Podcast Summary: I AM HealingStrong

Episode 119: Colon Cancer, God & Natural Healing Pt. 1 | Dan Cook
Host: Jim Mann
Guest: Dan Cook
Date: January 23, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, stage 4 cancer survivor and HealingStrong group leader Jim Mann interviews Dan Cook, who shares his personal journey from living a standard American lifestyle to receiving a colon cancer diagnosis and overhauling his life. Dan discusses his transformation through faith, self-education, and natural healing protocols, emphasizing personal responsibility and the power of learning from others' experiences. The conversation is candid, humorous, and deeply practical, serving as encouragement for anyone navigating a healing journey.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dan’s Life Before Cancer: “SAD”—Standard American Diet & Disease

• Dan describes his pre-diagnosis life as “SAD”—not just emotionally but as an acronym for the Standard American Diet, which he humorously equates with paving the way for standard diseases.
• Despite rarely getting sick and priding himself on never missing work, Dan realizes this absence of symptoms wasn’t true health.

  "We think the absence of symptoms is health. That's not really the case. Just because you're not feeling it doesn't mean there's nothing going on." (Dan, 03:07)

• He ignored early symptoms (like blood in his stool), attributing them to minor issues like hemorrhoids.

2. The Diagnosis (06:51–09:25)

• At age 56, after seeing physical changes in his body (muscle loss, swelling in the chest), Dan finally saw a doctor and underwent his first colonoscopy.
• The doctor immediately told him it didn’t look good:

  “All I remember saying is I don’t want to die. That’s when I put it in my head that I’m going to do whatever it takes to stay here.” (Dan, 09:40)

• The crushing mood shift in the hospital underscored the gravity of the diagnosis.

3. Family History and Learning from Others’ Journeys (09:40–11:46)

• Dan’s sister (breast cancer) and grandfather (prostate cancer) both had poor outcomes with conventional treatments.
• He reflects on honoring his family not by mimicking their decisions, but by learning from both their victories and failures:

  “To me, [honoring parents] means learning from them… not to repeat the mistakes… and if anybody’s the youngest child, you learn to watch what they do. If they get in trouble, don’t do that.” (Dan, 11:01)

• This history shapes his decision to seek alternative paths.

4. Immediate Mindset Shift & Faith (12:45–13:46)

• Dan experienced a dramatic mental and spiritual shift the morning after his diagnosis.
• Felt guided by God to take action:

  “I had a talk with God… I told God, you’re going to show me the way, I’m going to follow you… When this works—and I said when, not if—I’m going to tell everybody what I’ve been doing.” (Dan, 12:45)

5. Taking Control: Research and Targeted Lifestyle Changes (16:11–25:37)

• Dan’s first step: Research, not panic. He sought to understand what fueled cancer:
  • Referenced the book How to Starve Cancer (Jane McLelland) and its insights on metabolic pathways (glucose, glutamine, fatty acids).
  • Implemented immediate strategies, e.g., taking a one-mile walk after each meal to utilize glucose.
  • Shifted his view on food:

    “When I started looking at food as nutrition rather than entertainment, then I understood…” (Dan, 18:53)

  • Supplemented learning with World Without Cancer (G. Edward Griffin) and Chris Beat Cancer (Chris Wark), seeking long-term survivors as mentors.

6. Nutritional Overhaul and Specific Interventions (21:20–32:53)

• Adopted a “Mediterranean keto” diet—low-carb, high-nutrient, clean proteins, lots of greens.
• Eliminated processed foods, sugars, alcohol, and focused on anti-cancer foods and supplements:
  • Green tea (EGCG), resveratrol, sulforaphane, genistein, and curcumin.
  • Apricot kernels (vitamin B17/amygdalin), starting with a few and building up to 30–40 a day.

    “Eventually three a day is easy just to chew on...I would stuff them inside a date and eat them that way. Tasted like a Snickers bar!” (Dan, 26:54)

• Emphasized the importance of removing the bad before adding the good.
  • “If I’m still putting in things that are bad for me, what am I doing? I’m just treading water.”

7. Progress, Surgery, and Re-evaluating “Success” (25:57–32:53)

• After six weeks on the new protocol (pre-surgery), Dan’s tumor shrank from 5–6cm to 2–3cm:

  “I thought, wow… everything I’d been doing so far shrunk it in half. And had I known then what I know now, I might have put off the surgery and waited for another scan.” (Dan, 29:38)

• Used this progress as motivation to keep going and as a sign he was on the right track.

8. The Role of Stress and Daily Choices (30:35–32:53)

• Dan connects years of life stressors (“marriage, divorce, moving, death”) with suppressed immunity, coupled with daily alcohol consumption and poor diet.
  • “Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen… If you continue to consume it, just like processed meats, just like cigarettes, it’s going to catch up to you.”
• Stresses consistency over intensity:

  “It’s not the things we do once in a while that are going to heal us. It’s every day, right… the things we do, all day, every day, make the difference.” (Dan, 33:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On health and symptoms:
  “We think the absence of symptoms is health… just because you’re not feeling it doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on.”
  (Dan, 03:07)

• On choosing a healing path:
  “I just knew I can’t go that way… I would almost rather just let nature do what it’s gonna do, rather than go through that…”
  (Dan, 11:46)

• On food and purpose:
  “When I started looking at food as nutrition rather than entertainment, then I understood how I should be eating…”
  (Dan, 18:53)

• On learning from others:
  “If we want to be successful, what’s the best way to be successful? Find someone who’s been successful and do what they did.”
  (Dan, 20:41)

• On industry motivations:
  “There’s very little incentive for anyone else besides me to heal me… my best interest might not be what their motivation is.”
  (Dan, 23:22)

• On daily habits:
  “It’s not the things we do once in a while that are going to heal us… It’s what we do every day.”
  (Dan, 33:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:33] – Dan's background, lifestyle, and health misconceptions
• [06:56] – The colonoscopy and emotional fallout from the diagnosis
• [09:40] – Family history with cancer; learning from their experiences
• [12:45] – Spiritual awakening; making a vow to pursue alternative healing
• [16:11] – Research phase: Discovering cancer’s metabolic pathways; initial dietary changes
• [21:20] – Specific healing protocols: diet, supplements, and anti-cancer compounds
• [25:57] – Apricot kernels and industry skepticism; “no one else is going to look out for me but me”
• [29:38] – Tumor shrinkage and reevaluating surgery
• [30:35] – Stress, alcohol, and building daily healthy habits

Tone and Atmosphere

• Conversational, candid, and practical
• Infused with humor and humility (e.g., “My ex-wife said I eat like a teenager whose parents went on vacation…”)
• Encouraging and empowering, focused on actionable steps and self-advocacy
• Faith-driven and optimistic

Conclusion & Preview

Dan shares a testament of using knowledge, faith, and self-determination to transform a dire diagnosis into a journey of healing and purpose. The episode ends with a teaser—part 2 will continue the story in the next episode.

For more personal testimonies and practical strategies, visit HealingStrong.org.