Our journey into macrobiotics started as a chance encounter in a small health foods store in 1982. I happened to overhear someone talking about a brown rice fast they had been on and how it had increased his focus and energy. Having experimented with various fasts, I was curious, and upon inquiry was handed the book “You Are All Sanpaku.”
After reading this book, as well as ” Natural Healing Through Macrobiotics ” by Michio Kushi, it all made so much sense that I decided if I were to ever become seriously ill I would try the diet. Fast forward to 1984, just four days after our wedding, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In support of my desire to try a natural healing approach, my wife Toini went out and got a stack of books on macrobiotics including “Recalled By Life” by Dr. Anthony Sattilaro.
In this book we discovered there was a macrobiotic counselor in Philadelphia named Denny Waxman who had guided Sattilaro back to health from severe prostate cancer that had spread to his bones and brain. We went to see Denny and began a journey that transformed our lives and how we viewed health.
I followed Denny’s dietary recommendations strictly for about two years until the tumor shrank and the pain went away. At this point I felt so good I began going off the diet, but the cancer began to spread quickly. I decided that medical intervention was needed and went to Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia. I chose to go to Methodist Hospital because Dr. Sattilaro had been the president and I hoped there would be colleagues of his familiar with his case and understanding of my own. To my great fortune there were two doctors on staff who were not only familiar with Dr. Sattilaro’s case but who were also macrobiotic. These doctors were a great encouragement to me and thought it very important that I remain on a macrobiotic diet as I went through the chemo and radiation that was to follow.
Cat scans and other tests revealed that I had stage III testicular seminoma. Although the chemo and radiation halted the cancer,I reacheda point where I was told that more chemo would kill me. There were operations to remove what they could of the cancer. I was told they could not get it all and they were not sure if what they left behind was living or dead cancer tissue.
At one point the oncologist appointed to my case became very annoyed with me when I told him that I was diagnosed with the cancer two years prior. He told me that I would be dead by now because this cancer spreads like wildfire! I told him it did spread like wildfire when I went off the diet and he became very angry with this. Ironically, at this point I had a revelation as to the power of the diet. I decided to seriously return to the diet to heal.
One huge side effect of all the chemo and radiation was that I would not be able to father children. When we told this to Denny, he assured us that within about two years time of following his dietary and lifestyle recommendations, I could eliminate all the toxins and reverse this effect of the chemo and radiation. In just a little over two years time, our first son was born on Christmas morning. Another son and two daughters were to follow, our youngest being born when we were 44 years old.
All of our children happen to be very musically gifted. At acheck-up with our third baby, the doctor asked about my medical history. When I told him about my bout with stage III testicular cancer and the treatments I had for it,he looked very confused. He thought I had undergone the treatments after my wife became pregnant and when he found out otherwise, he was amazed and said I should write a book or send my story to Readers Digest. He stated that men who go through the treatments for this cancer cannot father children.
Although healing from cancer and fathering children when I was told I wouldn’t be able to are dramatic aspects to this story, the everyday benefits are what make up a life of transformation. As your body heals from cancer and the toxic treatments involved, a health crisis may arise from time to time. When this occurs, Denny Waxman is the person to turn to for advice and recommendations. His knowledge and intuition have always been amazing to me. There are three instances that come to mind:
The first instance was early on when Toini was sitting with me at a consultation with Denny. She had recently been talking to me about pain she was having in the area of her left ovary. During my consultation, Denny turned to Toini and told her to stay away from dairy and eggs as she had something going on with her left ovary.
The second time was when I had several warts growing on my hand. I had gone to see a doctor who gave me a topical treatment which worked temporarily but they grew right back. When I finally consulted Denny over the phone he gave recommendations that not only cleared them up, but they have never grown back. The third instance was when I developed a pain I was sure was a hernia. I had it checked by a doctor who sent me to a surgeon but neither could explain the pain, though they didn’t think it was a hernia. The pain persisted so I went to see Denny and once again his advice cleared up the problem. Denny’s recommendations also halted a miscarriage my wife was having with our fourth child. These are just a few examples of times when Denny’s intuition was able to help us. It is uncanny how, even over the phone he can recommend a drink or dish that will eliminate physical problems.
Our seventeen year old daughter recently said she feels confident she can deal with most everyday illnesses herself using her knowledge of diet.
I feel truly blessed to know Denny Waxman and I am grateful that he dedicated his life to the study of macrobiotics and strengthening health.
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