159: How Chaga Changed His Family’s Health and His Faith, His Sister's Breast Cancer | Tulsy Ball

Jim Mann finally gets his “man-to-man conversation” with Tara Mann, a fellow Greenville, South Carolina native and no relation, as far as they know. Tara spent about 11 years as a pharmaceutical rep. Then a documentary about the Gerson Therapy opened her eyes to holistic healing. She walked away at the height of her career, and in 2012 she and her husband Steve founded Cancer Crackdown. The nonprofit walks alongside people facing cancer who have few resources. Tara shares how a crisis of faith and obedience reshaped the way she serves, and why she believes every person needs a path built around them, not the latest influencer’s protocol. She also offers words of hope for anyone newly diagnosed: breathe, get still before the Lord, and remember that peace and rest are weapons too. Stay to the end for her encouragement to HealingStrong groups to gather in person, and a special Promise Bible offer that supports HealingStrong.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

Tulsy Ball spent years producing documentary television for networks like Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Nat Geo. While developing a show about chaga harvesters in Alaska, he learned that compounds from this odd-looking birch mushroom had been studied for breast cancer, the same disease his sister was facing. At the same time, he was dealing with his own health crisis after years of stress and late-night drinking. He began making chaga tea for his sister and himself. When the network passed on the show, he and his brother decided to buy chaga from the harvesters they had already found, and that decision grew into a company.In this conversation with Jim Mann, Tulsy shares how that path also led him to his wife, to his baptism, and to a walk with the Lord that keeps him going through hard seasons. He talks about the differences between chaga, reishi, and turkey tail, why he favors liquid extracts, and how Chris Wark introduced him to HealingStrong. Tulsy also encourages listeners to pursue conventional treatment like surgery when it is the right option, while doing everything they can to support their bodies and trust God along the way.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

Sandy Ingram co-leads the HealingStrong group in Victorville, California, alongside Dan Cook. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2015. She chose a lumpectomy and declined radiation, a decision shaped partly by watching her mother go through radiation in the 1980s. In 2019 she found Chris Wark’s program and bought the whole thing, then put it in her closet because she wasn’t ready for the diet. A new tumor appeared a year or so later. She had no health insurance and no clear options, so she brought the program back out, and her husband joined her in the plant-based protocol.Her first tumor disappeared, but a second one kept growing. When a fall 2023 scan showed it had grown again, Sandy says her prayers felt like they were hitting the ceiling. She chose to stand on three promises: God will never leave her, He will work all things for her good, and He will direct her path if she trusts Him. On the last night of open enrollment in January 2024, a late call to an acquaintance led to her getting insurance. She chose surgery without chemo and used water fasting in the weeks before it. A PET scan showed no spread, and she has had three clear scans since.Sandy also talks about finding HealingStrong during her lowest season, driving an hour to the Rancho Cucamonga group, and how God nudged her to start a group closer to home. She encourages anyone in a hard place: God has not forsaken you, and you can trust Him with your whole heart.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

What if part of your healing journey runs through the dentist's chair? In this episode, host Jim Mann sits down with Kim Blaise, who has spent over 20 years in dentistry and founded Oral Biologics, a free platform that connects patients with vetted biologic dentists across the country. Kim explains biologic dentistry as a philosophy built on the belief that the body is designed to heal, and that lowering the overall toxic burden gives it more room to do that work. She walks through how biologic offices approach root canals, metal fillings, and extractions, why she recommends starting with a 3D cone beam scan before making any decisions, and how patients can still seek insurance reimbursement at offices that don't take insurance directly. Kim also shares how her team vets every provider, the free resources available on the platform, and her encouragement for anyone, at any age, who wants to take a closer look at what's happening in their mouth. Jim brings his trademark humor and his own long list of dental work to a conversation full of practical next steps.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

Marlice Alves returns to the I AM HealingStrong podcast six and a half years after her diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia. Marlice is a longtime nurse and leads a HealingStrong group in northern Rhode Island. This time she and host Jim Mann talk about the Heal-a-Thon, a grassroots fundraiser where HealingStrong groups raise support in their own creative ways. Marlice shares how her daughter's indoor cycling studio hosted two special rides. The first was a Friday night worship ride set to Christian music. On Saturday morning, riders tied balloons to their bikes bearing the names of loved ones lost to cancer. She explains why the biggest win wasn't the dollars raised but the chance to introduce new people to HealingStrong, and she encourages group leaders to join in without comparing totals. Jim shares his group's plans to walk the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and the two reflect on slowing down the way Jesus did. Marlice closes with encouragement for anyone newly diagnosed: take a deep breath, start learning, and hold on to hope. The next Heal-a-Thon is October 3, and groups can also choose another date that works for them.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

