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This may not sound particularly remarkable for a young man like Connell McNelis, but less than three years ago, Connell was battling advanced kidney cancer and couldn’t even walk to the end of his street. “I was an invalid and planning my own funeral,” he said. Connell, who now lives in Derby with his wife and three-year-old daughter, had ‘successful’ surgery to remove a 6.7-cm-wide tumour on his kidney, as well as the entire kidney itself, in March 2013 but, as the cancer had metastasized (spread to other parts of his body), Connell was told to prepare for the worst. Still, it wasn’t so much the cancer that had turned Connell into a “shell of a man”, but the chemotherapy drug sunitinib, which his oncologist said he would need to take indefinitely, even though it couldn’t cure him. “My hair went silver, my skin went grey and my eyes went black. I was in constant pain and had no energy whatsoever.” The drug all but wiped out Connell’s immune system. His white blood cell count dropped to 0.98 K/uL (thousands per cubic millilitre of blood),
while the normal range for white blood cells is between 4 and 11 K/uL.
This may not sound particularly remarkable for a young man like Connell McNelis, but less than three years ago, Connell was battling advanced kidney cancer and couldn’t even walk to the end of his street. “I was an invalid and planning my own funeral,” he said. Connell, who now lives in Derby with his wife and three-year-old daughter, had ‘successful’ surgery to remove a 6.7-cm-wide tumour on his kidney, as well as the entire kidney itself, in March 2013 but, as the cancer had metastasized (spread to other parts of his body), Connell was told to prepare for the worst. Still, it wasn’t so much the cancer that had turned Connell into a “shell of a man”, but the chemotherapy drug sunitinib, which his oncologist said he would need to take indefinitely, even though it couldn’t cure him. “My hair went silver, my skin went grey and my eyes went black. I was in constant pain and had no energy whatsoever.” The drug all but wiped out Connell’s immune system. His white blood cell count dropped to 0.98 K/uL (thousands per cubic millilitre of blood),
while the normal range for white blood cells is between 4 and 11 K/uL.
Connell’s doctors, family and friends all thought
he was crazy for stopping the chemotherapy. But
Connell was thinking rationally. “I realized I had to be
strong—mentally and physically—if I was going to
beat this cancer. And I couldn’t be as long as I was on
chemotherapy.”
Connell then started to look into alternative
treatments for cancer and natural ways to boost his
immune system, and was spending hours online
trawling through websites and blogs.
“Everything was pointing to nutrition,” said Connell,
“especially the power of a raw vegan diet.”
But meat-eating, dairy-loving Connell was clueless as
to where to start, so he signed himself up for a raw-food
health retreat.
The Raw Retreat, located in the tiny village of
Polyphant in rural Cornwall, became Connell’s home
for a week in August 2013. Founded by certified clinical
nutritionist Beverley Bird with the goal of helping
clients achieve their best possible health, the retreat
hosts just one person or couple at a time to provide
a bespoke experience that involves health coaching,
and various therapies focused on detoxifying and
rejuvenating the body.
At the Retreat, a typical day for Connell would start
with fresh vegetable juice, meditation and a brisk walk
along the coastline, followed by a raw-food workshop,
one-on-one yoga, and a raw vegan lunch and dinner. He
also had colonic irrigation, far-infrared (FIR) saunas
and hands-on healing with Reiki.
Disclaimer: The content of this website is based on research conducted by Carepill Global Private Limited unless otherwise noted. The information is presented for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or prescribe for any medical or psychological condition, nor to prevent, treat, mitigate or cure such conditions. The information contained herein is not intended to replace a one-to-one relationship with a doctor or qualified healthcare professional. Therefore, this information is not intended as medical advice, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information based on research and experience.Carepill Global Private Limited encourages you to make your own health care decisions based on your judgment and research in partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.
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