133: You Don't Need All the Answers to Start a Group | Keith and Judy Hook

Keith and Judy Hook return to the I AM HealingStrong Podcast to share what nearly six years of group leadership has taught them. What started as an in-person group just before COVID quickly became a thriving Zoom community — now drawing 15–25 participants each month from across the country and around the world. Keith and Judy walk Jim through how they structure their meetings, how they divide roles based on their individual strengths, and how organic connections within their group — like a volunteer who reads healing books aloud to a member losing her sight — have become some of their greatest joys. Whether you're on the fence about starting a group or just looking for fresh ideas, this conversation is a warm and practical reminder that availability matters far more than expertise.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

Cherie Calbom, known as "The Juice Lady," joins Jim for her third appearance on the show to unpack one of the hottest health topics today — seed oils. Cherie traces the surprisingly economic origins of vegetable oils, explains why the "hateful eight" oils are fueling chronic inflammation, and breaks down the omega-6 to omega-3 imbalance that may be at the root of cancer, heart disease, dementia, and more. She also shares which oils are safe to cook with, how to read sneaky food labels, and how the body can begin repairing itself once the bad fats are removed. Plus, a preview of her new book, The Truth About Seed Oils, packed with a shopping guide, restaurant tips, and 50+ healthy recipes.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

Ryan Sternagel of The Stern Method joins Jim to share the remarkable story of his son Ryder, diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma just eleven days before his first birthday. Ryan and his wife Teddy refused to follow the conventional path blindly — pushing back on an escalating chemo protocol, relocating from Seattle to Utah for both personal liberty and natural health resources, and building a non-toxic home in the woods where they now raise three kids, grow food, and keep horses, donkeys, and chickens. Ryan shares how integrative approaches — juicing, IV vitamin C, supplements, energy work, and EMF reduction — ran alongside (and eventually replaced) conventional treatment, and how that journey became a mission to help other cancer families through The Stern Method, the Going Integrative Plus membership, and their supplement company Our Health Naturally.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

Sheila Hampton-Robb shares a deeply moving story shaped by profound loss and unexpected healing. After losing her father to lymphocytic leukemia, her mother to multiple myeloma, and her oldest sister to glioblastoma, Sheila began to fear her own health when she developed concerning symptoms: breast pain, lung pain, GI issues, and an autoimmune skin condition. Around the same time, her youngest daughter, Ella, born with a rare brain malformation and intractable daily seizures, was near death after 14 years of intensive medical care.A chance encounter with holistic health content led Sheila to radically change both her and Ella's diet; switching to a raw, plant-based diet, eliminating toxins, and removing inflammatory products from their home. The results were swift and remarkable: Ella went from sleeping 22 hours a day to being awake 13 hours, her seizures stopped, and she came off 50 of 53 medications. Sheila's own symptoms resolved completely. Tragically, Ella passed away roughly a year and a half later from complications following a hospital procedure, not from her original condition. Out of that grief, Sheila launched Ebert Holistic Nutrition and Wellness, now serving others through nutrition, applied kinesiology, and faith-centered healing.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 Edie Miller received her breast cancer diagnosis in July 2021, she was shocked, but not unprepared. Years of researching holistic health while helping her aging parents get off medications, combined with watching multiple family members navigate cancer treatment, had already shaped her philosophy: find the root cause, empower the body, and don't expect your oncologist to know what they haven't studied.Diagnosed with stage one, grade one, slow-growing breast cancer, Edie chose a lumpectomy but declined radiation and hormone blockers. When post-surgical pathology revealed angiolymphatic invasion, rather than pursuing additional surgery and expanded radiation, she doubled down on her integrative approach, juicing, high-dose vitamin C infusions, essential oils (including a homemade frankincense, myrrh, and turmeric body butter), castor oil packs, coffee enemas for liver detox, iodine supplementation, and upgraded water filtration. She also credits the Truth About Cancer convention in Nashville and Chris Wark's resources as pivotal guides.Four and a half years later, Edie is cancer-free and channeling her experience into a new business — Integrative Thermography — offering thermography, red light therapy, and whole-body vibration to clients in Middle Tennessee who are looking for proactive, non-invasive health monitoring and support. She's also a Healing Strong group leader, walking alongside others who feel pressure to simply go along with conventional recommendations.Her core message: doctors can only advise within what they've studied. The responsibility to research alternatives falls on the patient — and knowledge, she says, is power.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

