Well, hello, ladies and gents Roberts.
Thanks, keto, Savage.com today. I've got special guest, Chris.
Joseph on the line. He is an author as well.
Actually met him through our published.
We have the same publishing company.
So I met him through that. And I just got really inspired
by his story. As I learned more about him.
He is not only survived pancreatic cancer, but he is
thriving. Post pancreatic cancer.
And that is the message that he wants to deliver, how to not
just survive, but truly Thrive. And I think that's a message
that anybody would Fit from hearing.
So we talked about that, we talked about his journey through
his cancer. Diagnosis.
We talked about his journey through, just finding a deeper
better, more fulfilling sense of Health and Wellness.
So thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.
I've got no doubt that you will take something from it.
So that further Ado, sit back, relax.
Enjoy the podcast with Chris Joseph.
And we are laughs Chris. How are you sir?
Robert? I'm good.
Thanks for having me on. Hey, man.
I'm excited to have you on. Just to give the listeners a
little context here and you. And I both used Launchpad
publishing to publish our books and they're doing like this.
I guess like author, you know, brainstorm Biz Dev, you know,
small group setting, and And we met on a zoom call a couple
weeks back. You've got a book and it kind of
dives into your, your life story with regard to you beating and
overcoming pancreatic cancer. Now, thriving, you know, post
diagnosis of that. So that's kind of how we know
each other. But you were talking on that
call about some of the some of the events that have transpired
in the course of your life and motivation for that books
without the kind of just pull the curtain back and dive into
little bit of your story, man. Thanks.
I will I do want to talk at some In about also changing the
narrative around cancer and other serious near fatal
diseases instead of talking about surviving, talk about
thriving, but we'll get to that. So, almost five and a half years
ago, on October 31st, 2016. I was diagnosed with third stage
pancreatic cancer, which was a complete shock and blew it out
of the blue. I've been feeling some
depression which turned out was related to the cancer.
My, my life was going well. So the Even made no sense other
than the cancer. I was having some minor stomach
issues. But nothing where I thought.
Oh my God, you know, I'm got this really serious disease.
So anyway, I was diagnosed. I immediately, you know,
launched into complete fear and being paralyzed and I can laugh
about it. Now, I wasn't laughing back then
I was hysterically crying and upset started.
I just listened to my doctor which is what a lot of us do.
They put me on chemotherapy. I was on that for a few months.
Chemotherapy was killing me. Literally, I hated it.
I wasn't doing well on it, and it wasn't working.
My cancer was growing, and so I quit chemo, and March of 2017,
that would, that was without a plan B.
As that point. I'm assuming that was, I didn't
the doctor's orders as well. Right?
Yeah. I didn't even tell him till
after I quit and I fired him, which I can talk.
Out too. But I just felt at that point
few months. After I got diagnosed.
I would rather die of cancer than die of chemo.
That's how miserable I was. But I'll say one more thing.
And then I'll go back to the discussion discussion of this.
The day. I quit chemo turned out to be
the best day because all of a sudden that opened up a world of
possibilities that I wasn't even aware of Under the Umbrella of
immunotherapy both. Western medicine than a lot of
non Western medicine immunotherapy, and that's what
led me onto a path of healing and thriving.
Very cool. Very cool.
There's then I've had several people in the podcast that have
been diagnosed with cancer in some form or fashion range from
all different types of cancer and a lot of them have, you
know, mitigated event with regard to dietary changes and
lifestyle changes, but I'd love to kind of like one thing that
seems to resonate amongst all the guests.
I've had on the show that have been diagnosed with cancer.
Is that what seems in the moment to be this debilitating news?
That just totally It crumbles you to the core, you know, winds
up being this Catalyst for extreme growth and I don't know
just transformative shift in how you view the world and your
place in it. So I'd love you to kind of dive
into the mindset a little bit. Like when you're diagnosed and
you get those, you know, those words sitting across the table
from a doctor that what are the first thoughts that come into
your mind. And what do you do?
As a result of that, so I wasn't even told by a College acai, I
went in for a scan and I took the scan, and then I ever
supposed to scams. I got the first, then I just
waited and waited and waited for like 30, 40 minutes.
I started wondering what was going on.
Finally, I ask the front desk woman and she said, we want to
order some tests, your doctor didn't order and that's sort of
the kiss of death when you hear that.
But anyway, so I didn't know what I was but I immediately got
scared. I took the rest of the test.
The Came in the room. I was in and said you have a big
mass in your pancreas. And that's all he said.
He said, talk to your doctor about it.
And as I mentioned a couple minutes ago, I mean it was
paralyzing paralyzing fear. I mean, I called my girlfriend
and was just hysterically crying.
I called my ex-wife who was in Australia at the time.
My kids were 14 and 12. At the time.
I was taking care of them, full-time day.
I got diagnosed. Oh, stand that period of time
around the day. I got diagnosed and so I had to
tell them and it was the hardest thing I've ever told hardest
conversation I've ever had period.
I think so. Yeah, the mindset tangent.
Question of mindset originally is when you hear that,
devastating news, it's like how much longer do I have.
And my mind was racing to? How many people am I going to
tell what am I do about my business?
Because I run a business. What am I going to do, you know
paying for my kids college? And I mean your mind is just
going a mile a minute and and it's not even thinking
rationally, it's Panic thinking complete Panic thinking but
you're right that the people who survive and thrive.
I think there's a transformation that takes place which we can
talk about to. Did they give you like, do they
give you an estimated time frame as to how long you're going to
make it? Must be in such a strange
prediction as to tell somebody they didn't say it specifically.
But when you, you know, I Google is your friend and your enemy.
And for pancreatic cancer 70% last less than one year and 90
percent. Don't make it past five years.
And so, like I said, I'm in your six now and I'm not just
surviving. I'm doing great.
So, yeah, I knew. I knew I knew the numbers and
also, you know, I don't know if you're a TV Watcher a movie
Watcher but there's two types of cancers that are like the go-to
cancers for writing off characters and shows or movies
and this pancreatic cancer and breast cancer or maybe ovarian
cancer. But yeah, I mean I saw it
especially after I got diagnosed I started seeing all these shows
like, oh my God at characters dying of pancreatic cancer.
