Bio: Elizabeth Pemberton
Health means many different things to different people. As a child, I thought health was simply the absence of acute or visible illness. As I grew, the meaning became more complex.
Today, I think of health as an overarching term that encompasses my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. I feel healthy when I can run for a mile without stopping, but also when I can experience an emotionally painful moment without lashing out or burying my pain. I feel healthy when I meditate, and also when I purposely seek out and spend time with people who lift me up and challenge me. I have found that if even one area is out of balance, I have a much more difficult time attaining overall health; for me, this ever-changing act of balance is an integral part of life.
In 2015, I lost a dear aunt to cancer. She was a shining light: the center of attention in every room, and generous to a fault. At that time, I was helping people improve their health through diet, exercise and meditation, but my knowledge about holistic cancer treatment options was very limited. I spent many hours researching various therapies, methods and protocols for her, but she was afraid to implement anything that wasn’t expressly recommended by her oncologist. (Her doctor warned her against supplements, and didn’t recommend anything other than chemo and radiation. And, when the time came, hospice.)
I experienced a painful mix of emotions during the months of her diagnosis and treatment. On one hand, I was honored that she would consider asking me for help, as she was extremely private about her health. On the other hand, I was hurt that she wasn’t able to utilize more natural therapies to treat her cancer or her chemo symptoms.
But on a deeper level, I understood. How can patients be expected to go directly against the advice they receive from physicians? Don’t physicians know more than we do? They have advanced degrees and training, specialized education and lots of experience. Why would we listen to anyone else?
Many safe options for disease recovery and general health and wellness available to us now, but doctors are often suspicious of the new or unknown and they pass this mistrust along to their patients. Is it because they don’t want what’s best for their patients? In most cases, no. Of course medical doctors want to help as many people as they can, but the tools they have been given are outdated and toxic and not keeping up with the paradigm shift of healthcare.
For my aunt, a condition that had grown slowly and unattended for many years was finally irreversible, and yet the doctors insisted upon round after round of chemotherapy. Her last months were spent miserable, wracked with nausea and acute pain, and unable to care for herself.
My greatest frustration at that time was the utter lack of options presented to her. She was given repeated rounds of what the medical community considered the top treatments. Even after she was told she could not be cured, she still continued to receive treatment without integrative support to mitigate side effects or help to preserve quality of life. Instead of spending time and money enjoying life, being happy and comfortable, the very medications used to treat her cancer made her sicker, wreaked havoc on her body and eventually killed her.
How many people are going through cancer treatment who feel like they only have the treatment plan that their oncologists recommends? If they pursue anything else they may have to pay out of pocket costs or, worse, be “fired” from treatment.
Here at Theta Living, clients are given the one thing most cancer patients are denied: options. If I could have given my aunt the gift of Theta Living I would have. Even if she had still chosen to have traditional treatment, the therapies at Theta would have helped her feel better, physically and emotionally, and could have perhaps extended her time on earth with her family. Theta Living offers options; when it comes to cancer, we need as many as possible. We are not a treatment center - we are a wellness center: helping people to fell well.
Today, I think of health as an overarching term that encompasses my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. I feel healthy when I can run for a mile without stopping, but also when I can experience an emotionally painful moment without lashing out or burying my pain. I feel healthy when I meditate, and also when I purposely seek out and spend time with people who lift me up and challenge me. I have found that if even one area is out of balance, I have a much more difficult time attaining overall health; for me, this ever-changing act of balance is an integral part of life.
In 2015, I lost a dear aunt to cancer. She was a shining light: the center of attention in every room, and generous to a fault. At that time, I was helping people improve their health through diet, exercise and meditation, but my knowledge about holistic cancer treatment options was very limited. I spent many hours researching various therapies, methods and protocols for her, but she was afraid to implement anything that wasn’t expressly recommended by her oncologist. (Her doctor warned her against supplements, and didn’t recommend anything other than chemo and radiation. And, when the time came, hospice.)
I experienced a painful mix of emotions during the months of her diagnosis and treatment. On one hand, I was honored that she would consider asking me for help, as she was extremely private about her health. On the other hand, I was hurt that she wasn’t able to utilize more natural therapies to treat her cancer or her chemo symptoms.
But on a deeper level, I understood. How can patients be expected to go directly against the advice they receive from physicians? Don’t physicians know more than we do? They have advanced degrees and training, specialized education and lots of experience. Why would we listen to anyone else?
Many safe options for disease recovery and general health and wellness available to us now, but doctors are often suspicious of the new or unknown and they pass this mistrust along to their patients. Is it because they don’t want what’s best for their patients? In most cases, no. Of course medical doctors want to help as many people as they can, but the tools they have been given are outdated and toxic and not keeping up with the paradigm shift of healthcare.
For my aunt, a condition that had grown slowly and unattended for many years was finally irreversible, and yet the doctors insisted upon round after round of chemotherapy. Her last months were spent miserable, wracked with nausea and acute pain, and unable to care for herself.
My greatest frustration at that time was the utter lack of options presented to her. She was given repeated rounds of what the medical community considered the top treatments. Even after she was told she could not be cured, she still continued to receive treatment without integrative support to mitigate side effects or help to preserve quality of life. Instead of spending time and money enjoying life, being happy and comfortable, the very medications used to treat her cancer made her sicker, wreaked havoc on her body and eventually killed her.
How many people are going through cancer treatment who feel like they only have the treatment plan that their oncologists recommends? If they pursue anything else they may have to pay out of pocket costs or, worse, be “fired” from treatment.
Here at Theta Living, clients are given the one thing most cancer patients are denied: options. If I could have given my aunt the gift of Theta Living I would have. Even if she had still chosen to have traditional treatment, the therapies at Theta would have helped her feel better, physically and emotionally, and could have perhaps extended her time on earth with her family. Theta Living offers options; when it comes to cancer, we need as many as possible. We are not a treatment center - we are a wellness center: helping people to fell well.