Eventually cancer becomes just another annoying thing that you deal with, you know, like cellulite.

There's a great metaphor that one of my doctors uses: If a fish is swimming in a dirty tank and it gets sick, do you take it to the vet and amputate the fin? No, you clean the water. So, I cleaned up my system. By eating organic raw greens, nuts and healthy fats, I am flooding my body with enzymes, vitamins and oxygen.

I was not going to kick back and wait for the unknown. I was going to dive in and become a full-time healing junkie.

I am capable, confident, intelligent, resilient and in charge. Health and happiness are my birthrights and I accept with gratitude.

I am so frickin' cool and delicious and pretty and witty and sharp! I love every inch of me! Who wouldn't?

Although Grandma's passion had led me to the power of food, not all of her recipes were healthy. I kept her gusto and the love that she put into her cuisine but ditched the ingredients that bought her a one-way ticket to arthritis, diverticulitis and a host of other inflammatory conditions. I also ditched my own addictions and compulsions around food, especially sugar.

Don't shrink to meet the expectations of others, grow to become the person you want to be.