Now, I want to know I want to tell these screenwriters.
Hey, look, you know, it's not a death sentence.
It is not a death sentence when you before you realize that it
wasn't the best in its in you. And you are looking at the
statistics and you realize, hey, look, 70% of people died with
within the year. After being diagnosed.
Does your mind, go to, you know, how can I personally live this
last year to the fullest or like, is it just over, you know,
overrun with anxiety, for those that you're going to leave
behind like your kids? Like, what where does your mind
go? When you're thinking, you've
only got A year? Yeah, I mean that's a great
question for me. It was I wasn't thinking I'm
going to live this last year to the fullest.
It was it was some young again. I can laugh about it now, but
for it was Panic, it was just Panic.
It was my panic and sadness and anger.
And, you know, I've have good moments to it wasn't exclusively
those those things, but it was, mostly that.
You ever in that time frame, where you ever, you know, just
going through day-to-day life and then get frustrated about
something that you realize to be just super Petty and not worth
your frustration. Once you look at the brevity of
life and then just totally write it off.
You know, I'm sure I did. I'm sure I did do that.
It's, you know, since it's been a few years now.
I can't remember any specific instances of that.
But yeah, I'm sure I did do that.
So when Things start looking up. Like, when did you have?
When did you go from feeling totally stressed, scared and
anxious to feeling hopeful and look there's a light at the end
of the tunnel. The one thing I didn't mention
was I was misdiagnosed. I mean, that's I mean I did have
pancreatic cancer, but the first oncologist I had said I have.
He called it like a garden-variety cancer and he
could treat it with chemotherapy now in the cancer world, I think
telling Anyone that it's Garden. Variety is very dangerous words
to use because as a patient most people aren't thinking anything
cancer-related is garden-variety.
What does that mean? But variety?
Well, he did with a I had to interpret that because for many
reasons he wasn't he was a man of few words and he didn't like
being questioned which is a whole other thing.
We can talk about about the medical establishment and all
that, but I think he felt confident that he could treat
it. He never Told me that I would
get rid of it, but that I could live for a few years again.
He didn't say those words, but that was the air.
He projected it turned out after I fired him a few months later
because it wasn't working what he was doing wasn't working.
I went to different doctors different oncologists and it
turned out. I actually have a very rare form
of pancreatic cancer. 1 out of 100 pancreatic cancer.
Patients, have what I have. So, What treated did now, answer
your question. What turn it around?
Was the day. I quit.
As I mentioned a quick chemo and realizing.
Oh my God, I have all these options.
I mean, I knew I wanted to live even though I said that I'd
rather die of cancer than to have chemo.
The bottom line is I wanted to live, I want to live for my
kids. I want to live for my
girlfriend. I still was working.
So I'm working II. Love life.
I mean it's frustrating sometimes but there's many
things about it. I that I just Bond and I wanted
to continue doing that, I'd there was too many things.
I still had that I wanted to do. So knowing that I just started
seeking out Alternatives and I started talking different.
Doctors different Alternative Healthcare practitioners and you
know wasn't like I did a deep dive into it.
I found I did I found out what was working for some other
people and I decided to try that.
I didn't know. I mean the last thing I'll say
is I didn't know if it was going to work.
I mean even sometimes alternative.
Stuff doesn't work, but I knew that that was going to be the
path for me. And what does that laundry list
of alternative methods? Look like if you were to kind of
everything but the kitchen sink can treatment, it really is.
I mean, what I went to Germany for a few weeks in 2017 in May
of 2017 to do a completely alternative stuff.
It was a lot of albums and outpatient there, but it was a
lot of IV, drips vitamin C. Laetrile ozone.
There was hyperthermia, which is heat treatment.
I did dendritic stem, stem cell therapy over there.
I came back and I did a lot of stuff here.
Some some of it's not legal here in the US but some I could do.
I found some doctors who would do it.
I did mistletoe injections, which is the same mistletoe, you
know, same mistletoe. Plant that people hang up around
the holidays, but in Europe, it's been used as a cancer
treatment for Ed's here. It's illegal.
And I still do. Yeah.
My still do mistletoe once in a while.
I mean, I'm not doing anything. Well, that's not sure.
I'll tell you what I'm doing now, but what, I, what I decided
to do in addition to Alternative stuff, and also I was for a
couple years. I did western medicine
immunotherapy, which I'm guessing, you know, something
about if you've interviewed a lot of cancer patients
immunotherapy, whether it's western or non mess, Western is
going to be the future. Cancer treatment chemotherapy
radiation and even surgery, I believe are going to be look
back 20 years from now, 30 years from now, is barbaric and
archaic because it doesn't deal with changing the terrain of the
body at all. It's just a matter of okay,
we're going to zap something with radiation and we're going
to poison something with chemo, but usually things come back
after you. Do that with immunotherapy
you're changing your body to hopefully ward off cancer.
Not Only get rid of it as it is currently, but to ward off in
the future. The last thing I'll say is I
still practice even though I'm not doing any cancer treatment
right now. I practice self-care two or
three hours a day. I do yoga for about an hour.
A day. I do get on my exercise bike for
about an hour and a half. I have a infrared.
Sauna portable sauna here at my house.
I do that for an hour a day. I'm always Doing some niaid
rights. I watch what I eat and watch
what I put in my body. We can talk about nutrition if
you want. So I do a lot of self care and
I'm convinced that helps. I'm absolutely convinced that
helps to keep my body healthy and to ward off cancer from
going back. Yeah.
I mean, I'm certainly not a doctor.
I don't want to play with on the internet but I feel like like
cancer is the Catalyst for cancer is often times a
lifestyle. Aisle.
Are whether that be nutrition or stress or some kind of chronic
condition that can be mitigated through lifestyle design.
And I feel like if you start improving upon your nutrition, I
think honestly start improving upon your stress levels and
honestly just don't live in a state of chronic stress.