Ivelisse Page, executive director and co-founder of Believe Big, returns to share what's happened since her last appearance in 2022. After reaching a breaking point of burnout in ministry, she took an unexpected sabbatical guided by a spiritual director through Soul Shepherding, learning to rest, set boundaries, and reconnect with God through childlike faith. But just as she was healing, she received a new diagnosis: stage 1A endometrial cancer, completely separate from her prior colon cancer. Caught unusually early, she opted for surgery and avoided further conventional treatment. Ivelisse reflects on the profound lesson that physical health alone isn't enough; emotional and spiritual wholeness matter just as much. She also updates listeners on the exciting progress of the mistletoe clinical trial at Johns Hopkins (now moving toward Phase 2 enrollment) and the vision for the Believe Big Institute of Health, a future integrative cancer care center she describes as "the St. Jude's of integrative medicine."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

Christian artist and songwriter Tim Timmons was given five years to live over two decades ago. Today, he's still waking up and marking each morning with an X on his wrist to prove it. In this conversation with host Jim Mann, Tim shares how a diagnosis of incurable cancer didn't become his story, but rather the soil in which a richer, more present faith grew. From the unexpected origins of the hit song "Even If," to his philosophy of breathing prayers and joining Jesus in the everyday, Tim offers a perspective that is equal parts honest and life-giving. Whether you're in the middle of a health crisis, a valley of your own, or just going through the motions, this episode is a reminder that today, just today, is the gift.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

In this episode, Jim sits down with Al Sanchez, an engineer-turned-health advocate who represents Poly MVA, a nutraceutical designed to support cellular energy production. Al shares how losing his mother and sister to illness set him and his father on a lifelong journey exploring alternative and integrative health therapies.Al breaks down complex concepts like mitochondria and metabolism in plain language, explaining why cellular energy is at the root of everything from immune function to brain clarity. He makes the case for what he calls "common sense medicine", addressing the basics like hydration, nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, and movement before reaching for pharmaceuticals.The conversation covers the role of Poly MVA in supporting mitochondrial function, how stress silently undermines our health, why animals offer powerful proof of supplement efficacy (no placebo effect!), and how lifestyle choices can actually change the expression of our genes. Al also warns listeners to steer clear of internet "miracle cures" and stick to therapies with a proven track record.A practical, energizing conversation full of relatable analogies, from cars to plants to kindergartners, that makes the science of healing genuinely accessible.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 happens when a breakthrough cancer discovery threatens the pharmaceutical industry? In this episode, we sit down with Sylvie Beljanski, daughter of renowned French molecular biologist Dr. Mirko Beljanski, whose pioneering research at the Pasteur Institute in the 1980s identified plant extracts capable of targeting and destroying cancer cells, without harming healthy ones. She shares the remarkable science behind her father's work on destabilized DNA, the shocking government raid that destroyed his laboratory after President Mitterrand's recovery, and her decades-long mission to carry his research forward through the Beljanski Foundation. From Columbia University clinical trials to groundbreaking studies on cancer stem cells, this conversation covers the cutting edge of integrative oncology and offers hope, practical advice, and a reminder that healing is possible even when conventional medicine falls short.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

Nate Sheets never planned to revolutionize the honey industry; he just bought a beehive as a newlywed hobby. But what started as weekend beekeeping in his parents' backyard became Nature Nate's, America's largest honey company. In this inspiring conversation, Nate shares how a $10,000 purchase on payment terms, combined with 17 years of customer conversations (his phone number was on every bottle!), led him to create the raw and unfiltered honey sector that transformed a stagnant $300 million industry into a thriving $1.5 billion market. From 12 years in full-time ministry to entrepreneurial success, and now running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Nate's journey demonstrates the power of faithfulness, divine timing, and staying open to God's unexpected plans. Plus, discover the remarkable health benefits of honey, nature's perfect food.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