Author Ginny Dent Brant: I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It

An Interview With Savio P. Clemente

A Positive Mindset — Cancer is a constant roller coaster of emotions. Fear and worry, the main players, can also drive cancer because both suppress our immune function. I had to get off that roller coaster. It’s best to pray about your concerns, give thanks in all things knowing God will use our trials for our good and His glory, and keep your mind focused on the good things in the middle of the cancer journey. This is where I maintained my focus. Positive emotions enhance the immune system! Negative emotions suppress it! Beating cancer is all about enhancing and enabling our immune system.

Cancer is a horrible and terrifying disease. Yet millions of people have beaten the odds and beat cancer. Authority Magazine started a new series called “I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It”. In this interview series, we are talking to cancer survivors to share their stories, in order to offer hope and provide strength to people who are being impacted by cancer today. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ginny Dent Brant.

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Her recent book, “Unleash Your God-given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer” was written with a foreword and commentary from an oncologist and medical researcher, Dr. Robert Elliott, and has received four awards.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! We really appreciate the courage it takes to publicly share your story. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?

I grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC, where my father served a senator and three presidents. I experienced a wonderful childhood with all the exciting opportunities growing up in our nation’s capitol. I was seventeen years old when Watergate shattered our lives. My father served as an aide to President Richard Nixon. Although the Watergate Trials were a difficult time for my family, my father did not receive a prison sentence. Watergate was the first major crisis we faced as a family. What we endured and learned is found in my book, “Finding True Freedom: From The White House to the World.” Chuck Colson was my cover endorser. I learned from Watergate how to survive trials and live again.

Our next trial as a family was when my Uncle Bobby was diagnosed with colon cancer. Watching his emaciated body waste away from this horrible cancer is something I’ll never forget. Little did I know that both of my parents would be eventually be diagnosed with colon cancer in their early fifties. Fortunately, they both survived. That’s when their doctor told me, “You’re high risk for colon cancer. And if you don’t do what I tell you, I can tell you what will be on your tombstone.” I appreciated him being painfully honest with me. He frightened me into becoming proactive and preventing colon cancer. I had my first colonoscopy at age 30. Fortunately, now at age 66, I’ve never had one polyp.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My father taught me at an early age, “Live your life as a service to others.” My father served this country in the military and politics for the cause of freedom for 25 years. After Watergate, he served in ministry for 25 years. I grew up looking for ways to serve and help others. As a result, I left my modeling career and served in education and counseling for 32 years. I’m now mentoring cancer patients through their treatments and educating others through cancer awareness.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about surviving cancer. Do you feel comfortable sharing with us the story surrounding how you found out that you had cancer?

My husband and I had just completed the Cooper River Bridge Run. In the middle of the night, I was awakened when my ring got entangled in my nightie. While trying to free it, I felt a lump in my breast. This occurred five months after I lost my mother to breast cancer. I immediately went to my doctor. The first shock occurred when the oncologist said, “It’s cancer.” The second shock came when more test results indicated my tumor was aggressive. The third shock, however, brought me to my knees, “It appears your cancer is in your lymph nodes and has spread to other parts of your body!”

What was the scariest part of that event? What did you think was the worst thing that could happen to you?

It was unbelievable that this health nut had a stage 4 aggressive cancer. I fought back in disbelief. “Show me that MRI!” I demanded. I was hoping he had the wrong MRI. When he flashed it up on a life-size screen, it looked like a tornado had invaded my body. I wondered if this cancer was my “Ticket to Heaven?” He assured me they could extend my life, but I wanted more. I wanted to return to a normal life.

How did you react in the short term?

The day I got the initial bad news at work, I called my husband and told him, “It’s cancer. It’s real.” I went directly home. My husband was waiting for me with open arms. He threw his arms around me and prayed over me. He asked God to guide us and provide healing.

After the dust settled, what coping mechanisms did you use? What did you do to cope physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

I learned from the Watergate Trials to go to God first. Whether I lived or died, I was His child and my mission was to glorify Him in all that I did. Cancer was the nightmare I could not wake up from. I kept asking my husband each morning, “Do I have cancer or am I just in a dream?” By the providence of God, I found my own tumor. In His providence, I would walk through this journey. Exercise helped me cope physically and emotionally by reducing stress in my body, but I must also act wisely on my behalf. My husband and I decided to get a second opinion. It made no sense that I’d just passed a mammogram nine months ago, and my doctor had felt no lump just four months earlier. I had many risk factors for colon cancer, but none for this breast cancer. We immediately scheduled a second opinion at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Chicago. I recommend that everyone get a second opinion for any serious diagnosis. It was the best thing we could have done.

Is there a particular person you are grateful towards who helped you learn to cope and heal? Can you share a story about that?

My husband, Alton, was my rock during my entire journey. He comforted me when I needed reassurance, and he loved me unconditionally even after a radical surgery. He helped me to endure a claustrophic MRI by reaching into the dark cavity and caressing my hand throughout the 45-minute ordeal. When I’d lost every hair on my head and dreaded looking in a mirror, he’d say, “You’re still the prettiest gal east of the Mississippi River.” Frankly, I didn’t look so hot! It’s this kind of love, acceptance, and encouragement that every cancer patient needs.

In my own cancer struggle, I sometimes used the idea of embodiment to help me cope. Let’s take a minute to look at cancer from an embodiment perspective. If your cancer had a message for you, what do you think it would want or say?

