← Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
The Predatory Reality Of Pediatric Cancer | Season Johnson, FNTP & IHP2
01:17:46
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- [00:00]
Alex Clark
When you're dealing with childhood cancer, how do you know when it's time to switch doctors?
- [00:04]
Season Johnson
When you start getting threats? Because your child's doing really well if he doesn't come back to his next chemo appointment looking like a cancer patient. We are making a referral to cps.
- [00:13]
Alex Clark
What are the first steps that you advise a parent to take if their child is diagnosed with cancer?
- [00:18]
Season Johnson
Take a moment. Take a deep breath. Understand that what you're feeding your child has everything to do with their ability to thrive through cancer. Everything.
- [00:53]
Alex Clark
Imagine sitting across from an oncologist as.
- [00:55]
Podcast Host/Announcer
They tell you that your 2 year old has cancer.
- [00:58]
Alex Clark
That's the moment everything changed. For today's guest, Season Johnson, a mom turned medical advocate, holistic nutritionist, and founder of the Kick cancer movement.
- [01:06]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Season didn't just walk through three and.
- [01:08]
Alex Clark
A half years of chemotherapy and surgeries with her son.
- [01:10]
Podcast Host/Announcer
She fought for his life in a way that most parents are never told they're allowed to.
- [01:14]
Alex Clark
This is an interesting conversation because Season shares what happens when a parent dares.
- [01:20]
Podcast Host/Announcer
To ask questions in the pediatric cancer world. How how hospitals react when you bring.
- [01:24]
Alex Clark
Up holistic therapies, the legal rights most parents don't even know that they have.
- [01:29]
Podcast Host/Announcer
In a situation like this, and what she believes every family should do the.
- [01:33]
Alex Clark
Moment they get a diagnosis of cancer for their child.
- [01:36]
Podcast Host/Announcer
We also talk about the growing toxic.
- [01:38]
Alex Clark
Burden on our children, the deep flaws in how we treat cancer, and the.
- [01:42]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Simple, powerful changes that can support a.
- [01:44]
Alex Clark
Child'S body even in the midst of chemo. From detox strategies to food is medicine.
- [01:48]
Podcast Host/Announcer
To navigating the politics of the pediatric cancer system, this episode will challenge you to think differently. Speak, speak up and stand strong as a parent.
- [01:55]
Alex Clark
Whether you're a parent yourself who is walking through this right now with a child with cancer or you know, someone.
- [02:00]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Who is, I just want this episode.
- [02:02]
Alex Clark
To be a blessing to equip those to protect the next generation.
- [02:06]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Watch this episode on the real Alex.
- [02:07]
Alex Clark
Clark YouTube channel or culture Apothecary on Spotify. Brought to you from the brand new Jevity Studio.
- [02:12]
Podcast Host/Announcer
This show is free. But one of the most impactful ways.
- [02:15]
Alex Clark
To support us so that we can stay free is by pausing right now and leaving that five star review.
- [02:19]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Just saying, you know what Alex Clark.
- [02:21]
Alex Clark
Her hair looks shiny and bouncy today.
- [02:23]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Join the Keep Servant is Facebook group to discuss the show and meet like minded women. Share this episode to your Instagram story.
- [02:29]
Alex Clark
Because people do not want to talk about why childhood cancer rates are exploding.
- [02:33]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Please welcome pediatric cancer advocate Susan Johnson to Culture apothecary.
- [02:41]
Alex Clark
Right now, the pediatric cancer system seems to really ridicule parents who are wanting to advocate for their children when it comes to wanting holistic or integrative therapies. What happened when your 2 year old was diagnosed with cancer?
- [02:55]
Season Johnson
When he was diagnosed, prior to this, we had never given him any medication. We had lived a really natural life. He went from breast milk to bone broth, and we were thrust in to this conventional system. And immediately, without even questioning or having a chance to think twice, he's being pumped full of chemotherapy, given medications, and our world was just completely flipped upside down. And we realized in that moment, we didn't even have a choice of the treatment plan and procedure.
- [03:25]
Alex Clark
So they didn't walk you through a bunch of different options. It's just kind of a one size fits all thing?
- [03:29]
Season Johnson
No. So we sat in this conference room, and it was like the most sterile, horrific experience. I just remember sitting in this conference room. Doctors, nurse practitioners, and they gave us the official diagnosis. Your son has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. And here's our plan. For three and a half years, he's gonna get chemotherapy every single day. He will go under. Under anesthesia countless times to get chemo put in his spine, put in his port. He'll take it daily by mouth. And we're just sitting there and I just. I was numbed like I was looking for a trash can. And if I should vomit or what, we walk out of that room. Okay, we heard this horrific plan. We walk out of that room, go back to our hospital room where my son is, get on zoom with our functional team who were practitioners of our family for years. They were a natural doctor, a nutritionist. And I said, okay, so what's your plan? Like, what are you. What is your option so that we can choose? And they kind of stumbled around their words and were like, season. You. You can't actually leave. There isn't a plan B. You're in the hospital system. This is what you have to do. But don't worry, we will come alongside and support you with nutrition, with detox, with all these modalities, but you can't leave the hospital.
- [04:41]
Alex Clark
So it was like, this is it. We'll kind of try to advocate for you the best we can. But were they saying, this is it because this is just all America offers pediatric cancer cases, or because once you go in there and you seek them out, then you're stuck, and if you try to leave, bad things happen.
- [04:59]
Season Johnson
So if your child is under the age of 18 and they're diagnosed with cancer, you are immediately required to follow standard of care. If you decide that you don't want your child to go through chemotherapy, radiation, you'll be threatened to have your child removed from your home, become property of the state, and you are threatened with jail time. So there isn't another option. There isn't a plan B. Now, people will always say, and gosh, I've heard this so many times. Well, Susan, I just would never take my child in. I mean, I had a perfectly healthy little boy who was almost three years old and just started showing these symptoms that, like, in my gut I knew was really serious. And next thing I knew, we're in the er. You don't anticipate a cancer diagnosis, so there's really no way to avoid the conventional system because you're not expecting this to be told your baby has cancer, right? So once you're in that system, you're not leaving. And I will say this, this is so important. I believe chemo played a role in my son's healing. I do. And maybe part of that is because I had to, because I had to really get at peace with that. But I do believe it played a role. It. It just can't be the only option. Right? And that's what we're being told as parents is, sorry, this is the only option. And it doesn't matter what you eat. Don't do anything else. Trust your doctor and you'll send. Will hopefully send your child away cancer free.
- [06:17]
Alex Clark
So at 2 years old, your son is diagnosed with leukemia. What ends up happening over the course of his cancer diagnosis?
- [06:25]
Season Johnson
So we were inpatient in that initial diagnosis for about 12 to 15 days. And I just remember walking the halls, pushing his little red car pump. He's hooked up to chemotherapy, pumping through his little body and passing these rooms and these other parents whose kids were bald, carrying barf bags. Like, horrific. I mean, death, like, it just that that floor felt horrific. And I just was praying like, lord, this cannot be a reality. Like, how is this possible? And then at the same time, I. We'd be doing these laps and I'd see kids walking with their McDonald's Happy Meals, right? And to this point, I had fed him so healthy, I thought I did everything I could as a mom. And so it was in those first 10 days that I started to kind of, I say, like defrost, right? Kind of come back to life and go, this can't be our reality. I can't have him living in the hospital, but bald and pale and like, this can't be it. And so fortunately, we had this team that came alongside of us. I was a practitioner at the time, didn't know anything about cancer. And we started implementing every single day targeted nutrition supplementation that was not contraindicated with treatment, but just helping mitigate side effects and symptoms, detox modalities that we were doing at home and even in the hospital during those 10 days. So much prayer, emotional work, working on emotional traumas. And from day one, Alex, till three and a half years later, he had chemo every day for three and a half years. He was not hospitalized one time outside of scheduled stays. He never needed a transfusion, never needed platelets. The kid thrived. And that wasn't supposed to be the reality. In fact, it isn't normal. They just kept saying, we're lucky. And we knew that there was. I mean, it's twofold. I know God had such a purpose in this, and like, he used our family to be light to so many families now, 10 years later. But also, we were intentional. We knew cancer isn't a deficiency of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Cancer is a symptom of something that went wrong in the body. And so I can't just think chemo and radiation is going to fix it. I need to nourish him, detox him, support him with nutrients.
