Love, Sanae
My healing journey ...
My Story

The Diagnosis
As hopeless as
After the summer of
it seemed for me
1993, I noticed that I
at the time, I now
felt tired all the time,
understand that my
nursing a low-grade
enlightenment and
fever for several weeks.
true life in macro-
Prior to this condition, I
biotics would have
had been ill with some
its beginnings right
problems associated
then and there.
with my liver and had to
take a few months off
The Adventure
from work. After getting
I had been fre-
a checkup and blood
quenting a Japa-
test to find out if my
nese natural foods
liver had started acting
store called “Sogo”
up again, the doctor at
in the Little Tokyo
the clinic said that my
region of Los Ange-
liver seemed to be fine,
les, and the owner,
but my ovaries had a
Mr. Kikuchi, was
“serious problem.” I fell
always nice enough
into a deep shock, com-
to talk to me about
bined with a feeling of
natural healing.
numbness, and much
When he first in-
of what he said after
troduced me to the
that was a blur. I was
concept of macro-
diagnosed with ovar-
biotics, I recalled
ian cancer and advised
leafing through a
to go to the hospital
macrobiotic cook-
for more tests. At the
book (I think it was
hospital I was told that
Aveline Kushi’s
I had such an aggres-
Complete Macro-
sive cancer that I had
biotic Cookbook)
to have my left ovary
at a yoga studio a
removed right away.
few years prior. I re-
Since I did not have medical insur- by the daunting prospect of fighting
member thinking that the recipes were
ance the doctor recommended that I for my own life without even knowing
very much like traditional Japanese
go back to Japan to have surgery and where to begin. I did not want to call
food, but since the name Kushi was
get treatment. Otherwise, he added, my family in Japan for several rea-
not common in Japan, I thought the
I wouldn’t make it. Once again, I was sons. My mother’s health had been
author might have been from some-
stunned by the doctor’s words, his deteriorating since my father passed
where else. I learned quite a lot from
voice barely audible as I sat there away, my sister had just suffered a
Mr. Kikuchi, but not enough to really
immobile and dazed. miscarriage, and my brother was still
understand how to heal myself. Since
too young to shoulder such bad
Sogo was near the hospital, I dropped
The Turnaround
news on top of everything else. I
in the day I was handed my “death
I lost my father to liver cancer in1989.
did not feel I would get the support
sentence.” Mr. Kikuchi noticed I had
I saw how difficult it was for him to
I needed. Financially I was far from
been crying and asked me what had
fight this cancer, and I was paralyzed
able to afford surgery or treatment.
happened. He explained that indeed
22 Organic Shopper Winter 2010
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