It's probably one of the single best things you can do to ward
off, you know, these diseases. But when it comes to the
immunotherapy, I'd love to hear. Like if you were to describe
what that look like for you, what would you say in terms of
the first I want to What you just said, but your question is
in terms of what the actual treatments are.
The Western medicine, immunotherapy was an infusion
that I would do for a half hour once every six weeks.
I mean I had to do blood work that took an hour, but the
actual infusion was a half hour every six weeks and I did that
for about a year and a half and 20 late 2017 and I did it
another few months of it. It last year early last year.
So that's infusion. But the other things I do, like
the infrared sauna, that's just getting in my sauna.
Yoga obviously is, is what it is.
I do a lot of supplements and I mean there's there's people I
Follow Chris quarks Chris beat cancer, I think is website
something like that. There's several people that,
that have made a platform out of curing themselves of Sure, and I
don't listen to them religiously, but I listen to
them because they've done it and now I've done it.
I'm not out there trying to make a living off it.
I don't mean that in a negative way, but I look to other people
that survived and Thrive from devastating cancer diagnosis.
The the other thing I'll say is a lot of supplements.
I do are known to our know. Known in the alternative World
anyway to treat cancer and to build up the immune system.
I don't want to wade into any controversy, but I'm going to
about covid. I mean, we can argue and not you
and I that people can argue about vaccines and all that
stuff. I've always looked at it.
You know, you get a vaccine, don't get a vaccine if we're not
treating our bodies, if we're not healthy.
We're still going to have bad outcomes from It and that's been
borne out in people who are overweight who were obese, not
picking on them, but it's just a huge percentage of our
population. They have bad outcomes with
covid. Yeah, and when they were
vaccinated, I think I think improving upon your foundation
is Paramount regardless of what does he try to mitigate against
whether it's cancer or covid? I mean, one of my biggest
frustrations over the course of the past two years as it relates
to covid is That, you know from the beginning I was always
trying to be on top of my nutrition be on top of my
training, be on top of you know, healthy lifestyle and you know,
when I would encourage people to do the same as a simple
Safeguard to improving their overall immune Health, which
would in turn help them find covid.
If they were to get it, many of them would push back and say hey
look that's that's great from a lifestyle, long-term standpoint.
But this is very acute situation.
The only thing that is going to fix this as a an acute solution,
but here we are two years in And I can tell you with utmost
certainty that anybody can totally transform their health
with 180 degree, turn into years.
I completely ten thousand percent, agree with you and we
have to be looking at. Okay, so we're looks like maybe
worth. I don't know what the end is for
covid, but we're finding a way to live with it.
But what happens for the next pandemic whether it's in five
years, or ten years, or 30 years, or whatever.
I mean if we don't start paying Attention to our bodies and
getting healthier. We're going to go to the same
exact thing or Worse. Yeah, what are some
non-negotiable for, you know, like, what are some, some new
lifestyle choices that you make, whether it's the yoga or your
food that you like, do not waver from no matter what?
So, the food is interesting thing, when I got diagnosed,
even when I was still doing chemotherapy back, then I
started Consulting a lot of nutritionists and I got
frustrated because II probably Dr. Five or six nutritionist.
I was getting very different advice.
Some people were saying, do keto diet.
Some people are saying don't do Peter diet.
Some people were saying no red meat.
Some people are saying no, you got to eat, you know, you got to
eat good, red meat, healthy red meat.
The only thing I found in common with all a nutritionist, I
talked to was Joni processed sugar and processed flour, or at
least cut it down a lot. I mean that was never a big
problem for me, but Aye, aye. Aye, I listened to that and I
definitely lessen the amount of sugar that I take him.
So that's not negotiable. I eat very little red meat.
I watch my carb intake, I don't drink, but I know I mean, I have
a glass of wine every month or something, but I was never a
drinker anyway, so that's not a problem.
It's not like I had to cut that out.
I don't smoke cigarettes. I'm not a recreational drug
user. I mean, I was back in my 20s
where teens and twenties, but not now I minimized prescription
drugs, more possible. I'd rather look for
Alternatives. First.
I mean, I definitely think there's a place for Western
medicine. I just think we've gone way
overboard and so I'm suspicious of it.
And when doctors lead with writing prescriptions, rather
than talk to Me about my life or my stress, or what?
I'm eating or how much I'm moving my body.
I get very suspicious. So I think and the other well,
I'm sorry. There is one other thing and
that is moving my body every day.
I feel like we'd become a very sedentary Society.
I mean, it started with someone pointing this out to me.
I hadn't really thought of it. It started where the air
conditioning back in the 50s and 60s, more people started, just
staying indoors more because it was more comfortable.
And then we had TV, and then when, you know it, Shooters
internet phones and we've become very sedentary and I it's a
non-negotiable thing for me that I move my body a couple hours a
day now. Yeah, I think you know, I'm all
about nutrition. I can dive in nutrition all day
long with anybody, but I feel like the single the single best
thing anybody can do to improve. Their health is just simply
being more physically. Active that doesn't necessarily
equate to going to the gym and pumping iron all day long, but
just simply moving your body more like if there was one
single thing that I I would not sacrifice if I wanted to improve
my longevity and lifestyle. It would absolutely be that I
agree. I mean I think even going on a
brisk. Walk 20 to 30 minute walk every
day. I mean, it doesn't sound like
much but it's certainly better than doing nothing.
So I'm you know, that's another thing.
I tried to. I don't get out to walk every
day, but I do try to get outside.
I mean, that's another thing just to get some some natural
vitamin D. I'm just a breeze, some error
rather than Being indoors. I mean, to me being indoors is
sort of, I've, it's sort of poisonous to me.
Yeah, I agree. I feel like, I don't know.
I feel like especially right now everybody's been cooped up for
so long that people have forgotten how to interact with
one another and just simply getting outside.
I mean, there's something therapeutic about being outside
in the environment and I'm the woods out underneath the sun.
Like there's something to that for sure.