- [08:39]
Alex Clark
Do you think that the medical system is profiting off of sick children more than healthy, or do you think. No, these people have, you know, great intentions and we just have a broken system where they're not getting any alternative information besides pharma.
- [08:55]
Season Johnson
Oh, my gosh, they're. They're totally profiting. I will say this. I do not believe pediatric oncologists go into this field to screw people. They're not getting. You don't become a pediatric oncologist because you want to get rich and take advantage of families. You do this because you truly have this desire to help and to serve. But you go through medical school, which is funded by pharmaceutical companies, and all you learn is one way to treat disease, which is medicine. So from the perspective of the oncology team, I think they have a desire to really, they have the same goal that a mom has. I want to see this child cancer free. When I think of, like, the profit piece, chemotherapy is 100% markup. Actually, I think it's more than that. I remember one day we're sitting in clinic and we have a whole medical team around us because they're about to administer about 10mls, 10ml of a bright red chemotherapy called Doxorubicin and this particular chemo, they had said my son would most likely have an allergic reaction to. To the point where they had an epipen. I mean, we had a whole team surrounding us. Sure enough, they start pumping into his body. He turns bright red. He starts, like, eyes starting to, like, almost roll back. So they stop it. We got a bill about a month later that 10ml of bright red chemotherapy that created a reaction that he couldn't even take was $80,000. Oh, my word, $80,000 for that. So, yes, there is a massive amount of profit in the cancer world. And, you know, again, it's just this, you know, it's a game, right? We. That we can't blame the oncologists for. They don't know better, right? They are taught one way to heal cancer, and it's using medicine that's marked up, that is. It's a mess.
- [10:37]
Alex Clark
What do you think is responsible for this uptick in childhood cancer rates?
- [10:40]
Season Johnson
Our environment. 100% our environment. I think we have seen what you've heard, and I've heard people on your show talk about super cancers and turbo cancers. We've seen that in kids, and we've seen this massive uptick even since 2020. And I think we know that cancer is an environmental disease. Genetics can play a role for sure. But in the last 20 years, we found what we call epigenetics, which means you can turn your genetic expressions on or off with nutrition and lifestyle and cleaning up your environment. So, for example, when I say, you know, the uptick in cancer rates is environmental, people always come after me for that. If your mom has cancer, your dad has cancer, your brother has cancer, you would argue that, well, gosh, it has to be something inherent that has to be genetic. Sure, it does sound like there's a genetic component, but those genes, we can change the expression with nutrition and cleaning up our environment and detox.
- [11:39]
Alex Clark
And also, I. I always like to point out, if you're talking about a family where everybody is coming down with the same thing in multiple generations. Families have patterns and habits that are passed down. It's the way that you cook. It's the way that you live your life, how much time you spend in nature, or lack thereof, that is something that is so specific to families. My grandfather had glioblastoma brain cancer. My dad got glioblastoma brain cancer. My dad's doctor is trying to tell me, you know, you might have a brain cancer gene. You need to go get tested to see if you're likely to get this. And I was like, no, I'm not doing that.
- [12:12]
Podcast Host/Announcer
I completely reject that.
- [12:13]
Alex Clark
I live my life and I eat completely different than my dad or my grandfather. So I believe that we do have some more control than we are led to believe. Cancer doesn't just happen to people. And I know that some people are like, alex, how can you say that in front of a woman whose 2 year old was diagnosed? But your 2 year old is being born into an unperfect world as much as you can control his immediate environment. I mean, what was your thought process? Process going through that knowing that you were doing everything you could, but that you still have these ext factors that you can't always control?
- [12:48]
Season Johnson
Yeah. This is such a hard conversation because I work with moms every day whose baby just got diagnosed or in the middle of this. And it's this fine line of. As a mom, the amount of guilt I felt was tremendous. Like, what did I do wrong? That my 2 year old has cancer, right? So while in my head I thought I did everything right, I knew there was something else at play, but that meant that there was something I could have done better in my head, right? So the amount of guilt that parents feel when their child has cancer, whether they're 18 or 5 months old, is tremendous. And so I have to toe this line. And I tell my parents all the time, you are not powerful enough to give your. Your child cancer. You were not powerful enough to make this happen. So you have to let go of that guilt and surrender that guilt. However, when you know better, you have the obligation to do better, right? So when my son was diagnosed, of course I'm immediately like questioning everything that I knew, everything that I thought I did. Right. And then as I started digging into research and staying up till four in the morning, literally going through medical journals trying to figure this out. I understood the environmental role. And so then I started connecting dots. Number one, when he was in utero at 14 weeks pregnant, I had an emergency appendectomy. They removed my appendix. So he was exposed at 14 weeks utero to anesthesia, antibiotics, because through me, Right?
- [14:15]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Yeah.
- [14:16]
Season Johnson
And the trauma. That's a whole nother piece, is the emotional trauma that he felt in utero at 14 weeks going through that. And me, the trauma I had had.
- [14:25]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Right?
- [14:26]
Season Johnson
So that was piece one. Piece two is I had an emergency C section. And here, you know, I was the mom that was like, I'm gonna do everything natural. And that obviously was not how it played out. Had an emergency C Section. Another exposure to anesthesia, possible antibiotics. They didn't provide me my records, so I'm not sure if I got those. Then we. He was. When he was born, we lived in an apartment building in Orange County, a high rise, that when I would pull up my WI fi, it had 60 different signals that popped up. And we know leukemia. There's plenty of studies pointing leukemia directly to EMF exposure.
- [15:02]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Really?
- [15:03]
Season Johnson
And radio frequency exposure. Yeah. So then I start connecting all these dots, and I'm like, the. All of this played a role. And. And yes. Does that make me feel a little guilty? I wish I could have gone back. Sure. But you can replace that guilt with action and power. And, like, how can I change this? Right.
- [15:18]
Alex Clark
And also with your, you know, emergency surgery you had to have. It's like, obviously that's unavoidable.
- [15:24]
Season Johnson
Right.
- [15:24]
Alex Clark
And so those types of things just. They happen. And then. And then, you know, it. Obviously you did the best you could with the cards that you were dealt. And, you know, praise God, he's alive today. How is he doing now?
- [15:38]
Season Johnson
He's amazing. So he's now 14. He's been in remission for about seven years. He surfs six hours a day. He does jiu jitsu. Jiu jitsu. He works out every day, saunas 98% of the time. Makes healthy choices. He has this. Most kids that you'll meet with cancer, especially when they get a little bit older, they have this different fierceness about them and intentionality.
- [16:05]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Does he remember anything?
- [16:06]
Season Johnson
He does, and we've talked about that. In fact, there have been times where he's just come in in the last five years. I think because I'm so vocal about this, and this is my world every day. We always say we went from one child with cancer to thousands around the world. He'll sometimes come in and just break down. It makes me a little emotional because I think he sees that we still lose kids sometimes. I'm the mom. The person on the phone, when the mom places the call, their child just took their last breath. I think he carries a little bit of that. And so it does help him. He does remember. But I think he holds it really close, too. Like, almost like I said, this. This different perspective on life that he doesn't take for granted that he's alive and he's healthy.
- [16:51]
Alex Clark
Do you think that the overall toxic load that children are being burdened with is not considered in conventional pediatric cancer today?
- [16:59]
Season Johnson
It's 100% not considered because we know that chemotherapy is a cytotoxic Poison that can't differentiate between healthy cells and bad cells. Okay, so we understand that it's very toxic. Radiation, very toxic. The medications they're giving children, very toxic. So all of this is evidence like this is. You can't argue that with an oncologist right now. Does it play a role? Sure. But then that same oncology team is going to tell you, do not detox. You don't need to detox through treatment. Don't take vitamins. Don't worry about what you're eating. And so they don't acknowledge that this is a, a toxicity issue, but B, the number one side effect of most chemotherapies used in pediatric cancer is secondary cancer. We're using this treatment method that's actually causing cancer in kids. And so we see this recurrence come about six months later, years later, maybe when they're adults. Right. So, yes, there is a massive neglect of recognizing a toxicity being a role in cancer, and B, the therapies we're using and. And not telling parents that there are chemo protective foods, there are gentle detoxification methods they can do at home. There's supplements that you can take. Homeopathy. None of that is contraindicated with treatment. It will only protect the child from the toxicity issue.
- [18:24]
Alex Clark
Why is having a cancer advocate the most important thing that you could bring to the hospital?
