What Does It Take To Beat Cancer?

If you or someone you know has a diagnosis of cancer, your number one priority is to do anything and everything it takes to help the body heal. But everyone has a different idea these days of what it takes to "be healthy". If you ask a Westerner, they may say go to the gym, keep your cholesterol down and eat more salads. If you ask an Easterner, they may say completely the opposite. Dieticians may say to avoid saturated fat, red meat and eat a Mediterranean diet. If you go on Instagram, the influencers may tell you to go on a celery juice cleanse. And if you ask your oncologist, they may say to go on living and eating the same way as you've always been.

So which is it? How do you know who to believe these days? It seems as if everyone has a different idea of how to beat cancer. And all of them are claiming in one way or another that everyone else has got it wrong. It's no wonder why so many people come to us confused with lots of questions regarding things their friends have told them or something they've seen on the Internet.

ICCA has a relatively radical approach to what it takes to respond appropriately to a diagnosis of cancer. We don't claim other people are wrong in their approach. We understand that there are different strokes for different folks, as they say. Nobody has the right to claim that their way is the only way for everyone.

For us, it starts by understanding what cancer is and why it's happening at such an alarming rate in the Western world. Today, nearly 1 in 2 Australian men and women will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85[1]. Two things are interesting about that statistic:

1. It wasn't anywhere near a rate of one in two 100 years ago. This is often argued as an insignificant statistical analysis because people did not live as long 100 years ago, however this fact alone does not come close to accounting for the recent rise in cancer rates, which are increasingly occurring in people under the age of 40, well under the average life expectancy 100 years ago.

2. The rates vary greatly depending on the country and culture in which you live.

   
   

So then what's happening today in Australia?

Australia has become very much like the United States. We bought into the same paradigm of you go to school so you can get a good paying job so that you can afford a certain lifestyle for yourself and your family and ultimately "be happy". But no matter how much we use our money to be healthy and happy, we are suffering from epidemics of obesity, chronic stress, chronic disease and unhappiness. Endless consumption and the stress that goes along maintaining our way of life has created a dis-ease of a body whose normal default state is health. Somewhere along the way, we lost the truth of who we are, why we came here, and what the purpose of our life is.

Cancer, to put it bluntly, is the consequence of our modern way of life. Few people frame cancer in such a way, but we've seen enough evidence to suggest that there is far more going on than mere genetics or bad luck. Research indicates that only 5-10% of all cancers are caused by bad genes that are inherited[2]. And we know now that just because you have an inherited gene mutation, it does not mean your body will express that gene into a protein, and ultimately a cancer. It's the totality of your environment, which includes your diet, mindset, lifestyle, stress and countless other factors that determines how your genes are expressed, as the science of epigenetics has proven[3].

So if we can honestly take a step back and ask ourselves "how is the way I've been living possibly related to my cancer?", we can start to approach a truly integrative solution that works with the oncologist's treatment plan. This inquiry is likely to unravel a number of areas in your life that are in need of change. How you approach this call for change is going to determine your ability to succeed.

In this article, we'll summarise the top 5 factors we believe are essential to help you to beat cancer. The list may surprise you...

Top 5 essentials to beating cancer

1. Intention - Slow down your day, breathe deeper, and delight in the joy of the present moment. There will be a lot of changes being offered to you during your cancer journey, but how you do everything is more important than what you do. It's not about ticking as many boxes as you can and busying your day with treatments. Slow down, connect back with the present moment and allow it to inform what is most needed. Sometimes it will mean doing less rather than doing more.

2. Attitude - A cancer diagnosis and the side effects of treatments can make many people feel quite negative, agitated and bitter about life. It's very important that you take a step back, find a way to accept the challenging life circumstance that has come your way, and do your best not to frame yourself as a victim. Avoiding this negativity will allow you to look honestly at your own actions and make the necessary positive changes.

3. Letting Go - Learn to let go of anything and everything that stands in the way of your peace, joy and happiness in life. Sometimes this means letting go of a difficult relationship or a job that's keeping you trapped in misery. On the other hand, sometimes it means letting go of your need for others to show up in accordance with your endless expectations of them. The dropping of all this inner resistance and turmoil will free up the energy needed for you to focus on your healing.

4. Mindset - Develop a mindset that allows you to be at peace regardless of any situation or circumstance you find yourself in, including cancer. Although there will be times you are required to exit a situation or create healthy boundaries, you can always challenge your default thoughts, opinions and perspectives to accept more of what you dislike and appreciate more of what is already right in front of you.

5. Faith - Cultivate an unshakable belief that no matter what happens, you are protected, held and cared for by a force greater than yourself. This is the same force that knows how to beat your heart, grow your fingernails and digest your food without any involvement from you. Most of the healing process is learning how to let go and get out of the way to allow healing to occur, the same way we trust our body to keep us alive every day. This takes the focus away from survival, which is fear based, and allows you to focus on what is being asked of you in this challenging time of life.

   
   

As you can see, what it takes to beat cancer is very different than what you may've imagined. What we are essentially describing with these 5 points is Love in the highest sense of the word. Love is what it takes to beat cancer, before anything else. Yes conventional treatments, diet, supplements, treatments, exercise, sunlight, hydration, sleep, etc are all super important. But what is most important is how you approach this life circumstance. We want to invite fear and anxiety to take a back-seat while you focus on your healing with grace, peace and Love in your heart.

We created the 8-week Essentials program to cover these topics and more so you don't have to go through this alone. Click here to learn more about our Essentials Program.

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References

1. Cancer Council. Facts and figures. www.cancer.org.au. Published 2024. https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/what-is-cancer/facts-and-figures

2. National Cancer Institute. Genetic Testing for Hereditary Cancer Syndromes. National Cancer Institute. Published April 18, 2024. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/genetic-testing-fact-sheet

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epigenetics, Health, and Disease. Genomics and Your Health. Published 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/genomics-and-health/epigenetics/index.html