“Even the doctors joked with me about my superhuman ability to recover”

By: Emily Olsen

Growing up I was always overweight. I still have quite the sweet tooth. There was a time I ate a bowl of ice cream every night. I’m also sure I was addicted to cheese as I would put cheese on anything, and a lot of it. I was raised with the belief that a meal is not a meal unless it revolved around some form of meat. 

Other than being overweight, I was lucky to not have many adverse health issues. I don’t recall going on “diets” or other fad regimens. 

A few years before my diagnosis with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018 I became extremely concerned with diet. I wanted to be healthy, and I wanted my family to be healthy. When I look back at that time, I’m sure it was the spirit preparing me for what was about to happen. 

I searched the Word of Wisdom and read up on all the diets I could find that supported it, but I couldn’t find much. Frustrated, I googled Word of Wisdom diet and found Jane Birch’s Discovering the Word of Wisdoms support group on Facebook. From there my studies led me to all the different whole food, plant-based (WFPB) doctors, books, documentaries, etc. I was convinced this was the right path for me.

I quit milk right off. That was easy. And we’d already been cutting down on meat.  It was a slow process, but I cut out different foods and products and over the space of several months. I went from 186 lbs to 163 lbs.

Then in 2018 we all came down with a cold, except when everyone got better my cough never went away. I also became itchy. Both symptoms became worse over time and nothing worked. I visited the allergist and the dermatologist and even my doctor for answers. Finally after suffering for about six months, and a round of antibiotics that didn’t work, I had an x-ray that showed a mass in my right lung.

After more tests and a lymph node biopsy, the diagnosis was Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. I was sad, thinking how I had found a way to eat to be healthy and now I had cancer. But of course I realize that you typically have cancer for years before you find out. This is when it dawned on me that it was the spirit who led me to a way of eating so that I could have the healthiest means of enduring and surviving the treatments I was about to get.

I had six months of ABVD chemo, the standard first-line treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma. It was rough, but I had an amazing support system and my symptoms were light due to my eating healthy. Interesting, the itchiness disappeared overnight after my largest lymph node was removed.

My doctors were very optimistic about my progress, saying things were going really well. The scans showed no cancer after the first two months, but we finished up the treatment for good measure.

I was well all summer of 2019 and felt on the top of the world. I told everyone I could about the WFPB diet. Then when I had my follow-up PET scan nine months later, the cancer was back.

I was devastated to say the least. I wondered who would believe me now? If a WFPB diet was so good (which I still believed) why would the cancer come back?

I went in for two rounds of a stronger chemo called ICE. And then I prepared for a stem cell transplant. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve given birth to four kids.

During the stem cell transplant, I had to be away from my family in the hospital for almost three months. There were definitely times I felt the lowest, the weakest I’ve ever been. Just getting out of bed was a struggle. I was fighting fatigue, mouth sores, nausea, etc.

I ate the best I could with what was available in the hospital. When I talk to other people who’ve gone through a stem cell transplant, I now realize how light my symptoms were. Even the doctors joked with me about my superhuman ability to recover and avoid side effects. My blood counts rose quickly, and I was able to leave the hospital ten days earlier than scheduled.

This was just in March of this year 2020. And now I’m healthy, and I can hardly believe it was so recent. I know the Lord was with me. I could feel His presence and His love. 

I still don’t know why my cancer came back. And I don’t know if it will come back again or not, but I do know that eating a plant-based diet makes me feel good. And it has made my body stronger and healthier.

This last year (a crazy year for anyone) has brought me and my family so many blessings. I feel closer to my Savior than I ever have. And am eternally grateful for the love and direction I’ve been given.

I know that the Word of Wisdom is of divine origin. A loving Father in Heaven has given us a guide to help us avoid or endure many of the ailments that can plague us, allowing our bodies to heal us.

Emily Olsen is 40 years old and lives in Lovell, Wyoming. She is a life-long member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She and her husband have been married 18 years and have 4 children ages 6 to 16. Emily feels so blessed to be a stay-at-home mother (like her mother before her). She grew up in California (with her large family of 8 siblings) and with her husband has lived in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. She is an artist, a writer, and an avid reader.