- [18:28]
Season Johnson
Oh, my goodness. Because you're terrified. You are absolutely terrified. I was a practitioner. When my son got diagnosed, I questioned everything I knew. I, all of a sudden was. Became. I just felt so hopeless and helpless and overwhelmed. Right. So when it's your own child walking through this, or even as an adult, it's your spouse or your dad, you are so overcome with emotion and overwhelm and the pressure to make the right decision. This isn't your job. You didn't study cancer. When we got thrown into this, I knew nothing about cancer. All I thought was that people that got cancer died.
- [19:07]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Mm.
- [19:07]
Season Johnson
So you need to have somebody that partners with you, that can help guide you. It's like a doula. Right. The definition of doula is somebody that can walk you through a process and help you get to the achieve the ideal goal. And so somebody that can also advocate for you when this is very simple. But, for example, I tell my parents the first thing you do when your child goes inpatient, tell them to remove dextrose sugar from the fluid bag, from the IV hydration bag. We don't need sugar in their IV hydration bag. That's hard for moms to do.
- [19:39]
Alex Clark
Okay. I want to ask about that, because I thought dextrose in an IV was to help certain medications work better or something.
- [19:47]
Season Johnson
Yep. So there are definitely certain chemo medications that need a sugar molecule to be absorbed, but we don't need hydration. The. The electrolytes they're giving kids, they just hook. You know, just when you go inpatient, you get hooked up to fluids. Right. Dextrose. 99.99% of the time is in there. Dextrose causes mucositis, which is a horrific, uncomfortable side effect of chemotherapy that can go all internally in your mouth, in your genitals, in your intestines and your lungs, making it almost impossible for kids to eat and to be comfortable. By removing dextrose, we've eliminated that being an issue from so many kids. So, yes, dextrose has to be used in so certain medications, but when kids are impatient, they're pumped full of it with their hydration bag.
- [20:33]
Alex Clark
So you're allowed to ask if they cannot do that.
- [20:36]
Season Johnson
Yes. But the point being, this is where it becomes hard as a parent. You're overwhelmed, you're tired, you're scared, and you have I. I get it. White coat syndrome. You all of a sudden don't think you're the smartest person in the room and that you shouldn't have discernment over your child, and you're intimidated by the room, by the doctors and the nurses, and I don't think they're meaning for that to happen, that the team is not meaning for that. It's just a natural reaction. So when I tell moms to ask for that, a lot of times they're shut down. That's not necessary. Or they'll be asked why. And they don't remember why. They just knew that I told them or that somebody had said, you shouldn't do this. Right. And so then they just kind of, like, succumb to this point of, like, they don't have a role in their child's cancer. So again, to your point, the advocate is so helpful in reminding them they have power and moms have discernment. Like, the doctor doesn't know your child like you do. This is your child, not theirs.
- [21:26]
Alex Clark
So what's the phrase you say about dextrose?
- [21:28]
Season Johnson
The child does not need excess sugar in their IV fluids. And if they're worried about a blood sugar issue, that come with some organic orange juice, organic cranberry juice. And you can tell them, I have this if they need it. I mean, it's as simple as that.
- [21:48]
Podcast Host/Announcer
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- [23:47]
Alex Clark
What are the first steps that you advise a parent to take if their child is diagnosed with cancer?
- [23:51]
Season Johnson
Take a Moment, like, take a deep breath. Don't just accept everything that's being told. Unfortunately, misdiagnoses are happening more than I'd like to admit, even in pediatrics. Not that they're getting diagnosed with cancer when it's not cancer, but it's a different type of cancer, and if they throw them into that treatment, that treatment could make things worse. Right? So I say, take a breath, take a moment. Cancer, you mentioned this. Cancer does not happen overnight. It takes years sometimes to grow. So there's very few situations. It's an emergent issue. However, you're always told, we have to start chemo tomorrow. So take a breath, take a moment, Find somebody to advocate with you. Find somebody that knows. I remember when my son was diagnosed, I went and talked to my best friends. I didn't want to talk to my sister. I wanted to talk to nobody except a mom who randomly got connected to me. That's childhood cancer. I needed to talk to her. I didn't even know what she believed or what she knew or how her child was doing. But it was like you needed to connect with somebody that knows what's going on. Right? So community is huge. But take a moment, and then the next thing I would say is understand that what you're feeding your child has everything to do with their ability to thrive through cancer. Everything.
- [25:14]
Alex Clark
And I want to get into that with you because that's important, whether your child's been diagnosed with cancer or not, right? To prevent cancer. It's so important. And you brought this up. It is so important for pediatric or adult cancers to get multiple opinions for diagnoses and treatment plans. Even though there are standards, there is a lot of subjectivity about what treatments should look like. So can you walk us through a practical way to navigate that when we.
- [25:39]
Season Johnson
Talk about, like, second opinion, for example? So we learned pretty early on, through this horrific experience that when your child, again, is under 18 and they're diagnosed with cancer, unless it's a very rare cancer, they're put into what's called the Children's Oncology Group Study. The protocol is the exact same per cancer, per child, only, only adjusted by weight. That's it. So we learned that because we wanted a second opinion. We were going through treatment. We were already through treatment, but he was doing so well. And we were not happy with the advice and the negligence to, like, nutrition and all of that that we were experiencing. So I got connected through a colleague to the head of CHLA Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, the head of the oncology department. Big deal. You don't always get meetings with him. My husband and I went, sat down with him and I said to him, I would just like to know what your approach is. This is my son's diagnosis. We're six months into treatment. What is your approach with this? And he kind of looked like, I'm confused of why you're asking. And so then it evolved. Well, he's in the children's oncology group. That's a protocol. That's all there is. And I said, okay, how about nutrition? What is your approach on nutrition? He, he literally laughed. He started cackling and said, oh, don't get caught up in that. It does not matter what you feed your child. We just want to make sure they don't lose weight. So if they want chocolate shake, chocolate cake and french fries, for God's sake. Words of his, give him chocolate cake and french fries. My husband grabbed my hand under the. He could tell I was like, I'm very. You're about to lose it. Yeah, I'm non confrontational, but I was about to lose it. He grabbed my hand and just held it like just season. Simmer down. We're not going to accomplish anything here. We're going to leave. And it was in that moment that I realized like, so truly, when you think of approaching for a second opinion, it's not so much that you're going to get a different treatment planned plan. It's more of, I want multiple eyes on my case and understand what's going on with my child. And then you realize from the treatment perspective is that's where you need to hire a team that can support you from the sidelines with nutrition and with detox and supplementation. Because unfortunately, the hospital system and the standard, standard of care is not gonna.
- [27:59]
Alex Clark
Do that when you're dealing with childhood cancer. How do you know when it's time.
- [28:02]
Podcast Host/Announcer
To switch doctors, when you start getting.
- [28:04]
Season Johnson
Threats because your child's doing really well? What we were fortunate that we kind of bumped. We bumped a few different hospitals and in retrospect, we weren't really doing it for this reason. But I think this is why we never got threats from cps. So let me give you an example. Right now I'm working with a family, the Boyce family. They're starting to make the media. I've been working with their attorney. This little boy is thriving through cancer. They've implemented all the things we teach in our programs. Gentle detox, targeted nutrition, supplementation, emotional healing. They've been supporting him beautifully through his treatment. CPS was just called and showed up at his school yesterday. Just got an email from the mom this morning ready to take him. Because what happened was the oncology team is saying there's no way you're being compliant at home. Giving him his chemotherapy at home because he's doing too well. His immune system is good. He's not bald and pale. He's not vomiting. He's doing too well. We don't think you're being compliant. So they in Prevention hired a nurse to come and show proof that they're giving the chemo at home. They also, there's markers, by the way, that we can test to show the metabolites of this particular chemo that's dosed at home. It proves it's in the system. They have all of that documentation. They were told two weeks ago. If he doesn't come back to his next chemo patient, chemo appointment, looking like a cancer patient. We are making a referral to cps.
- [29:36]
Alex Clark
Why would the hospital react that way to a kid with cancer? Instead of being like, whatever you're doing, keep doing it because it's clearly working and your kid is surviving cancer.
- [29:49]
Season Johnson
It's ignorance. It's total ignorance because this isn't the normal.
- [29:53]
Podcast Host/Announcer
But why aren't they celebrating? Why aren't they like, hey, this is.
- [29:56]
Alex Clark
Great, you're doing the chemo and whatever else is clearly working. Why would it be we're going to threaten to take your kid away because your kid is surviving cancer.