What about when it comes to Some of these alternative therapies,
like the mistletoe. What was the mistletoe supposed
to have? Never heard of that in my entire
life? Mistletoe is another form of
immunotherapy, alternative form of immunotherapy and it's an
injection when I was doing it at injection, three days a week,
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I've, they taught me how to do
it myself. It's, you know, you tape.
It goes small needle and you get the the, the fluid inside the,
the needle or whatever. It's called.
I don't know. The Neurology and he injected
into your abdomen, but it's a form of just like I was talking
about earlier about immunotherapy.
It's a way of pumping. Your body is immune system up to
ward off cancer, and I've seen it help.
You buy me. There's books about it.
There Johns. Hopkins is now doing a clinical
trial, but like I said, it's been used in Europe for decades
and decades. It's interesting.
At that moment, the dive into that for sure.
The John Hopkins is put out a bunch of studies around the
ketogenic diet as it relates to preventing and mitigating
against cancer, but I can totally understand your
frustration and speaking to several different nutritionist
and there being so many varying points of view as to what's best
for nutritional standpoint. It makes it tough.
I mean and it actually would have taught me is that there's
no one-size-fits-all or or because there is I'm not aware
of it. I mean eating Ethier is
one-size-fits-all moving your body.
I believe is, you know, everyone would be better off doing that.
But in terms of what the kind of food we put in our body, I'm not
sure that there is just one way, there's probably many ways.
The other thing I want to add is when I was in Germany, doing my
alternative stuff back in 2017. I was staying in an apartment
building and not far from the clinic.
I was going to and across the street was a bakery, apparently
was very well-known Bakery and Frank.
For Germany and my doctor towards end of my stay.
My doctor asked me. Have you been to that Bakery?
And I said, no. I haven't.
I just really trying to watch what I eat.
It's just a lot of sugar and I just don't think I should do
that. And he looked at me and he said,
look, I applaud you for wanting to eat healthier.
You do need to eat healthier, that will help your journey, but
once in a great while, you know, whether it's once every couple
months or whatever. you can treat yourself because treating
yourself is also part of life, and that taught me something as
well, that what it taught me was, I didn't have to be
Perfect. I didn't have to be perfect.
And that actually, let the air out of the tire.
Let the pressure whatever it's called.
I'm not using the right Burbage right now, but I, I put so much
pressure on myself, but I had to do it, right.
I still put a lot of pressure on myself to do it, right?
But with the caveat, I'm going to slip once in a while because
I'm human. Yeah, I think I think we should
always strive to be optimal but also Realize and recognize and
how have enough self-awareness to know that will never be
perfect. And I think if you are always
striving to be optimal but doing so in a way that is sustainable
for you and not conducive to so much stress that it becomes a
negative stress as opposed to a positive stress.
And that, that that line is going to be different for
everybody based off of their life experiences and you know
what their can tolerate. But yeah, you don't ever want to
be so dialed in to be perfect and optimized that it Results in
such a massive increase in stress and that everything else
becomes hindered. And I need to take my own advice
on that because I'm cat too much stress as it is, right?
All right. Yep.
No, it's definitely a relief to know you don't have to be
perfect. But I mean part of also being
better in part of me for the healing Journey, now is to talk
to people like you. I mean, you have things that
you've done in your life and you have a platform now.
I don't know if we're going to do in this podcast, but I'd love
to learn more. What you have learned about
cancer and the keto diet. Yeah, and we'll just from, I
mean, I don't have cancer. I don't know too many people
that have it. Personally.
I've had some guest on the podcast but as it relates to the
ketogenic diet there seems to be a pretty growing body of
literature and research that suggests that keeping blood
sugar's stable, keeping blood ketones, circulating at a higher
rate, because ketones can also cross the Brain barrier and fuel
the brain synapses that are required for, you know,
functioning as a human species. So optimizing from a ketogenic
standpoint seems to have a pretty positive neurological
impact. And then also there's been I
think it's pretty dependent upon the type of cancer.
But like dr. Dominic D'Agostino, he's done a
lot of work on Galia. Best bless them, a brain cancer.
And that seems to be starved for lack of a better word in the
absence of too much sugar and glucose.
So if You remove a lot of that from the diet.
Basically, again, this is totally outside my wheelhouse.
I'm not a doctor but the mitochondria of the cancer cells
can't seem to function in fuel themselves in the absence of
sugar. Whereas other cells in the body
can. So if you remove that Sugar,
you're basically starving the cancer of what its primary fuel
source is whereas you're not starving the rest of your body.
So a lot of cancer patients seem to perform better and Some of
the adverse effects of cancer and cancer treatment.
If they're adopting a ketogenic diet and lifestyle.
I think that's great. I mean, that sounds right to me,
as I said, I am not on a keto diet, but I watch what I eat in
terms of carbs. I definitely watch what I eat
with regard to sugar, processed flour, and all that.
Because I, I'm just not disciplined enough to keto diet.
I'll be honest with you and I don't cook, which is a problem
and I live by myself. So that made keto unrealistic
for me, but I do think I follow some of the principles of Quito.
And some of the people that I follow some of the people in the
alternative cancer world are definitely into the keto diet
for treating cancer. They're absolutely into it,
believe it, and they've showed that it has really good results.
Yeah. I can I can send you some some
research. One of the conference's
metabolic Health Summit which hosts a conference Once I
believe they've got it in me this year they have like that's
one of the conference's that really highlights Quito from a
neurological standpoint and also from a cancer prevention
standpoint and every single year like last year.
They had, I guess 2020. They had a basically a book that
kind of took a lot of the research that was presented that
year and formatted into Italy book.
I can send you that. That's got some pretty
interesting articles in there. But I think you know anything
from a more holistic. Approach with regard to
mitigating these adverse effects of cancer.
And other diseases is definitely the direction that I would
Advocate people take as opposed to just simply looking for, you
know, a drug or some type of conventional medicine, Cure.
All That is not really fixing the underlying root issue.