When Maria Schenkel first joined Jim Mann, she was days away from a mastectomy. Months later, she returns to share what happened next. She walks through the pathology results that surprised her, including a primary tumor that had not doubled in size and partial necrosis, along with lymph involvement that brought hard new decisions. She explains why she chose to continue her own integrative plan rather than pursue a full axillary lymph node dissection. She also describes two circulating tumor DNA tests that showed no evidence of disease, and the moment her new oncologist acknowledged the work she had done.Then the conversation turns to what comes after. Maria speaks openly about the heartbreak she never expected in survivorship, including the loss of her grandfather, whose bedside she kept in Germany, and of several friends from the cancer community. One of them passed just before this recording. Out of that grief comes a message about life being precious, purpose, and community. She stresses that she is not advocating skipping conventional treatment, but encouraging people to ask more questions and look within. Jim adds his own perspective from ten years out.Listen to Part One of their conversation on episode 121.121: Breast Cancer, A Wheelchair, Fear & A Different Way To Heal | Maria SchenkelHealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

Three Words: A Couple's Journey from Cancer to Wholeness streams globally from September 25 through October 4, 2026. Learn more at threewordsdoc.com or get tickets and watch the trailer at https://buytickets.at/globalstoryfilms/2412234.David and Kathi Peters return to the podcast almost three years after their first appearance (Episode 116), this time to talk about the documentary they've spent that time filming. It releases September 25 as a streaming premiere on Redeem TV. David is still living with stage IV metastatic prostate cancer. The growth has slowed but continued to spread, and he has since gone through radiation on his spine, sacrum, and prostate, a shift away from the purely natural approach they hoped would be enough toward a blend of traditional and integrative care. They talk candidly about the parts of the journey that didn't make it into a tidy ending, the fear, the disappointing test results, and the isolation that can creep in even inside a strong community. Kathi speaks openly about caregiver burnout and the discipline of caring for herself, through red light therapy, sauna, exercise, and simple things like a cup of coffee with a friend, so she has something left to give. David shares how a newer clinic in Tennessee has brought encouraging results and how living with purpose, rooted in their faith, has shaped how they've faced this diagnosis. It's an honest look at what a cancer journey actually looks like when it doesn't wrap up neatly, and a reminder that showing up for each other, and for God, matters more than having all the answers.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

Mark Mateya, a Carlisle, Pennsylvania attorney and former studio musician, was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma after a routine biopsy on a small arm growth came back malignant. After a rocky first appointment with an oncologist who initially confused his chart with another patient's and warned that forgoing chemo would be "suicide," Mark declined chemotherapy and found Chris Wark's Square One program and Healing Strong. He shifted to a whole-food, plant-based diet with juicing, reduced stress by selling his law practice (while staying on part-time), and pursued a mix of therapies including RGCC/SOT (a blood-based treatment through a lab in Greece) and multiple visits to the Immunity Therapy Center in Tijuana. He's candid that he does not have a formal NED diagnosis, but reports his circulating tumor cell count has dropped from 2.8 to 1.4 over roughly three and a half years. Mark credits his faith and connection with fellow Healing Strong leader Karen McKeon/Maxson for keeping him grounded early on, and now leads a Healing Strong group in Carlisle, where he originated the "Heal-a-Thon" fundraiser (modeled loosely on Penn State's THON) to raise money and awareness for the organization. The episode closes with his message to newly diagnosed listeners: they are not alone, cancer is not a death sentence, and they have time to think, pray, and take responsibility for their health.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

We have made it to the final podcast of the Top 10 Tour, celebrating 100,000 downloads. We're revisiting our most-downloaded conversations ever: Jim's talk with John A. Richardson Jr. John shares the story of his father, Dr. John Richardson Sr., who left a conventional medical career in the 1970s to treat cancer patients with laetrile, a compound found in apricot seeds. He walks through his father's clinic, the patients he treated, the raids and lawsuits that followed, and how that legacy became John's own life's work through Richardson Nutritional Center and Operation World Without Cancer. Jim also shares a piece of his own story, a stage four melanoma diagnosis in 2016 and a recent scan that came back clear. Together they talk about faith, trials, and staying hopeful in the middle of a hard diagnosis.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org

The Top 10 Tour continues with one of our most-downloaded conversations of all time.John Richardson — president of the Richardson Nutritional Center and Operation World Without Cancer — joins Jim Mann to tell a story that's been in his family for over fifty years. His father, Dr. John A. Richardson, became a Bay Area folk hero in the 1970s for offering laetrile to his patients, and a national headline in June 1972 when his clinic was raided. The arrest didn't end the movement — John says it started one, leading to G. Edward Griffin's book World Without Cancer and a grassroots network that grew to a million members strong.John walks Jim through the science as he understands it: what amygdalin is, why he believes the cyanide warnings have been overstated, and what his father documented in Laetrile Case Histories. He also opens up about the family business, where the seeds are grown, and why he believes this story is finally getting a hearing.Jim also shares his own first encounter with apricot seeds after his 2016 stage four melanoma diagnosis.HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more.Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey:Support Group DirectoryHolistic Curriculum - Participant GuideSupport Our Mission - DonateAdditional Health ResourcesListen to Previous EpisodesWebsite: healingstrong.org