- [30:04]
Season Johnson
This is because they again, coming back to this, they only know one way to treat cancer, and it is to obliterate the body, to. To cut to poison and to burn and almost take life completely away to kill the cancer. So these therapies are incredibly toxic. So the majority of kids are not thriving through cancer. They don't have access to this information or to nutrition advice. And we know through tons of studies and evidence that there are chemo protective foods. There are gentle detox modalities you can do to protect the body against the toxicity, but this isn't normal. So when they see a child that doesn't look like death, they assume the chemo isn't working. The other piece is when their immune system rebounds, there's a marker called the absolute neutrophil count. This is the marker of their immune system response. And generally they want to see it around 1500 or lower. A healthy child's is about 5000. My son's immune system never went below 5000 except for one week when he or one phase of treatment, he was on an incredibly toxic treatment that they kept raising the dose because he was doing so well. That's the other piece is if your child's doing well, they're going to continue to increase the dose, thinking it's not working, while they're also testing that there's no. There's no cancer present. But we're just going to keep raising the dose because we want to make sure it's working.
- [31:25]
Alex Clark
Do you have rights as a parent to. To stop that?
- [31:28]
Season Johnson
No. And. And I think that's the problem right now. That's where we're being faced right now.
- [31:31]
Alex Clark
From the heck.
- [31:32]
Season Johnson
It's terrifying. So what we're trying to do is make it normal that a child can thrive through cancer so that the doctors start to recognize, oh my gosh, like you said, tell me what you're doing or keep doing whatever you're doing. Because they're doing so well. It's not by chance or luck. It's intentional decisions and implementation to protect against the cytotoxic therapies.
- [31:55]
Alex Clark
How do you handle when an oncologist says, I need to see the studies on this? Whenever you're advocating for your child and trying to ask about an additional therapy.
- [32:04]
Season Johnson
This is so hard because there's not a lot of studies that have been done well enough and gone far enough with kids to change an oncologist's mind. So what we're generally doing is pulling studies from adults. Right. So here's an example of where treatment is. Is kind of failing us and the lack of attention to studies and even funding. I don't know if you know this, but there's $7 million billion dollars put into the National Cancer Institute every year for funding. Kids get 4% of that. 4%.
- [32:37]
Alex Clark
Where's the rest going?
- [32:39]
Season Johnson
Old people.
- [32:40]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [32:41]
Season Johnson
Adults. I mean, the kids get 4%. Adults get all the rest of the funding for research. And I don't know that we need more research for new drugs. Right. This isn't a drug issue. This is a terrain issue. Healing the body. However, the point being methotrexate is a type of chemotherapy that's used in a lot of pediatric cancer cases. So the stud. So this is an example of what we see. A lot. A lot of kids will be dealing with what we call neutropenia. Their immune system's so low, they typically will get fevers. They'll be impatient. They have no immune system. It's wiped out. Or they'll have these horrific side effects. They'll have toxicity to the brain. And we're Seeing all these side effects come up. If the child's on methotrexate, there is studies showing that methotrexate is incredibly toxic to those who have an MTHFR mutation.
- [33:30]
Alex Clark
Wow.
- [33:30]
Season Johnson
Which is a genetic mutation. And not only does that mean that these children are gonna have horrific side effects if they have one of these MTHFR mutations and they're on methotrexate, but it's not gonna work. Like, there's no longer any validity in taking this drug. These are the types of things we're trying to communicate to oncology teams. But again, the oncologist, they can't do anything about that. Right. It's the powers that be that are creating these protocols and writing up these standard of care policies. So you bring this to an oncologist and again, I think they have a great heart and they want to help your kid, but they're like, what am I supposed to do with this?
- [34:06]
Alex Clark
How can a parent find out if their kid has the MTHFR gene?
- [34:10]
Season Johnson
Through nutrigenomic testing. So it's a really powerful test we do in our office. 3x4 is the company. There's nutrition Genome. There's a lot of different tests out there. The most, one of the most powerful kind of visuals on your child's genetic makeup is through a nutrition nutrigenomics test. So it shows, it shows you their different methylation issues. It shows you any genetic predispositions. Do they tend toward high inflammation, high histamine? Do they have an inability to properly detox? What is their recovery? Right. So it shows us all of that so that we see that we can tailor protocols toward a child's unique needs. But that's not being done in standard of care.
- [34:53]
Alex Clark
And how old, like, what's the youngest age you can be to get that test done?
- [34:57]
Season Johnson
That's a great question. But I mean, any, any child. Right. You just have to have saliva. It's a salivary test.
- [35:02]
Alex Clark
So it can even be a baby.
- [35:04]
Season Johnson
It could be a baby. Yeah.
- [35:05]
Alex Clark
I'd be doing that ASAP then. Yeah. Because that kind of determines a lot for your kid just as they grow up and get older with all sorts of things.
- [35:13]
Season Johnson
It does.
- [35:17]
Podcast Host/Announcer
After losing my dad too early to lifestyle related disease of cancer and heart failure, I don't want anyone else to.
- [35:24]
Alex Clark
Spend Christmas without the person they love most.
- [35:26]
Podcast Host/Announcer
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Alex Clark
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Alex Clark
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Podcast Host/Announcer
For my energy, my skin and just feeling like myself through the colder months. Give your cells the boost they deserve.
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Alex Clark
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Podcast Host/Announcer
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- [37:40]
Alex Clark
Up to 1000 dol as a parent of a childhood cancer survivor, what is your opinion on President Trump's pediatric cancer bill?
- [37:52]
Season Johnson
I think it's a joke.
- [37:55]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Why?
- [37:56]
Season Johnson
I understand that. Like I appreciate the effort and acknowledgement that we need more with pediatric cancer. Sure AI isn't going to be our answer. We need moms who know what it's like like who have been educated to understand what these kids need to be involved in some of these decisions and helping create the change. And knowing what these doctors have to recognize is good, is helpful, is helping these kids recover. So his bill is toward. It's a pretty small amount of money. If you really look at the comparison of how much he's putting toward this and how much goes to cancer research. Right. We're still talking pennies on the dollar and we're bringing in AI. I think AI is amazing. There's so many amazing things about AI. However, we're dealing with individual, like we're dealing people's babies. We need more than just AI. And what is it like $50 million to make a change with. With what's happening in our system? And how is that going to actually help the family like the Boyces and who are, as we're speaking right now, being threatened to lose their child because he's doing well. Right. So I think it's just. It's not even. In my opinion, it's not even worth talking about because I don't think it's gonna move, move the marker for that.
- [39:16]
Alex Clark
Child who's going through chemotherapy. What are the best ways to support their overall health?
- [39:20]
Season Johnson
Nutrition's number one. So we know that, you know, we. What we eat has every ability to either fight or feed disease. And sugar plays a huge role. It is known that different types of sugars feed different types of cancers. And when this is argued, I'm like, well, do you understand how a PET scan works? A PET scan is how you detect cancer. Okay? So they use radioactive glucose, which is sugar. They inject it into the bloodstream, and you will light up like a Christmas tree where there is cancer. The reason for that is cancer cells uptake glucose 80% faster than a healthy cell. So we're using it as the Trojan horse, but yet ignoring the fact that it has anything to do with a, you know, a child or an adult going through cancer. So when we think of nutrition, we need to eliminate sugar. We can use fruit, of course, we still need glucose. Don't get me wrong. Like carbohydrates coming from organic vegetables and fruit. We need to focus on healthy fats coming from healthy animals, Fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and pickles, protein coming from wild salmon, lamb grass fed beef, choline rich foods from eggs, things like sardines. And I know this kind of sounds to parents listening like, my kid will not touch a sardine. Right. We have gotten so good at helping give creative ideas of how to get these nutrients in kids.
- [40:44]
Alex Clark
Well, sardines, you can, like Mash those up with some butter in a pan or something and you can make this, like, really yummy, you know, like noodle sauce and stuff. And you don't even know they're there.
- [40:54]
Season Johnson
Totally.
- [40:54]
Alex Clark
Right? Ye talking about.
- [40:56]
Season Johnson
Yes, I do. I actually saw a recipe for that. Or like turning it into tuna salad. Right. It's sardines, but they don't know it's, you know, so there are so many ways to get nutrients. Organ meats are one of the most powerful things to give your children when they're on treatment because it supports hemoglobin, immune system, platelets. These are all play a really powerful role in cancer recovery. And you can do organ meats in a capsule. You don't have to chew on liver.
