaneous remission or spontaneous regression (SR) of cancer translates into the recovery of a patient from cancer in the absence of a disease-specific treatment, or in the presence of inadequate therapy. The recovery, therefore, does not involve conventional cancer treatment modalities such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Radha and Lopus note that most cases of SR appear to be related to acute infections. The body’s immune response is activated by infection, which in turn fights the tumor. Coley’s Toxin, a vaccine first administered in 1891 to treat sarcoma—successfully, in many cases—included deactivated Streptococcus progenies and Serratia marcescens. The literature I surveyed seems to agree that patients with certain cancers—metastatic melanoma, leukemia, lung cancer, and Merkel cell carcinoma—are more likely to experience SR. At a time when psycho-oncology has come to the forefront of conventional oncology care, and when evidence-based integrative therapies are appearing in leading medical journals, Dr. Turner’s work could not come at a more opportune time. Dr. Turner’s unique and exemplary skill set: being a psychotherapist who then trained in social science research, and is a yoga teacher, has made her an ideal candidate for formulating, conducting and presenting this very timely research for the scientific community, as well as for creating an easily digestible format for the general public. When I was a young woman I was also interested and participated in many of the new age ideas presented in this book. Having turned from those things, I am now a believer in Jesus, and quite honestly I no longer want anything to do with those practices. Having been in both camps, I found this book to be an uncomfortable advertisement for new age faith healing and paganism in its many different forms. Story after story is presented of patients and healers employing new age and eastern spiritual practices for healing. There is a glaring absence of those who have a strong biblical faith and found healing in Jesus. Christianity is only represented here in one or two very short accounts. Where it does come up in the longer stories is only to say how badly they felt under that oppressive old way they used to live. Karla has a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University, Chicago with a focus in Project and Change Management. She received her health coaching certification from the Wisdom of the Whole Coaching Academy as well as the Radical Remission Project and is nationally board certified by the National Board of Health & Wellness Coaches (NBHWC).

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What I can say is that you may want to do these nine factors because other people’s research has shown that they all boost the immune system, and boosting the immune system is always a good idea, whether you have cancer or not. If you’re a cancer patient who would like to boost your immune system, then sure. Work on these nine factors. That’s what I can say. When it comes to how I answer your question about what should be people do if they have resistance, it’s hard for me to give advice. Turner devotes a chapter to each of the nine keys, which she calls the most “common healing factors” among Radical Remission survivors. While all nine of the key ideas seem to be common sense, somehow when all nine are practiced together, the outcomes are incredible. As in “unbelievable,” but they happen as evidenced chapter after chapter of Radical Remission. Radical Remission doesn’t make any unrealistic claims, suggesting that if people follow the 9 tips shared in this book, their cancers will go away. But it does make a case for ensuring that any cancer treatment include not just surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, but also the essential “treatments” that these remarkable patients embraced in their own healing journeys. 9 Key Factors So what were the 9 key factors that these patients with radical remissions employed? Dr. Turner goes into much more detail about these 9 key factors in the book. In fact, each factor has its own chapter, as well as stories of how patients used these factors to participate actively in their healing journey. But here are the nine overlapping factors her research uncovered. As a Certified Radical Remission Health Coach, Liz has witnessed the power of lifestyle change firsthand, which motivates her to share the powerful benefits of the 10 healing factors with people seeking all types of treatments on their cancer journey, as well as other mental and physical diagnoses.

Kelly Turner: I think that before my research these cases were just sitting there, and no one was doing anything with them because they didn’t know what to do with them. That’s where I was sort of blessed to not be a medical doctor. I approached this as a psychotherapist. My master’s degree is in psychotherapy and counseling, and so I said, “Oh, so doctors don’t know why the people are getting well? So, let’s ask the person why they got well. Let’s go straight to the source and ask these people who were sent home on hospice to die, why they think it turned around. Kelly Turner: There’s a lot of intuition research done in the psychology of business, but that wasn’t helping me because I thought, “Okay, so intuition can help us feel better about the car we buy, but can it help our bodies heal from cancer?” That’s a big leap. It’s like the weight has been lifted from them. They realize they have 18 months of COBRA and someone from their church just donated to them, so they’re going to have great health insurance for 18 months and they say, “Okay. For the next 18 months, I’m just going to not worry about a job. I’m just going to focus on my health.” And then they spend the next 18 months exercising every day, reconnecting to what brings them joy, getting eight hours of sleep in complete darkness, totally cleaning up their diet, boosting their immune system, embracing their friendships again and allowing themselves to be supported and loved by them.

While I very much enjoyed this book, I would have liked to know that there were objective differences between those who did and did not experience remission. This is really a book about how people make meaning of their unlikely survival. I am sure many people who don't experience remissions do similar things in an effort to prolong their survival. Therefore, it's still hard to know what the difference is between those who do and don't go into remission. What it due to the behaviors and practices outlined in the book? There is no way to know this. The implication is that what these people did made a positive difference (though the author tries to explain that her methods don't support such assumptions), but I am ambivalent about the implied message.