Tabitha Chose Therapeutic Ketosis Over Standard Of Care Treatment On A Carnivore Diet

“My name is Tabitha, and I reside in the Lake Norman area, a suburb of Charlotte, NC. I’m 47, and I’ve been married for 25 years this month to my best friend and biggest supporter. I work full-time as a real estate asset manager.

I self-discovered I was pre-diabetic in 2014 at a “normal” weight after juicing and eating vegetarian. At the same time, my father-in-law was battling stage 3 colon cancer, and I became a student on metabolic disease.”

Tabitha’s Journey with Metabolic Disease and Cancer

Tabitha grew up with the SAD diet, “drinking soda, eating packaged foods, TV dinners, all the things we didn’t know any better about.”

In her 20s, Tabitha became a “seeker of health” and tried many diets, including paleo, weight watchers, slim fast, and south beach diet. She frequently experienced digestive discomfort and upset, and she eventually came to the conclusion that quinoa and chickpeas were to blame. “Almost like a colicky baby.”

When her father-in-law was fighting cancer, she tried juicing with him. “I would do juice fasts, vegetable juice, very little fruit. I would do mostly greens, ginger, lemon, and maybe some beets…and I felt terrible. It was absolutely awful.”

She found some relief with the ketogenic diet and “was able to get my blood sugar at a more stable level; my mood was stabilized…everything was great; I felt wonderful.”

Refusing Chemo: Tabitha’s Path to Healing with Natural Therapies and a Carnivore Diet

In August 2020, she awoke with severe abdominal pain again: “I ended up in the ER with severe abdominal pain. Within 24 hours, I had emergency surgery for a ruptured colon, had my sigmoid colon removed, and had an ileostomy in place. All thought to be diverticulitis.

Two weeks later, pathology revealed stage 3 colon cancer with positive lymph nodes, same cancer we lost my father-in-law to in 2017.”

After 48 hours of “complete shock,” Tabitha decided to go back and review everything she had learned while her father-in-law had cancer. The oncologist she saw recommended “24 rounds of chemotherapy… I asked for more time.”

Looking for more information, Tabitha bought Dr. Baker’s book, The Carnivore Diet, three months before her cancer diagnosis. She sought out a functional health doctor, who suggested a genetic test. The results showed that Tabitha “needed to do a therapeutic ketogenic diet.”

“In the cancer space, there’s a huge push to go vegan, to cut out all red meat, cut all animal products…I knew that was going to be hard for me.” She pursued a carnivore diet.

Tabitha says she “refused chemo and any other treatments beyond surgery…I used combined natural therapies along with therapeutic ketosis to heal. My diet consists of mostly animal foods and animal fats.” She noted that “the more I eliminated plants, the better my numbers got.”

At 16 weeks, she had her ileostomy reversed. She says she is “clear-headed. I have energy.” She remains diligent about following her diet, with a few berries when they are in season. “Today, no test shows any active cancer whatsoever, and I’m thriving, living a high-quality life. I hope my story can help others.”