- [41:22]
Alex Clark
Or you can have it mashed up with ground beef. And it doesn't taste any different. It tastes like ground beef. So it can be, you know, in your spaghetti, it can be meatballs, it can be a hamburger. And your kid has no idea that there's organ meats in there. And I do that for myself. I mean, that's like one of the best ways you can just get force of nature at Whole Foods and they make it, you know, pre made hamburger meat with organ meats mixed in. It's very easy. Yeah. Is there anything else you want to say about just the power of organ meats when it comes to cancer?
- [41:50]
Season Johnson
One of the big issues with going through cancer is the treatment depletes the body of so many nutrients, and a lot of these kids are needing blood transfusions. Well, a lot of parents are concerned about the blood that these kids are getting and where it's coming from and is it clean and what are some of the concerns they should have. Right. And so we've been able to help kids avoid blood transfusions by supplementing with organ meats to keep their blood healthy, to keep their hemoglobin up, to keep their platelets healthy. And so it literally is a superfood. It's providing B vitamins, which is necessary when you're going through cancer, to help make sure you're methylating, to make sure you're detoxing naturally. Your body's own detox methods are working. So there are so many factors that, like I always say, people will ask me, what multivitamin do I give my kids? And like, there's not a multivitamin out there that I would tell you to give your kids, except for organ meat.
- [42:44]
Alex Clark
What sorts of meals did you make your son when he had cancer?
- [42:47]
Season Johnson
Yeah. And this is the best part, because it's not like I'm a five star chef, right. And we eat the same way now. So breakfast was always eggs cooked in butter, avocado, a forkful of sauerkraut. And if he. What if he was still hungry, Depending on what age he was at and growing, we'd give him these homemade. I'd make these homemade chicken maple sausages. So that was breakfast, lunch. Was he still to this day, loves it. We'd get organic turkey meat from Diesel Ranch is a brand that I've. I felt really comfortable about. They don't have additives because a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, lunch meat. Listen, we're not trying to achieve perfection here. We also have families that are so overwhelmed and busy, right. They're not gonna buy a turkey and carve it on at home on their own typically. So we do lunch wraps. So he'd do a piece of turkey, microgreens, a slice of raw cheese from. We call them Papa Mark from Raw Farm in California, from Papa Mark's farm. So turkey cheese, microgreens. And he loved buffalo sauce. So we get organic buffalo sauce. Put that on. And then this is the best part we do now or coming back to Oregon meats, that brand. Pluck.
- [43:56]
Podcast Host/Announcer
I love pluck.
- [43:57]
Season Johnson
They're like. Is amazing.
- [43:59]
Alex Clark
My jam, I've been talking about them for years. I use them all the time.
- [44:02]
Season Johnson
He's so great. We love Chef James. So we sprinkle pluck on top. He rolls it up and he'll have like. I mean, now he's 14, he'll have like six to eight of those. So it's not the cheapest meal. Cause you know, organic lunch meat and all of that. But lunch would be so simple. Sometimes we'd do a salad. Um, but he always just liked meat and cheese and eggs and hard boiled eggs were always something that he enjoyed. And then dinner. I have a very expensive son. He loves steak. Always has since he was little. And so we'll do grass fed grass finished ribeye, sweet potato if he wants, like, you know, mashed sweet potato with a little tiny bit of raw honey and butter. And then we love bitter greens. Bitter greens are anti cancerous. So we'll do arugula. And I'm probably gonna butcher. How you say this? I say escarole or escarole. It's a type of lettuce that's a anti cancer bitter green. We do that salad with a little bit of olive oil and parmesan and lemon. Easy, easy. And delicious.
- [45:02]
Alex Clark
Yeah, listen Also I want to say this. My interior designer was over doing stuff at my place and she has four little girls she had with her. And since she was her and her husband were helping me with home stuff, I was like, well, I'll make lunch for them. And one of the sides of the lunch that I had made these little girls was broccoli oven roasted broccoli. And I saturated it with pluck.
- [45:23]
Season Johnson
Love it.
- [45:24]
Alex Clark
And I think I did like, whatever. They're like garlic, garlic. It basically tastes like garlic salt. And those little girls were like, this.
- [45:31]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Is the best broccoli, Ms. Alex.
- [45:33]
Alex Clark
And I knew that it was this organ meat infused seasoning, but your kid is not gonna know it. It doesn't taste like organ meats at all. No adult would know. It just tastes like seasoning and it is so healthy and just a little extra nutrient. So worth it. And they just upgraded. They used to come in patch like pouches, but now it's in like an actual like shaker. So it's really nice. Way easier. I'm telling you.
- [45:57]
Podcast Host/Announcer
This is like the easiest way to.
- [45:58]
Alex Clark
Get your kids to like love vegetables is to sprinkle it with, with pluck and this. And they're not even a sponsor currently of the show. They used to be for a little bit, but they're not even out. But they're just so good. So I have to shout them out because I think it's a good hack.
- [46:07]
Season Johnson
It's that and add butter.
- [46:09]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Yes.
- [46:09]
Season Johnson
People are always like, my kid won't eat vegetables. I'm like, because you're not adding enough butter.
- [46:12]
Alex Clark
I don't think we're seasoning enough.
- [46:14]
Podcast Host/Announcer
No. Yeah, that's the problem.
- [46:16]
Alex Clark
It's, it's a lot of the times it's how you're cooking things and, and.
- [46:20]
Podcast Host/Announcer
That like pisses people off. I, but I'm like, look like, I mean I, I am always somebody that's like, tell me how I can improve on things.
- [46:27]
Season Johnson
Yeah.
- [46:27]
Alex Clark
And I just think sometimes that's it. We're not salting things enough. We're not using seasoning enough. We're not cooking with butter.
- [46:33]
Podcast Host/Announcer
We're not cooking with animal fat.
- [46:35]
Alex Clark
That is such an easy way too. To make meals more nutrient dense and more satiating is cooking with animal fat as opposed to vegetable oil, canola oil.
- [46:45]
Season Johnson
100% and it, it tastes better. They're getting nutrients and, and I always say add cheese. If your child can tolerate cheese and you have access to a good clean source of cheese, add cheese to their vegetables. Butter, cheese, organ meats and Cooking it in beef tallow or duck fat or butter or whatever. That is incredible. And it will give them the flavor that they're all of a sudden like, oh, wow, this isn't so bad after all. Yeah.
- [47:12]
Alex Clark
Some kids like apples and cheese too.
- [47:14]
Season Johnson
Yeah.
- [47:15]
Alex Clark
Should you prioritize vegetables or animal foods for your child?
- [47:19]
Season Johnson
Animal foods, a hundred percent.
- [47:21]
Alex Clark
Why?
- [47:22]
Season Johnson
Because animal, animal foods have the bioavailable nutrients that they can easily assimilate and digest. You know, we know there's also some of the nutrients that people argue, like beta carotene. Some of these things that are only present in vegetables, they're also present in organically raised, grass fed, pasture raised animals. So when your child is growing and developing, they need choline rich foods coming from eggs and butter. Right. They need fat soluble vitamins coming from lamb and beef and organ meats and vegetables. Again, when we think of like understanding the need of a growing child, but a child also fighting disease, we need more fats and proteins, not more glucose. And while carb, don't get me wrong, vegetables are still necessary and important. They have more glucose content. We're looking for fat and protein, especially when a child is unwell.
- [48:13]
Podcast Host/Announcer
So if your child is like in.
- [48:15]
Alex Clark
One of those moods and they are not wanting to eat barely anything on their plate, they're doing the bird eating thing. Is it more important than you would say to encourage that child, hey, just eat your protein. Like, forget the vegetables. You need to eat your protein before you get up. Like, would you say that that's what.
- [48:30]
Season Johnson
We'Ve done our whole life? Yeah.
- [48:31]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [48:31]
Season Johnson
Yep. And even my kids, they're, you know, we never gave them a choice. I would say also remember your mom and your dad and you're in charge and you are potentially working with little terrorists. We always joke that, like, we're dealing with these, you know, little difficult children, but you're in charge and you have the final say in like what they can. Don't. You're not a five star chef preparing different meals for everybody. But it is so important to remember that, like, your kids need that protein. So don't prioritize that. My kids now being fed this way their whole life, they'll still, I'll be like, you guys didn't get your microgreens. That's a big thing we, we like to incorporate is microgreens. They'll just do a big old handful, shove it in their mouth, get it over with, and then move on to their eggs and steak. Right. So you can just get it over with, get it down. But Focus on the healthy animal fats and proteins.