Your body was created with self-healing mechanisms that work best when you do the right things. Your doctor has many tools to kill me (cancer), but you have tools as well. Complement what your doctor does by implementing healthy lifestyle changes that make it difficult for me (cancer) to rule in your body. Don’t expect your doctor to do everything. Be a part of the cure to stop me and prevent me from returning.

What did you learn about yourself from this very difficult experience? How has cancer shaped your worldview? What has it taught you that you might never have considered before? Can you please explain with a story or example?

I learned that I play an integral part in my own cure. Yes, medical science saved my life, but with permanent lifestyle changes and being my own best advocate, I enhanced my own prognosis. I now realize that we are all at risk for cancer in this day when one in two men and one in three women will hear the words, “You have cancer.” Cancer is not something that occurs in you for no reason. My research revealed that cancer and many chronic diseases are 90 percent due to lifestyle and only 10 percent genetics.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m high risk for colon cancer because it runs like a plague in my family. However, even with a genetic factor, that gene may not express itself, if healthy lifestyle changes are implemented. My diagnosis sent me on a quest to discover what caused a cancer I had no genetics or risk factors for, and what I could do to help my doctors beat it. If I don’t discover what caused it, how can I keep it from recurring? I discovered several things I was doing that contributed to my aggressive breast cancer. Changes made. Mission accomplished!

How have you used your experience to bring goodness to the world?

Before my first surgery, I sought counsel from Pastor Eric Sewell, a chaplain at CTCA. I didn’t understand how a health nut like me developed cancer. He didn’t understand either, but he told me that my healthy habits would help me get through the treatments. He was right. He also said, “Ginny, you’re an author and a speaker. Consider this a gift from God for you to help other people.”

My response was clear, “But I don’t want this gift! I don’t want to write or speak about cancer.” But the more I learned, the more I felt compelled to come out of the closest and share what I’d learned with others. I didn’t want anyone to go through what I’d endured.

What are a few of the biggest misconceptions and myths out there about fighting cancer that you would like to dispel?

It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything to cause this cancer! It’s out of your hands and you can’t cure it. Sometimes yes. Most times, no. In my case, I examined my lifestyle and discovered numerous changes I needed to make which allowed me to return to a healthier life. My doctors called me their “Rock Star” cancer patient when all my blood work was found within normal ranges just six weeks ater chemotherapy ended. This usually takes several years.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experiences and knowledge, what advice would you give to others who have recently been diagnosed with cancer? What are your “5 Things You Need To Beat Cancer? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Proper Hydration — Every cell, tissue, organ and system in our body needs adequate water to function properly. I increased hydration two days before, during and after chemotherapy to enable the chemo to target every cell, lessen the side effects, and help remove the toxins from my body. Proper hydration prevents cancer in the first place.
2. Movement — The sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for all cancers. Our body was made to move during the day. Movement like hydration impacts every system in our body. It also stimulates our lymphatic system to take out the trash in our body. Our lymphatic system is a part of our immune system and it only works properly when we move. After chemotherapy, there’s a lot of internal trash to be taken out. I walked two miles on the hospital floor after my cancer surgeries. This movement benefitted my body and promoted healing after my surgeries. I also decided to walk two miles before and after each chemotherapy and every day in between. Research from Australia and MD Anderson would later show that exercise is the best medicine for a cancer patient throughout the journey. This exercise helped the chemo target my cancer and also pumped the toxins out of my body which prevented many side effects including sepsis. You do what you can when you can.
3. Plants — There are foods that suppress our immune system like processed, high-sugar and fried foods. There are also foods that enhance our immune system such as blueberries, onions, garlic, and plants in general. In America, we typicaly eat for taste without thinking about the impact on our health. During the cancer journey, I increased my intake of plants which include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices from 5 to 15 per day. These gifts of nature contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that fight cancer, fiber that nourishes the good bacteria in our gut, and necessary vitamins and minerals that regulate many body functions. Think of your food as healing medicine.
4. Less Toxins — When our toxic load is overwhelming, our immune system becomes distracted. Toxins enter our body through the water we drink, the food we eat, and the personal care and cleaning products we use and breathe. For me, the light came on when a high toxic load was found in my body containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These xenoestrogens drove my cancer, and other toxic chemicals suppressed my immune system. Our goal is not perfection, but to reduce our toxic load so our immune system can function properly.
5. A Positive Mindset — Cancer is a constant roller coaster of emotions. Fear and worry, the main players, can also drive cancer because both suppress our immune function. I had to get off that roller coaster. It’s best to pray about your concerns, give thanks in all things knowing God will use our trials for our good and His glory, and keep your mind focused on the good things in the middle of the cancer journey. This is where I maintained my focus. Positive emotions enhance the immune system! Negative emotions suppress it! Beating cancer is all about enhancing and enabling our immune system.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be?

Since a high toxic load was found in my body, I’d like to see toxins reduced across this world. We are the ones who suffer if our air, water and food are too polluted. God told us to care for the earth. And we’re not doing a very good job. I’m beginning to see filtered water stations at airports and some businesses. I’d love to see them everywhere — especially in every school!

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)

Tim and Demi-Leigh Tebow– They fit my “Life Lesson Quote” of “Live your life as a service to others.”

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Cancer prevention and wellness blog at www.ginnybrant.com

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!