And if you can improve your lifestyle design or nutrition as
the underlying, you know, fix that would always bowed better
in my opinion. Yep.
I totally agree. I mean, I Again, I'm not trying
to harp on doctors. I think they try and there's so
many good ones out there. There's also some that are not
very good. But what I do want to comment on
is that they're not really trained very much in nutrition.
I mean, I think at most to get a couple weeks in medical school
and they'll admit that it to they all say they have very
minimal education from a nutritional standpoint.
Right? Right.
And they practice medicine and we should take that literally.
They practice medicine. They lead with Drugs.
Most of the time. I mean, I'm not talking about
orthopedic doctors and the like, and I'm also not talking about
emergency medicine, which I think Western medicine does
really a great job of. But when it comes to treating
chronic disease, I don't think Western medicine does a very big
job. Yeah.
Yeah, I would have to agree with you on that.
And I mean, like you said, I don't want to cast doctors and
modern medicine and conventional medical practices in a negative
light. Because like, if I'm out working
outside, I chop my leg off with a chainsaw.
I want to have your night in medicine that we do, but at the
same time, I think, you know, if we fixed more of these
underlying root issue, whether that be nutrition or activity,
or you know, stress levels would probably see a massive reduction
in these chronic diseases and illnesses to begin with.
So, there's also the problem of, with the term of What's Done in
reality called standard of care. I'm guessing you've run into
that or no. Bout that I ran into it.
I certainly ran into it in my cancer Journey.
That doctors had to do chemotherapy first because
otherwise I don't get reimbursed by the insurance companies and I
don't get, I can't get it. Covered by my insurance company.
So insurance companies are dictating standard of care.
I ran into it many years ago. My numbers.
I have a pretty good heart, I think, but my numbers were a
little off and my regular doctor said I should go see it.
Geologist Karl just ran a bunch of tests.
I pass all of them except one and she prescribe statins.
And I didn't want to take statins because as I mentioned
earlier, I don't really like doing even prescription drugs.
I went back to my regular doctor and said, why did she put me on
statins? If my numbers are all really
pretty good. And she said my regular doctor
said, because she had to if she doesn't prescribe statins and
you want him dying of a heart attack.
She could be sued. So, Our medical system is so
screwy. I mean, insurance companies
dictated litigation, dictates it and it to me, it's really gone
way way off course. Yeah.
I totally agree. I don't know what the solution
to that would be. I mean, I again, I'm not a
doctor and I don't want to play on the in and I don't know that
world as well as many others. So I don't know what they're
required by law to do. But I feel like the, as it
relates to the insurance companies and the standard of
care people are often incentive eye, doctors office.
Devised in a way that is not in the best interests interest of
the patient from a underlying fix standpoint.
Right? So like when with regard to
cholesterol numbers for instance, and there's been a lot
of people within the ketogenic space from a letter that are
doctors and they speak out about just automatically prescribing a
Statin but instead looking at how they can improve their
nutrition because a lot of the cholesterol numbers are pretty
screwed to like I can depending on what I eat the night before I
go get my lipid panel done, that's going to massively.
We dictate what those numbers look like.
So a lot of it is is in a state of flux and if the, you know,
I've had several clients that I work with on nutrition, they'll
have a slightly elevated cholesterol panel and they'll
go, and they'll automatically be be prescribed a Statin, but the
doctor won't inquire about their nutrition at all about their
lifestyle. And just a few simple fixes from
a nutritional standpoint off and get those numbers to where the
doctor would want to see them. But these, you know, clients in
mind that just automatically go in, they get prescribed a
Statin, it's a Of a confusing place to be in.
Indeed, it is. And there's also like, with all
drugs, there are potential side effects and statins.
I mean, you know, I'm going to Echo your words.
I'm not a doctor. I'm not a clinical researcher,
but, you know, you can go online and see that there are studies
that show that statins. Just as one example can, call
can cause memory loss long term memory loss.
Now, that may be a small percentage of people, but you
don't know, because Has your sort of a guinea pig, right?
So we're all sort of rolling are nice, but we're not there just
to get back to the main point. We're not rolling the dice when
it comes to getting help here. We know that helps.
Yeah, it may not, it may not cure cancer.
It may not cure heart disease, but it's going to click, put
your body in better shape to hopefully withstand those
diseases. Yeah, I think you know, there
may absolutely be a place for statins or me.
Absolutely be a place for all these conventional medicine.
Inventions, but when the patient puts those in higher priority
for fixing a chronic disease or illness over their lifestyle
choices that that's when there is a problem and I feel like you
know that I may then today no one's going to care as much
about your health as you are and you can't trust your doctor to
care as much about your health as you do.
So trying to get those underlying issues fixed and just
simply improve your baseline from, you know health and
wellness standpoint should absolutely be your main
perogative. I think so.
Yeah, absolutely. I think so.
I'd love to dive into your motivation for the book.
So, so real quick. What is the name of the book?
So the book is called life is a ride.
My unconventional journey of cancer recovery.
You can find it or any listeners of this confounded both in
paperback or if you want like an e-book Edition any bookstore
Amazon Barnes & Noble. Local book stores won't carry it
in person. We'll have it on their online
websites and your motivation for writing this book, stemmed from
you beating cancer. And then also thriving as a
result of. Right, so I surviving and
thriving from this sort of this kind of cancer.
So rare probably two or three years into my journey around.
Maybe 2018, 2019. I started getting lots of calls
and emails from people. Good.
I had written a Blog early on when I got diagnosed.
Even when things weren't going well and I it wasn't a secret of
what I was going through. So when I started doing well,
after I change course, people wanted to know what I did.
I mean the same kind of questions.
You were asking me at the beginning of the podcast.
What do you do? And so I would tell them and I
was talking to and I still talk to maybe one family, one cancer
patient or one, you know, friend of a cancer patient, at least
once a week twice a week even now.
But I realized this is a good story.
Morning, and and I didn't. So I wrote the book got
published in 2020 about a year and a half ago.