- [49:20]
Alex Clark
What do you think about microwaves?
- [49:22]
Season Johnson
They are destroying your food and your health. I mean it's, it's almost like there's no point you, what you just put in the microwave, you know, you no longer have the nutrients present. It's been radiated, it's been too quickly cooked. So you've removed all of those healthy nutrients. And that's the tricky part with cancer. Well, I, I should say for anybody is when you take healthy animal proteins, you don't want to cook them high and fast. So, and don't get me wrong, we love a good barbecue, but you need to be mindful of low and slow. That is how you preserve the nutrients present in food in general, but especially in animal proteins. High and fast becomes carcinogenic.
- [50:04]
Alex Clark
So what about the parents that are, you know, really busy and they're like, hey, listen, our family isn't going to survive without a microwave. How are we supposed to heat up food?
- [50:11]
Season Johnson
We use a toaster oven. We love it. Like Breville is a great brand, it's affordable. And it's the toaster oven, you know, not the toasters people put bread in, but the toaster oven, you throw your meal in there, it will take maybe 12 minutes as opposed to a minute and 30 seconds. But everybody has 12 minutes.
- [50:27]
Alex Clark
And an air fryer too.
- [50:28]
Season Johnson
A lot of insta pots. I always just say make sure your air fryer and your instapot is stainless steel or glass. You don't want the Teflon. And then we always, I mean a saucepan, you know, if we're reheating something, we'll just throw it in a saucepan on the stove. So we're talking literally a difference of 10 minutes. Yeah, you know, we're not talking about an hour. It's 10 minute difference between a microwave and a toaster oven, an air fryer or a saucepan.
- [50:52]
Alex Clark
Is there anything that parents can do regarding food that is served in hospitals?
- [50:56]
Season Johnson
Don't eat it. Like literally tell the dietitian we no longer need the food delivered to our room. Please don't even bring it in because your child is going to look at that and go, I want the bright red jello, I want the pancakes with the fake maple syrup, I want the chicken nuggets. The trash they serve may still be appealing to your child. So you don't want to stress, you don't need to cause more stress in that room. So you tell them as soon as you get, become impatient, please do not bring the food into our room. We have our own food. So I created I can give it to you to provide to people a free kind of. We call it the hospital essentials list. And it's literally the things that we over the years have found. Instacart. Praise the Lord for that. Uber Eats. Praise the Lord for that. These are ways that we can now get food into your hospital room. And we've created a list of all of our favorite. Some of them are pre made or prepared foods that are healthy and are going to nourish your child while they're impatient. Because yeah, you're not making a steak and creating this meal while you're in the hospital. You're also tired and you're running a little sleep. Your child's picky. So we've created a whole list that will give them the tools and the resources and brands. Right. That they can go get on Instacart or Uber Eats but do not eat the hospital food.
- [52:12]
Alex Clark
Why should parents that have kids with cancer avoid letting them ride in an electric vehicle?
- [52:18]
Season Johnson
Oof. So I got a lot of hate for this one when I shared this online number one, the amount of electromagnetic frequency output on electric vehicles and really today's modern vehicle anyways, is so incredibly high. Electromagnetic frequencies literally disrupt the nervous system. So I want you to picture the nervous system as you know, when you see like a heart rate monitor, you want to just see this like normal elevated line, goes up and goes down, goes up and goes down. I want you to think your nervous system like a flat line. Okay. So it should always kind of be just this flat line. That means it's in rest and kind of homeostasis. It's relaxed, it's safe. Your body will not prioritize healing if your nervous system looks like a heart monitor, if it's all over the place. The biggest disruptor to the nervous system is electromagnetic and radio frequencies. So electric vehicles have a very high amount of that. You're also sitting on a battery. The battery is incredibly caustic to your health, to your nervous system. So especially these kids that are commuting in every day on long trips like in we even you probably know, know of people that have electrosensitivity. They can't even sit in an electric vehicle for more than five minutes without getting a headache or feeling horrible. So while you may not feel the effects, please recognize the urgency of taking care of your nervous system. And this is why emotions play a role in healing. Because your nervous system has a lot to do with your emotions.
- [53:55]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [53:56]
Season Johnson
And it unless your nervous System is relaxed and calm. You can't, your body won't prioritize healing.
- [54:02]
Alex Clark
Hard rule for me, I will never own an electric vehicle. If I was somebody who owned an electric vehicle, I would be trading that in immediately. I would be selling it. And that is not even for if I had a kid with cancer. That is in general, I will not own an electric vehicle. I mean, they even tell you it is one of the most dangerous things to sit inside that car as it's charging. It's still dangerous whether it's charging or not. I. There's no way that that is good for us even having your phone or your headphones on Bluetooth all the time and we're still in a regular vehicle. I know there's still Bluetooth capabilities and all of that, but there is so much of that going on. It is not good for our nervous systems.
- [54:42]
Season Johnson
There is no way, no, it's so bad. And I always say like when you're in your car, electric or not, for sure electric, turn your phone on airplane mode. If you're not using it, it's like a hot box. It's literally a hot box with your phone, wi fi, your Bluetooth technology. And then you couple that with a battery and electric vehicle. It is, it's a disaster.
- [55:08]
Podcast Host/Announcer
It's that time, holiday time. California mobile acupuncture helps you reset, rest and restore without ever leaving home. This is the wellness game changer. Oh my gosh, your stressed out wife who is flipping out about all the presents she has to wrap and people she has to buy for and all the meals she has to cook. Dude, acupuncture in your living room, you take the kids outside for a second. No traffic, no waiting rooms, Just peace presence and personalized care right where you are. California mobile acupuncture is different. This isn't your average acupuncture visit every in home session. Not only are they doing acupuncture on you or your your baby, it could be your kids, your husband, whoever's in your home. They also use highly effective other tools like cupping. Gua sha holistic bodywork designed to calm your nervous system, boost your immunity and help you actually enjoy the holidays. This is whole body care that meets you where you are. Literally. California mobile acupuncture has become one of the most trusted names in in home wellness across the states of California and Arizona. So sad thing is this doesn't apply to you if you are not in California in Arizona, but if you are, you should call them up. Patients, including myself, have raved about how relaxed, balanced and restored they feel after each session. If you are running on empty, fighting stress or just ready to feel balanced again, this is for you or your kids or your spouse. Whether you're recovering from burnout, managing pain, recentering your hormones or you want an alternative to Botox, they've got cosmetic acupuncture. This will help your body remember how to heal. Their trusted team serves patients across Southern California, so Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego in the Bay Area and now proudly in Scottsdale in the greater Phoenix area. So how do you book this season? The more that you commit to your healing, the more you're going to save. Book by December 22nd to receive up to $200 off your first package. This is huge. This is an exclusive offer only for Culture Apothecary listeners who talk about me when they book. So you've got to say I heard about this from Alex Clarker. Culture Apothecary appointments for the season are going to fill fast because everybody's stressed out and everyone wants a little break. So do not wait, text or call 949-228-9588, that's 949-228-9588 or go to California mobile accu.com or arizonamoacu.com California mobile acupuncture because your healing deserves to come home. Okay, show break. How about I give you my cinnamon apple pie protein smoothie recipe? I'll give you the recipe in a couple seconds, but first you should know that I've got a secret ingredient in it. A scoop of Cowboy Colostrum. Cowboy is not your average supplement. It is made from first milk and colostrum collected from the first four to six hours of birth from grass fed U S raised cows. That is when it's richest in bioactive ingredients like immunoglobulins and in natural growth factors that support immunity, gut health, radiant skin, hair and athletic performance. They do it the right way. Calf welfare comes first and only the surplus is collected. It is kept whole. There's no stripping, no skimming. Think whole milk versus skim. It's naturally fluffy, creamy and golden. Now here is my quick Thanksgiving fall smoothie that could honestly be a healthy dessert. 1 cup of apple cider, half a frozen banana, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, a dash of pumpkin pie spice, a scoop of grass fed bone broth, vanilla protein powder and one to two scoops of unflavored cowboy colostrum. Blend it up. Tastes like apple pie in a milkshake. Thank me later. Support your Hair, skin, nails and immune system. This holiday season go to cowboy colostrum.com use code Alex for 25% off. That's cowboy colostrum.com code Alex.
- [58:45]
Alex Clark
If your child was just diagnosed with a serious illness, what things immediately should the parents remove from the home?
