Pat Wright gets ready to prepare a healthy meal. - photo by Janet Silvera

WESTERN BUREAU:

At 56, Pat Wright's battle with cancer has gained strength. She survived colon cancer at age 24, confronted bone cancer at 26 and, after 26 years of remission, the successful businesswoman renowned for her craft in the beauty and fashion industry saw her greatest nightmare return to her large intestines in 2006.

However, her combative attitude towards the disease has proven her mettle as a true warrior and this is evident in her flawless skin, beautiful hair and positive disposition. A conversation with Wright, who almost died from chemotherapy in 2006, will leave you energised.

Life threatening

"I had one round of chemo which nearly killed me, turned me black and gave me pseudomembrane disease; my doctor said the condition is usually diagnosed during autopsy. That was when I said, 'No more, no more, no more'," Wright reminisced on the period of horror that threatened to take her life.

Looking back, she gives credit to her former brother-in-law, Carrot Jarrett, a holistic practitioner. "He said I must put my faith in this thing called glyconutrients and I did. I went to New York to pick them up and the rest is history."

Wright, who has survived the deadly disease three times, told Flair, she eats, sleeps, dreams, glyconutrients. "I take Glyconutrient Plus, it's for your endochrine system. Mannacleanse cleanses the liver and Advanced Ambrotose (AA), which is a powder and the real 'big boy', is an immune support formula," she explained.

She is quick to point out that neither of the supplements she takes tells you they will help cancer patients. "But they recommend it to build up your immune system, which it does, as it contains the eight simple sugars you need for life," she stated.

Since discovering glyconutrients, not only has she become an advocate, but she has added more of their supplements to her daily intake. "I take gi-pro and gi-zyme which are digestive enzymes and pro-biotics which I need at my age to digest my food, in addition to Imunnostart, which is for my immune system, and Phytomatrix, which is a multi vitamin."

Sacrifices

Wright also sustains her health by eating a large quantity of raw food, which regenerates new healthy cells. But she warns, "The condition I am in cannot be achieved unless you are prepared to make the sacrifice."

There is no sugar in her diet, as she is convinced that "cancer follows sugar" so, "eat lots of greens in all forms ... generally we should try and get at least 80 per cent raw food in our diet. When you have cancer, while you are healing, food should be 100 per cent raw," she advises.

And exercise. "I found out that cancer patients must not do strenuous exercise. We must do yoga or walk, as strenuous exercise makes your body acidic and the way to overcome cancer is to keep your body alkaline."

Her new lifestyle has seen her spending less time in the supermarket and paying a lot of attention to the food market.

Her son Peter, who operates the raw food business, Peter Principle, was inspired by his mother's battle with cancer.

"Her decision to give up chemotherapy showed extreme strength in changing her lifestyle and diet (she was a fast-every-kind-of-food freak). I saw how this change of diet freed her from cancer and renewed her life," was the quote attributed to him in an article in The Gleaner a few years ago.

He said he too started on the 'live' foods and his whole thinking changed. "I became energised, my complexion improved, I felt good about myself."

Wright blames her sickness on her eating habits. "I aided and abetted cancer," she admitted, followed by stress. "I would eat steak, no vegetable and drink seven bottles of soda each day, just to keep me going at work," she reminisced, adding that no wonder she was so sick at 24.

She said even after most of her colon was removed during her last round with the disease, none of the doctors told her that she needed to change her eating habits. And although her strength has been reinforced by her condition, she said just watching some key friends lose their lives to the disease has made her more aware.

She blogs daily at http:cancersurvivorx2.blogspot.com, where she speaks of the importance of foods such as arugula, cooking with plant oils and cancer cures.

Wright is not against chemotherapy, and thinks there are cancers that can be helped by radiation after surgery. However, she advises, "Choose the new chemo, not the one that kills every cell in our body, but the new ones that are less toxic and are made to target specific areas. You need to talk to your oncologist and if he/she doesn't know, find someone who knows. It's your body and you need to make sure your new cells grow back healthy."

She notes that chemotherapy is not something that one enters into lightly. "Chemotherapy has side effects, some of which are serious and debilitating and can sometimes cause death. Every oncologist I know explains the risks and benefits of chemotherapy. In Canada, a consent form stating the risks and benefits has to be signed by the patient prior to therapy. Why then did I and countless others pursue this avenue? The simple answer is that it works."

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

Pat Wright, veteran stylist and owner of the once-popular PJ'S beauty salon. - photo by Janet Silvera