I didn't write it to make money. I mean it's done reasonably well
for an independent book and I'm happy about that because I have
an ego and I want people to read it, but I did not write it for
the money. I wrote it because well actually
I wrote it because I wanted my kids to know everything that had
gone through. I mean, my kids are 19 and 17
now. By the way, it turns out my kids
haven't read. It has not yet me because they
told me, we lived it with you. We don't need to read it and
they're right. They'll read it at some point,
but they haven't read it yet. But but I wrote it because and
it took me, I wasn't even sure. I knew this until I started
writing that my story provides hope to others.
So when I talk to people even now, but even when I started
talking to people three or four years ago, I never I give I give
non medical advice, very careful.
Just like you are, you know, I talk about lifestyle diet.
We're moving my body, all that questioning doctors taking
charge your health, but I never, I never give medical advice.
I never said, don't do chemotherapy or I want to say
that sometimes but I don't, but I realized I was providing hope.
And hope is a big deal on the cancer when you have cancer.
I didn't have hope when I first started, when I started talking
to other people who had been through it and it would gotten
through it and who would survive and thrive that meant a lot to
me. And so I realized I could pay it
forward by writing the book. One other thing that as much as
I want to sell as many books as possible.
I if people email me, I'll send them a PDF of the book.
My email address is Chris Joseph of mac.com just like, Sounds
Chris Joseph of Mac like the computer.com and I've given away
many. I've given away many hard copies
to but I don't know a couple of hundred PDFs of the of the book.
I just want people to read it. I don't care about the financial
aspect of it. I think there's a lot to be said
for having hope with anything. Especially something is, as, you
know, insurmountable as a diagnosis that you think could
lead to. Your demise in a year, I mean,
when you have been given that news to have something to grasp,
hold of and have hope has got to be able to breathe life into
your desire and will to find a way to add more years to that
life and quality years at that. So I think, you know, haven't
hoping a situation like that is Paramount I think so and I will
tell you that I because I've been there, I do believe it's
really, really hard for people as it was for me early on to
Very from, from the advice that your doctor gives you, because
we want to believe that the doctors know, and of course,
generally they do, but in life-threatening situations for,
for chronic illnesses, they don't always know.
So, I've talked I'd the reason I bring that up is, I've talked to
people who have continued on their own path of listen to
their doctor, and they didn't do well, some have actually done
fine less than their doctor. It's All over the map, but
that's why that's another reason why I just don't want to get in
the business of giving medical advice, people are going to do
what they're going to do. But the Hope thing.
Yeah, I can do that. I can provide that.
Well, I don't know, too many people personally have gone
through chemo, a few, but it seems as though when if they
don't have hope from something outside of the conventional
medical realm. And what they do see is chemo as
like they're only Alternative and they do that and then they
start feeling very poorly. I mean that's it's harder to see
a light at the end of the tunnel if that's your reality.
I would imagine. I think so.
I mean and it's also, you know, Karen counterintuitive.
I mean when you're doing chemo, I think this is true for many
people. It was true for me.
You're tired all the time nauseous.
You don't feel coffee. We lost her confidence.
Hair's falling out. You can't really move your body
because your show So tired and so you're becoming more stagnant
and so it sort of does the opposite of what really is
really healthy for your body, which is what we talked about
earlier, eating right, getting good nutrition and and burning
some calories, getting some fresh air.
You know, chemo does what it does, it poisons, cancers
yelled. Unfortunately, it also poisons.
Good cells to. Yeah.
Did you find that writing just like the act of writing was?
An outlet for you to, Simply get your thoughts out on paper, and
then was that kind of therapeutic in a sense.
It was, I mean, as I said, I had written a Blog.
So I had probably 25% of the book came from the blog's.
I had written. I mean I had to change the
narrative and tenses and all that stuff.
But I had a basis from which to think like a jumping off point,
but I started writing the book in March a 20/20, right?
When the pandemic hit full bore and I Went up to Mammoth Lakes
here in California. And this year's and I brought my
computer and was up there for a week.
And I was just riding every day. I joined Anna, David's writing
group the publisher of your book of my book and and I was writing
an hour every day, but I wrote the book in three months.
I wrote a really really quickly because I was absolutely
determined to write it. I knew the story because I had
lived it and I it was therapeutic.
I took a long time, to answer your question.
I apologize for that. But it but it was therapeutic
and it was it continues to be therapeutic because I'm ever
since it was published in summer of twenty twenty.
I've done a lot of podcasts on the interviews.
I've been able to get the word out.
I'm starting my own podcast. Hopefully, by March to
interview, people who have thrived, not just survive, but
Thrive from not only illnesses but have For come other things,
other obstacles in life. All that is therapeutic.
And it's, you know, just as you know, I knew I could provide
hope for other people talking to people.
Gives it feeds me. I mean it really, you know, I'm
getting a lot out of a 2-0. So I know that may sound a
little selfish but it helps me to to see what other people have
done to improve their lives. When you were writing your, you
were writing before. Before this, the rannoch.
I was, I was perusing on your link tree and you had a few blog
posts where those written recently as well.
Over those long before I had actually never published
anything. Rosie called publishing a blog
publishing, but until I started publishing blogs back in late
2016. I had, I really had never done
anything other than I wrote a couple of pieces for the Los
Angeles Times, which is that maybe one of the things you saw
that was back in 1993. I think I wrote about a blues
musician. I read the blood of bounce, your
intentions, for Holmberg. Not my wife, and I are doing a
home birth. So I read that one.
Oh, I wrote that a few months ago, but the incident it's
occurred in 2002 when my first son was born.
So, you know, it's easy. I don't know how people write
fiction and just make up dialogue and stories, all that.
I don't know how people do that for Memoir, and, and blogging.
I mean, we're writing about our lives.
So to me that seems a bit easier.
You write what, you know, I mean that truly is writing what, you
know, yeah. Yeah.
It's been a like this. My first legitimate book and
that's kind of why I love. I love it.
But I hated the same time like it's just it's I don't know like
it's a good thing. I'm glad that I've done it for
sure but it's writing is not my natural for tight like
podcasting. I like podcasting fuck.
