Cancer Testimonials

My ex-husband was given a week to live if he didn’t start chemo the very day we found out that he had an aggressive cancer already in stage IV. Needless to say, of course he did. When a friend of mine found out, she introduced me to macrobiotics. Using macrobiotics and the will of God, Denny helped my ex-husband recover from what was a very scary time in our lives. It is our belief that had it not been for Denny’s guidance and recommendations, 16 years later, my ex would not still be around today.

My carcinoma’s disappearance (thanks to macrobiotics) will not be included in any medical statistics or even written up in my personal medical file as such: it was deemed unexplainable by my breast surgeon…

It started about two years ago when I would get really bad migraines. My husband had been macrobiotic 20 years earlier and told me to call Denny Waxman. I did…my condition improved for a while and then came back with a vengeance: a three-week long headache, followed by a two-week long migraine, and I was tired all the time…I had DCIS, or Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, which is a stage 0 cancer, with III grade cell necrosis.

My medical options were:
• a full mastectomy with a risk of local recurrence of approximately 5% after 10 years
• a lumpectomy with radiation, with a 12% chance of recurrence
• a lumpectomy without radiation, with a 30% recurrence rate
The standard of care for my DCIS was a lumpectomy with radiation followed by tamoxifen, with a recurrence rate of about 6%, more or less equivalent to a mastectomy.

A surgeon at Penn gave me a second opinion. He proposed the same treatment plan, and recommended a HER2 test or Herceptin, a protein blocker…When I told him I wanted to try macrobiotics for six months he allowed it, as in that period of time my condition probably wouldn’t worsen. The very next day I received a call that they had looked at the biopsy slides again and found a suspicious looking spot that might be interpreted as an inflammatory cancer and they urged me to at least get surgery right away…I went back to Denny….

I went whole hog Macrobiotic. I took the Strengthening Health Intensive program, which changed my whole being. From that weekend on I cooked gorgeous and delicious food, took walks, did the recommended body rub with a warm damp washcloth (though never as much as I should), tried to meditate, and received amazing Shiatsu massages. I discharged.

About four months later my breast started hurting. Denny and I suspected that the metal marker left at the site of the biopsy was causing this reaction. It had to come out…The tissue the surgeon removed (about five months after the Strengthening Health Intensive) was completely clear of DCIS.

I believe…

In 1990, I was just 30 years old and diagnosed with an astrocytoma brain tumor. The tumor was so large and so intermeshed in my left temporal lobe that the doctors were only able to retrieve a biopsy for diagnosis. The biopsy was malignant with a grim diagnosis: nine months to live.
When my sister brought me a book in the hospital called “The Cancer Prevention Diet” by Michio Kushi, somehow I knew this was the beginning path to macrobiotics, and to changing my life forever. In Kushi’s book, I read the chapter about brain tumors and how they come about due to the foods we eat and the lifestyle we choose. I was text perfect of what not to eat.
Coincidentally, the next day my girlfriend comes to my hospital bed with macrobiotic food and yet another life changing book. In this book, “Recalled by Life” Dr. Anthony Sattilaro mentioned a macrobiotic counselor in Philadelphia—Denny Waxman. The pull was too strong for me to ignore the signs that macrobiotics was the way to my cure.
As soon as I was released from the hospital, I went to see Mr. Waxman. During the initial consultation, Mr. Waxman was able to diagnose the cause and what to add and eliminate from my diet. In addition, I attended macrobiotic cooking classes and was able to transform my style of cooking. It wasn’t easy changing my cooking style, but I was determined to live and believed this was my best avenue.
And yes, it was! Within one year, my tumor was gone and the doctors saw it as miraculous.
Thank you Denny for teaching me and being there for me.

I have a wonderful story. In June 2013, I was told I had a large septated cyst on my left ovary. In addition, my left fallopian tube was swollen, very painful, and causing fevers. My CA-125 levels were elevated and the cyst had enlarged to nine cm in just four months. My doctor suggested the removal of both my ovary and fallopian tube as this was the beginning of stage I ovarian cancer. Two other doctors recommended the same treatment. I knew I didn’t want to have surgery and thought I should give macrobiotics a try.
I had an appointment with Denny on July 3rd. He told me I had some serious reproductive problems, but that it was reversible! That was the first encouraging thing I had heard! He gave me specific instructions about what to eat and vegetable cocktails to drink in the morning and evening. He said to walk and rub my body with a washcloth every day. I followed all of his instructions to the letter.
After seven weeks, I went back to my doctor and asked if I could have another ultrasound and CA-125 blood test. He agreed and assured me that cancer does not go away. The ultrasound revealed that the large cyst had COMPLETELY disappeared! My fallopian tube was no longer swollen and my CA-125 level was normal! And as a fringe benefit, my cholesterol was down almost 100 points, my thyroid medication was reduced, and I lost 20 pounds. All in seven weeks! I feel happy and energetic and feel as though I can accomplish anything now! I’m very grateful to Denny for his advice in helping me heal myself.

In 2008, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It was an aggressive grade and it had spread. I learned that in the view of conventional medicine, there was virtually a 100% chance that my cancer would become terminal, and that the only treatment known to stop it was a highly dangerous biological treatment that was effective about 10% of the time…within a week of my diagnosis, I made my way to Philadelphia…to consult with Denny.…I also completed the Strengthening Health Institute’s Intensive; and Denny’s wife, Susan, gave me a few cooking lessons in their kitchen.

Denny set up a personalized health program for me -primarily involving food, but also other facets of daily life. His recommendations are finely detailed, and, when I ask him, he explains their underlying theory. I consider Denny to be a creative American genius.

My cancer was initially treated with surgery and a course of chemo, which I was told I failed. I have not attempted the biological treatment and I have declined my oncologists’ recommendations for courses of other chemo. I have followed quite closely Denny’s recommendations for a narrow-band, healing macrobiotic diet.

My cancer did progress after diagnosis, but only minimally, and it was treatable by surgery. Today, seven years after diagnosis and seven years into Denny’s macrobiotic program, I have been cancer-free for four years.  My oncologists consider this favorable history to be extremely unusual for my type of cancer, which was aggressive and metastatic.

At my annual check-ups, my internist marvels at how low my cholesterol and blood pressure are, and at the results of my routine blood tests.  Friends and family tell me that I look many years younger than my 59 years, and I am certain that I feel more energetic than I felt 10-15 years ago, that my stamina is better, and that I am significantly more productive at work. I am more clear-headed and emotionally even-keeled than I ever remember feeling. No headaches, no stomach aches, no colds, no flu, none of the common maladies that everyone else I know suffers from.

It is clear to me that I have Denny to thank for all this.