- [58:51]
Season Johnson
Fragrance is a big one. Bleach, like you think of just some of those really heavy duty toxic cleaners like bleach fragrance, unplugging your WI fi at night. And actually I would say, I would say if we back up, the number one thing would be to turn it into a dumb home. So if you're currently in a smart home and you have Alexa and everything is wired and everything is touch, your refrigerator tells you when it's empty. I mean your, your Spotify is playing on your refrigerator. You've got the doorbell, whatever it's called. The ring. The ring, yes. Remove all of that. That is a constant pulse of electromagnetic frequency and radio frequency through your home.
- [59:30]
Alex Clark
No ring doorbells.
- [59:31]
Season Johnson
No ring doorbells. And, and your child, your home's supposed to be a place to heal. And when they come home from impatient, we always say, like, you heal at home, right? You don't heal in the hospital, but we need to make our homes healing. And so we're moving electromagnetic frequencies, radio frequencies as much as possible. Fragrance out for sure. And then with fragrance that, that encompasses like laundry detergent, the sheets they're sleeping on, the clothes they're wearing. If you're using laundry detergent with fragrance and chemicals, you're, you're completely disabling them from, from really being able to heal.
- [60:03]
Alex Clark
What are some natural ways to kill cancer cells?
- [60:06]
Season Johnson
Who. This is tricky because when you're forced through standard of care, antibiotics are part of the protocol. Okay. For kids required to be taken weekly for three and a half years for my son and now for the duration of treatment.
- [60:22]
Alex Clark
Oh my gosh. Every day.
- [60:25]
Season Johnson
So for children with all, it's every weekend they're supposed to do a round of antibiotics for the duration of treatment, which when kicker was going through it, it was longer, it was three and a half years. Now it's shortened to two and a half years every weekend. So the most natural way to fight cancer is activating your immune system. Unfortunately, if you're going through the standard of care, they're obliterating your immune system with antibiotics and chemotherapy. And so I encourage parents to have a conversation with their oncologist about the absolute necessity of giving their child the antibiotics on the weekends. Have a conversation, see if they're open to discussion. And I will say it kind of comes back to this vaccine conversation is people can say like should you vaccinate, should you not vaccinate? You have to be really intentional. Right? So yeah, sure, don't vaccinate, but don't be negligent either. Right. And it's the same with like antibiotics. Don't. If you don't use antibiotics, you can't feed your kid standard American diet and allow them to live in an EMF surrounded home. Their immune system's still not going to do well. So you have to be intentional with using natural agents. And so when we think of natural things you can do to help your body fight cancer, food again is gonna feed your microbiome. So we're thinking of foods that are like bitter greens and animal rich or, or healthy proteins, healthy fats that are gonna feed the microbiome. And then there's herbs that you can use that are gentle to help eliminate bacteria and virus from the gut.
- [61:59]
Alex Clark
Like what?
- [62:00]
Season Johnson
So we really like Kumanda and Banderol, it's by a company called Nutra Medics and it's gentle. So with herbs and chemotherapy it can be a little bit tricky. This is a line that is more of a homeopathic type of delivery mechanism. So it's not contraindicated and it's drops. So even if the child's little, you just put drops in their water and it can help just keep their immune system kind of fighting off the viruses and the bacteria that they're exposed to on a regular basis.
- [62:27]
Alex Clark
Can you give an example of what that conversation can sound like when the parent is asking the doctor if they would be open minded to kind of skipping the antibiotics in the cancer treatment?
- [62:37]
Season Johnson
Yeah, every weekend. So I would bring to their attention and here's a great use of AI. Before you go into that meeting, go into AI like ChatGPT and ask ChatGPT how do antibiotics negatively affect the childhood cancer standard of care treatment plan. And you'll be surprised what you see. So you can use that information, you can even tell. And this is again where I love AI is like a parent can quickly access this research that they want to present and so you can say, show me some studies, bring that information in and say, you know, I've been doing some research that antibiotics actually suppress bone marrow function when we're going through treatment and it really kills off the my child's natural immune system in just trying to prevent a fungal infection that you're saying they could get because they're immune compromised. But I'm More concerned with depending on antibiotics to work. If they develop that fungal infection and not building up a resilience or a tolerance to antibiotics, they don't work. And I really want their bone marrow to be healthy while they're going through treatment because that has everything to do with their ability to achieve remission. Yeah. And I want their immune system to still be able to have the ability to fight off disease. And I always use this phrase is I feel like using antibiotics as a prophylactic part of treatment is like taking a fire hose to an anthill. So would you be open, doctor, to allowing us to work with a practitioner and nutritionist that can help us support our child naturally without using the antibiotics every weekend? And see what they say.
- [64:12]
Alex Clark
What are a parent's options if their child's doctor says, don't do any supplements, don't do any detoxes?
- [64:18]
Season Johnson
So this is what I tell my families. And it's hard because, again, you're so scared, right? You are just terrified. You don't want to. You don't want to be responsible for messing something up. Well, either does your doctor. And so you have to understand, your doctor wants the same outcome that you do for your child. They want to see your child in remission. But remember, they only know one way to do that, and it's what they learned in medical school. It's to cut surgery, poison, chemo, burn, radiation. They know one way to achieve that goal, and they're following the standard of care. So when you bring up to them, oh, by the way, I'm putting my child on Kumanda and Banderol, or I have a probiotic that I was recommended to give them, or we're doing these gentle detox modalities. Your doctor all of a sudden goes, whoa, I know nothing about any of this. Don't do it, because that could interfere with what I know is going to get your child to remission. So this is where I say, parents use discernment. Understand the important role your oncologist is playing in this journey. They are playing a very important role. But you need a team on the other side that is going to help guide you through these safe and not contraindicated therapies. And there are. That's the problem. There are some therapies. Parents come in and say, I'm doing this with my child. And I mean, that is problematic and it can interfere with chemo. Right. This is where it just become like, educate yourself. Work with a team that understands. But please understand that your doctor wants the best outcome. They Only know one way to achieve it. And so at that point, you decide. Which we had to. We had to decide we're not going to disclose what we're doing because every time they would ask, we'd bring it up. It was a fight and they told us we were negligent. Meanwhile, by the way, I remember one appointment. Our doctor, who was my age at the time, had a Dr. Pepper, a diet Dr. Pepper on his desk, and hot, flaming, flaming hot Cheetos. Okay? We're meeting with him. My son, who is 5 at the time, has hard boiled eggs in a glass container and raw green juice. We got him at Whole Foods. He says to me in this meeting, what is, what's he eating? And I was like, kicker, what are you eating, buddy? And he called him Watten eggs. Rotten eggs. I'm not really sure where he came up that. I'm like, he's like, my watten eggs. And he's like, what is he drinking? And I said, it's green juice. He goes, is that raw?
- [66:34]
Alex Clark
Are you kidding me?
- [66:35]
Season Johnson
And I just said, you know what, it's totally fine. I didn't even. I, like, I couldn't even have that conversation. So again, like, it comes to a point where you just decide, you know what? I'm confident what I'm doing. I don't need to discuss this with my team because they don't get it. Yeah, right.
- [66:50]
Alex Clark
What is a five minute ritual that can change your child's health?
- [66:53]
Season Johnson
Oh, my gosh. The. We call it Happy Crappy Jesus.
- [66:57]
Alex Clark
Happy Crappy Jesus.
- [66:59]
Season Johnson
I shouldn't say in that order, but that's the order. It just flows. So talking with your children about what they're walking through is so important. And as a parent, being willing to be vulnerable with them and showing them that you're crying and that you're scared, like a lot of times, I think as parents in situations like this, we have to be strong. We feel like, oh my gosh, we have to put our armor on. We've got to be locked in. We can't let them see us scared. We can't let them see us cry. That's not fair. They feel all of that and they're like, well, they're. I guess I just have to do the same. That's so dangerous for their health to not accept, express their emotions and to not feel safe. And so as parents, as always, we have to lead the way. We can cry in front of them, we can tell them we're scared. And so we started this kind of midway through kicker's treatment. And it's at night, we'd be tucking them in, and we asked them, what was your happy? What was your crappy? And where did you see Jesus? And we start. Parents always have to start because, I mean, depending on your kid's age. And there were times where my daughter would be like, what's your happy air? What's your crappy? I'm tired. You know, like, you have moments like that. But we found that this exercise allowed us to get vulnerable as parents. And the more vulnerable we were in starting about our happy and our crappy. Like, our crappy. I would say I was really scared today. Kicker when you had that reaction at chemo, like, it made me really sad. And mommy cried for a while. And then, you know, you see him like, oh, good. Because I was scared too. Like, I could see his body processing that. Right. And please know, not every one of the happy, crappy Jesus times at night are beautiful and impactful, but it creates a rhythm that you're going to bed, kind of unfolding your emotions and letting them out, making everybody feel safe and seen and heard and bringing Jesus into the picture. And then you start the day again the next morning. But I think that ritual is really powerful.