This is a much more organic natural medium for me than to,
right. But at the same time I think
being able to write and be able to take the thoughts that are in
your head and put them on. Paper in a way that people can
understand them with as little clutter and disorganization is
possible, is an incredibly valuable skill set that fewer
and fewer people are obtaining and applying on a day-to-day
basis. I think that's a great Point.
Yeah. I like that.
I hadn't really thought of it that way.
I think writing absolutely not. The first person to say this
writing can be very lonely. And sometimes it was for me,
although writing in a writing group.
Of. But what was even lonelier than
the times I would feel lonely writing is a journey with a,
what could be a fatal disease. That's really lonely.
So writing about it actually seemed sort of therapeutic being
able to put my words down on paper and knowing I was going to
share them with whoever wanted to read them.
That that felt liberating. Yeah, liberating with you.
Having gone through this and In the perspective that you have,
are there things that you see people doing just in the
day-to-day where each one like shake them and say, hey, look
knucklehead, you know, do this instead life's life's short like
like, what does that ever happen to you?
Every day? I'm laughing because I actually
had to taper off my social media usage just because I would get
so frustrated seeing what people do?
I mean, and, you know, what we talked about earlier covid is
just one example, I mean, We spend all this energy fighting
about vaccines and mandates and Bob Lon.
Yeah, you know, the real secret for long term health is what we
talked about earlier. And and so, yeah, I it does, it
does make me want to shake people.
Sometimes it's very frustrating. I get very frustrated when
people. Again, this came up during the
covid period covid abate. People would say, oh, you just
got to listen to your doctor. And I am here to tell you that
listening to your doctor is not always a good thing because it
almost killed me. So yeah, listen to your doctors
would be skeptical of them at the same time, you can do both.
So I do get frustrated. I'm not sure that frustration
itself is healthy, but I haven't found a better way.
If you have a better way, let me know, please.
No, I don't have a better way, but I have noticed I have become
acutely aware, especially over the past two years, honestly,
because I've I've seen an opportunity squandered.
I feel like these past two years could have been an amazing
opportunity for people to recognize the importance of
improving their health. But then also recognize the
importance of rallying together behind a soul cause that affects
such a broad group of people. And instead of, of both of those
opportunities being leveraged. You've seen the exact opposite,
take place. You've seen people become more
unhealthy, more depressed, lean on their devices.
Even more and you've seen more division amongst people with
varying, you know, viewpoints and so my frustration stems from
just a squandered opportunity more than anything.
Yeah, yeah, I could not agree more.
I mean, I've gotten hammered a couple times on social media
because I bring up this issue about obesity and it's like you
can't even talk about it. Bill Maher, who has a much
larger platform than I do. Talks about it on his show a
lot. It's such a killer literally, a
killer of people in this country and we are Q's people who talk
about it are cues of shaming people who are overweight, which
couldn't be further from the truth.
I mean, if I was calling John Smith, a fat person to his face,
that would be shaming, but but I don't do that and I wouldn't do
that but to talk about the problem in this country and what
a huge problem it is, that's not shaming.
That just trying to Big a problem shine as much light as
possible on the problem. Yeah.
I mean, I don't know, like I don't want to be fat shaming.
Anybody either by the same time, like, if me personally, if I was
doing something that was just blatantly wrong, whether that
was, you know, an addiction that was unhealthy drinking too much
gambling, or anything that I would want to people close to me
to call me out on it, so that I could have.
So I can get outside my own bubble of thought and Echo
chamber and have somebody. Give me a voice of reason.
So there's a dichotomy that exists between doing something
with the intention of hurting someone versus help.
Someone and I feel like if we're doing things with the right
intention, I mean, sometimes that hard news is the most
important news to Bear. Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, think about, I mean, we've been bombarded on
cable news or newspapers or whatever.
We've been bombarded with public health, experts and public
health, experts who have a platform.
Rarely rarely talked about the importance of eating healthy.
Moving your body getting outside.
They rarely do it. And so to me, they're not even
Public Health experts. They may be epidemiologists and
maybe vaccinologist whatever but they're not getting at the heart
of what we really need to address.
We're going to get through the pandemic, as bumpy as we did.
We still have a huge, huge problem on our hands.
Yeah. Well, there's so much, I mean,
when it comes to nutrition, Can we kind of alluded to this
earlier? There's so much division around
it. It's hard for people to have a
hard-nosed stances to what is healthy.
I mean, you know, you would think healthy food is simply
healthy food, but, you know ask a vegan what healthy food is
that answers going to look much different than if you ask a
corner for what healthy food is I think hope.
But I mean, even believe it or not, you guys some people and
they'll tell you, hey, look, there is no good food versus bad
food. It's all just food.
You can't demonize sugars and carbohydrates.
Like, there is definitely a group of people that say, That
too. So for me, it's always just like
let's just simplify things and remove all the or at least
minimize all the heavily processed foods with a bunch of
added crap ingredients in there that are not natural and then
make sure you're getting enough healthy fats, enough healthy
proteins, from a biological standpoint.
There is not an essential carbohydrate out there.
So you don't have to consume carbohydrates.
So that of all the macro nutrients, that's probably the
one that you want to limit the most but that's not to say that
you can't have them. Just have them in a way.
That is healthy. Yep, I would second that
completely. And I also think, I mean,
there's there's obviously a big problem in this country that
healthier food. Sometimes can't isn't as
affordable. I mean, you know, where I live
here in Santa Monica. I mean, we're bombarded with
Whole Foods and other high-end health food stores, and they're
very expensive. And so I totally understand how
people can't really afford. Sometimes.
They can't afford healthy food, healthy.
Our food. But that being said, no one
forces anyone to drink a Coca-Cola, no one.
And we know that's bad for you. We know with all the, you know,
it's just loaded with, you know, what?
I don't even know. 60 grams of sugar can or some outrageous
number. No, one forces people to smoke
cigarettes to drink. No one forces people to eat
fried foods. I mean, so there are things we
can do even if we can't afford healthier food.
