Stage 4 Breast Cancer:
Healing Without Chemotherapy

July 19, 2006

This was the day my life changed forever. I was sitting at the UW Medical Center in Seattle when I heard the words no woman is ever prepared for—I had been diagnosed with stage 3 hormone-positive, HER2-negative invasive ductal breast cancer. There were three tumors in my left breast, and another—the largest—had already spread into the lymph nodes under my left arm.

October 2006

I went through a bilateral mastectomy, believing it was the step I needed to move forward. What I wasn’t prepared for was what came after. The emotional impact hit me in a way no one had talked about. It felt like something had been taken from the core of who I was as a woman, and I had to process that on my own. The recovery itself was difficult. I developed a serious staph infection, and everything became more complicated than I expected. During that time, I began looking at other ways to support my body. I was never strong enough to go through chemotherapy or radiation, and after surgery, things seemed stable for a while.

May 2008

About a year and a half later, I was told everything looked clear based on my lab results. I remember feeling relief, like I could finally breathe again. But not long after, something didn’t feel right. I developed a persistent cough and pain in my ribs that I couldn’t ignore. Even when the tests didn’t immediately show answers, I knew I had to keep pushing for them. That season taught me to listen closely to my body and to pay attention when something feels off, even when everything on paper looks fine.

June 2010

In June of 2010, everything changed again. The cancer had returned, and this time it was stage 4. I went to UCLA searching for answers, but it wasn’t the tests that first told me something was wrong—it was my body. I was dealing with chest pain, swelling in my sternum, and a cough that wouldn’t go away. When the testing was done, it confirmed what I was already feeling. The cancer had spread to my sternum, ribs, lungs, lymph nodes, and clavicle.

There were more procedures and more decisions to make, and everything started moving very quickly. I went through surgery to address severe pain, and I also received radiation to my sternum and clavicle. Complications followed, including a serious staph infection and pneumonia, and I wasn’t able to complete the full course of treatment that had been planned. It was physically exhausting, and emotionally, it was just as heavy trying to take it all in.

September 9, 2010

This is a date I will never forget. I was told I had three to twelve months to live. My daughter Jessica recorded the appointment so I could listen to it later. I remember sitting there, hearing those words, and trying to understand what that meant for my life. I was encouraged to begin preparing—to put my affairs in order and focus on being comfortable. I walked out of that appointment carrying something no one is ever ready to hear.

Late 2010

After that appointment, everything became very real. I went home carrying the weight of what I had been told, knowing time suddenly felt limited. But something in me wasn’t ready to accept that as the end of my story. I began searching, asking questions, and looking for something that might give me a chance.

That’s when I found CMN Hospital in San Luis, Sonora, Mexico, and learned about Dr. Payán and his approach. It felt different from anything I had heard before, and I knew I needed to try. The reality was, I didn’t have the financial means to go, but I wasn’t alone. My best friend Heather and an incredible group of friends stepped in beside me. Together, we worked to raise what was needed. It took five months, and every bit of it mattered.

February 7, 2011

On February 7, 2011, I was admitted to CMN Hospital as a patient under Dr. Payán’s care. Walking through those doors, I didn’t know exactly what was ahead, but I knew I had made a decision to keep going. That moment marked the beginning of something I will always carry with me.

2011: CMN Hospital

The care I received at CMN Hospital was very different from anything I had experienced before. By that point, my body had already been through so much. After radiation and a serious infection, I was too weak for chemotherapy, and I had been told I only had months to live. I made the decision to trust Dr. Payán and his approach because I knew I needed something different.

What I experienced there was comprehensive. It wasn’t just one thing—it was the way everything worked together, day after day, supporting my body when it needed it most. It gave me a sense of strength I hadn’t felt in a long time.

If you’re interested in learning more about the treatments themselves, you can take your time reading through them here: https://cmnadvancedcancertreatment.com/treatments. What worked for me is part of my story, and every person has to decide what feels right for them.

Today

Today, I am cancer-free. By August 2011, my symptoms had resolved, and on October 15, 2011, a PET scan confirmed there was no evidence of cancer in my body.

When I look back, I see how many decisions had to be made along the way, and how much my faith carried me through each one. I believe God had His hand on my life through all of it. There is still hope, even when someone is told there is very little time left, and I hold onto that every single day.