- [68:55]
Alex Clark
When you ring that bell after having cancer, does that mean treatment is done?
- [68:59]
Season Johnson
Absolutely not. That's when you go all in. It's like you. You have, let's say your military is deployed and you're ready for battle because you are limited of what you can do and how you can support your child or as an adult through standard of care. There are so many things that you can't do because you can't fully detox. You can't do a parasite cleanse. You can't do all these things when you're going through active treatment because your body is so burdened. And we want the treatment to work and we don't want to overburden the liver. Right, Treatment's done. We now go all in on functional testing to try to figure out root cause. Like, what are the toxins present in their body? And right now they're going to be high because they just went through chemotherapy and radiation. Right. We do functional. This is what I recommend, functional testing, do food sensitivity testing. We like one called the mediator release test. It's mrt. It shows you what foods your body is showing an inflammatory response to rather than just a sensitivity. So we kind of get this big picture of data, and then you go all in with protocols. So when cancer is done, you now have this experience that has forever changed your life. It's forever changed your perspective in a beautiful way. And I hesitate always communicating this quickly to my families, but this is the rest of your life. Like, we have this opportunity as parents that have a child with cancer to recognize how important health and healing is. But this has happened. We know it's possible, and we're going to do everything in our damn power to make sure it doesn't come back. And so because standard of care, the number one side effect is often secondary cancer. So not only do we finish treatment a little bit weaker and sicker, we now need to mitigate and undo the damage that was done from the therapies that. That did help. But now we need to get to root cause. We need to rebuild and restore. And we're seven years out of treatment, and we are still living a life where we are so intentional with supplements and with functional testing and all of that.
- [70:59]
Alex Clark
If you could sit across from the head of pediatric oncology in the U.S. what would you beg them to change today?
- [71:08]
Season Johnson
Oh, man, where would I start? I would beg them to understand the power of nutrition and to just hear parents when they're questioning and challenging what's happening in their care. Right. And with the food that's being brought into the room, I would beg them to understand that the advice they're giving these parents that they can eat whatever they want. We just don't want them to lose weight. It doesn't matter what they eat is. I mean, it's criminal. It's criminal information. And so I would beg them to understand the power of nutrition and. And not that they need to. I'm not asking them to go back and restudy, but bring people into the conversation that know.
- [71:51]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Sure, yeah.
- [71:52]
Season Johnson
Right. What you don't know, hire it out. Yep. Like, we. That's a huge thing. So bring people into the conversation that can bring that information to your patients. Bring it in like a child life specialist is a big role, and they kind of help distract the child, play with the child, bring in somebody that understands the supporting. The metabolic terrain during cancer is just as important as the chemotherapy.
- [72:13]
Alex Clark
Can you share what your credentials are and how somebody can find someone like you to help navigate the cancer system in the hospital and what to do after at home?
- [72:22]
Season Johnson
So I'm a functional nutritional therapy practitioner. I actually went to school, went back to school, I should say, when my son was born. And this is, of course, prior to diagnosis. And since then, now I've become also an integrative health practitioner, level two. And I met a student at the Metabolic Terrain institute, which is Dr. Naysha Winters program that she's, she's an amazing person in cancer care with finding somebody that helps support Pete's. It's almost impossible. I think there's four of us in the nation right now.
- [72:53]
Podcast Host/Announcer
What.
- [72:54]
Season Johnson
So there may be more that I don't know of. Right. But four that are known that will come alongside a child and support them on this side of things while standard of care is doing this. So do you guys travel? No, it's for. A lot of. It's virtual.
- [73:10]
Alex Clark
Got it.
- [73:11]
Season Johnson
A lot of it's virtual. But here's the other piece. We have some amazing natural oncologists in America. We have amazing functional practitioners. They're terrified to touch pediatric cancer because a liability wise. Right. There's just this deep like kind of dark covering around the legal system of what they can and can't do. And it's scary and unfamiliar to a lot of practitioners. So what we're doing needs to become, we need more. I mean I'm literally trying to hire a practitioner right now to come into my practice that is educated, that is trained, that is willing to work with pediatric cancer. It's very difficult to find.
- [73:50]
Alex Clark
So how can people work with you directly?
- [73:53]
Season Johnson
So we have group programs, which is great because it's affordable. They're meeting parents that are walking the same journey. So it's called the Thrive through Cancer formula. And then we have Thrive beyond, which is our remission program as well. And then we do work with clients one to one through our private practice in San Diego, virtually and in person. And you know, we always talk to the families first, we do complimentary discovery calls because I want to know what's your story, where are you at? And help them decide what's a better fit, the group program or working with me out of the practice. But the other piece to that is I'm not a signing provider. So there are oftentimes I'm working with a child and I believe they need something called mistletoe therapy or I believe that they could benefit from high dose vitamin C at wherever they're at in remission or treatment. So I will refer them to again one of three providers in the nation. One's in Arizona, Dr. Rubin, that will actually work with that child. So it's, it's complex but really at the end of the day it's like I tell. I got a message from a mom the other day, her son passed away and you know, it's, it's horrible and it happens. And her message to me was Season working with you. I'd never felt more hopeful in my entire life with my son. And at the end of the day, I'm always. I always say, like, I'm not the smartest provider. I don't have all the tools, but I know that I can give families hope and just be kind of be a beacon of light. And, like, I've been there. I know what it's like. I know how hard it hurts, but there's so much you can do. And just providing hope at the end of the day is like, if that's all I've done, like, lord, just keep using me.
- [75:33]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [75:33]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Yeah.
- [75:33]
Alex Clark
Where can people find you on social media?
- [75:36]
Season Johnson
Season Johnson on Instagram. And I'm not really active on Facebook, but I'm there too. Instagram's probably the best. And then my website is susanjohnson.com and our private practice is biodynamic wellness.com if.
- [75:48]
Alex Clark
You could offer one remedy to heal a sick culture, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, what would it be?
- [75:54]
Season Johnson
Surrendering your hurts to Jesus. I always think of the story of Moses and when he had that rod and that same rod that would be his. Like, I think of that for me, with. With cancer, right? Cancer was kind of a rod, and it was ugly and dark. And he used that rod to murder people. He used that rod to wander the wilderness. And yet that same rod, when he chose to throw it down and surrender it at the feet of Jesus, turned into a snake and God redeemed it. And he used that same rod to then walk and lead the nation of Israel to the promised land. And so I think of, like, surrendering your hurt and your worry right now at the feet of Jesus and just watch what he'll do. Whether it's a GI issue you're dealing with or emotional issue you're dealing with or cancer. Like, surrender to Jesus and see what he will do and what he'll turn it into and how he'll use it.
- [76:51]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Season, you are such a rock star.
- [76:53]
Alex Clark
Thank you for coming on Culture Apothecary.
- [76:54]
Season Johnson
Thank you so much for having me.
- [77:00]
Podcast Host/Announcer
God willing.
- [77:00]
Alex Clark
Nobody in my audience is listening to this episode because this is the journey they're on. But if you are, I hope that season encouraged you and that you would reach out to her and ask for any advice or any help that you might need.
- [77:12]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Please leave a five star review. Tell others why they should be listening to Culture Apothecary. We're on a mission to heal a sick culture, health and wellness from a conservative perspective.
- [77:20]
Alex Clark
Twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern.
- [77:23]
Podcast Host/Announcer
You can find me on Instagram at Real Alex Clark or the show at Culture Apothecary.
- [77:28]
Alex Clark
Also, there's vlogs and episodes that you can watch, all kinds of stuff on.
- [77:31]
Podcast Host/Announcer
The real Alex Clark YouTube channel, so make sure you subscribe to that. You'll find merch tpsamerch.com code Alex Clark.
- [77:37]
Alex Clark
Will get you 10 off.
- [77:38]
Podcast Host/Announcer
I'm Alex Clark and this is Culture Apothecary.