Yeah. In green.
I mean, I see it a lot within the nutrition space it with in
Quito as well because there's certainly expensive food options
out there. I don't want that to be a
limiting factor. The point where people feel they
can't make any progress, but just simply do the best you can
with what you can afford and that will put you in a much
better Direction than, you know, paying no attention towards any
of it. The other not to were being
asked for advice right now, but but I also think turning off the
TV turning off the news in progress.
In particular to me, that's his poisonous.
What? I don't care.
What side of the fence. You're on whether it's Fox MSNBC
CNN to me. They're all poison.
I mean, it's not even news and
it just agitate you, you know, what agitates people, which as
you mentioned earlier, can lead to stress and stress can lead to
unhealthy outcomes. Yeah, one of my probably one of
my most prominent quote-unquote life hacks is that I have never
owned a TV. My entire life don't really see.
Reason to now and I do not watch the news.
You're a better human for it. Yeah, II don't take it that far.
I sometimes wish I would but I think that's great.
I admire you for that. My Achilles heel is social media
because I use it and leverage it for the business and it's easy
to get kind of stuck down a rabbit hole within social media
because there is news on social media.
So haven't got it figured out perfectly, but I definitely
think not The TV, especially not having just constantly running
is a huge step in the right direction.
Yeah, and also, hopefully, I'm sure for for you, it's true, but
for other people, it gives you more hours of the day where you
can be outside, or do a 20-minute walk or whatever.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Well. What's got you excited now,
what's in the pipeline for you? What's coming?
What's what are you going to do with this next chapter of
thriving in your life, you know, I think about writing another
book. I've started as you mentioned
earlier, right? I have been writing some essays
that I've been published being. I just want to write a few more
essays, you know, maybe one a month this point and that could
turn into another book. I may have some point.
Do an update of life is arrived. The first book in 2020?
Because I think part of the journey I can tell this is
absolutely true for you is that hopefully in a couple years,
we're going to know more than we know now and I No more now than
I did, when I wrote the book, almost two years ago.
So there may be an update to the book at some point.
There's a lot of non-writing things.
I'm doing. I'm still, I'm 65.
I'm still working full-time. I have a longtime girlfriend.
My kids are late teams. So I'm still parenting.
I still want to travel. I mean there's a lot.
I just want to continue living life and that to me is thriving
one other thing. If it could I add one other
thing before out of time. Bye.
When we started this podcast, I want to talk about the, the
surviving versus thriving. I really want to try and that is
one of my goals is to try and change the narrative.
I mean, I even see it with cancer organizations.
It's all about surviving and surviving surviving or not
surviving. And I want to change the
narrative. I think it's not good enough to
just survive. I think we have to shoot for
thriving. And I've met so many people who
have done that. That's what I want my body.
Ask me about, that's what I've done.
And I think I think the goal if you're a sports fan, that the
goal isn't to get to the Super Bowl.
It's to win the Super Bowl. And for me, the goal is
thriving, not surviving. I think, I think that is super
important man. Like I seem that that
transcends, just your topic as well that just that transcends,
you know, beating cancer and not surviving that, but I'll try
having through that. I feel like there's so many
people in their day-to-day that are just merely getting by.
They're working in jobs. They don't like their
interrelationships, that, that are unfulfilled longing.
They they have so much dram Drury, you know, nonsense in
their life and they don't, they have those Zeal for life.
Like they don't wake up excited. If they wake up, you know, just
already bummed out and exhausted for the day ahead of them.
That's not healthy, that that is surviving through life.
I mean, that's not living, certainly not thriving and I
feel like I feel like people that have come from, you know,
terrible terrible places or have you had something so profound
like it a cancer diagnosis, hit them like it acts as the
Catalyst, that wakes them up to the fact that they will die.
Or life isn't always sunshine and rainbows, but it makes
people appreciate what they do. Have to the point where they
appreciate it enough to have a love for it and really feed into
it and make the most of every A second counts and so many people
live, these humdrum lives with humdrum jobs that are totally in
fulfilling with no excitement. No Zeal, no energy.
No love for their day-to-day and that is probably one of the most
horrendous cancers out there. Yeah.
Well, I love how you characterize, that very, very
true. I agree.
But I think, I think your message, I think what you're
trying to do. I think, you know, you starting
a podcast would be freaking awesome and I listened to that,
for sure. Did you did you decide on a
name? You know, I go back and forth II
probably not ready to reveal it. If you have, I do want part of
the name. Will be happy.
Ending is just because I think it's a cute name and people
remember it, but it it's going to have a tagline to it.
I've been playing with some different words.
I'm starting to record some episodes this week.
So So I do need to decide on that in the next couple days.
Nice. Nice.
Well, I'm super excited for him and and excited for what you got
coming. I'm excited for the revision of
your current book, or the next book.
Whatever that ones that being, if there's ever anything I can
do for you, Chris. Just let me know, man.
Robert. Thank you for having me on.
I'm looking for. I know we're going to be on man
has Workshop here in a couple weeks again, and I'm really
grateful that I met you and that we've crossed paths.
Yeah. 100% man. What where can people go?
Like, is your social media? Like what?
You typically Point people to. So the website is life is a ride
either the book or book. I think it's just book.com., I
should remember that, but I don't, I'm on Facebook, Chris
Joseph, and Santa Monica on Instagram.
I have a Twitter account by. Don't check it.
I don't use it. I'm mostly on Facebook a little
bit on Instagram or people can email me, Chris, josefa mac.com.
And you know, they can't even text me.
If you want, I'll give out my phone.
Awry. I'll talk to anyone.
You can tell you that. I mean I had no idea how many
people would hit that up. I don't want you to be
bombarded. I'll tell you what, I'll leave
it at the email. And/or.
People can find me on social media or at that website.
Awesome. I will certainly linking out to
those. Make it easy for people to find.
You. Definitely keep in touch
screens. There's everything can do for
you, ma'am. Just let me know.
Robert. Thanks again.
Take care. All right, bye-bye.