How Essential Oils Supported My Son During His Fight with Cancer

On December 4th, 2013, I found myself sitting next to my husband in the doctor’s office.

We sat there shaking, unable to hold hands and filled with a complete hollowness…like if you were to poke me, I would just deflate.

I stared straight at the oncologist, but once he told us that our son Kicker had Type B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, I no longer heard anything else.

Without warning, tears started spilling out, and all I wanted was for the nurse to hug me and tell me it was going to be ok…and that cancer really wasn’t that big of a deal!

Imagine if your baby was diagnosed with cancer. What would you do?

Most likely, you would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to fight for your child’s life.

As a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I had a lot of resources at my fingertips on how I could support my son. However, I had never used essential oils, even in my private practice.

I didn’t know what they were, how to use them or even if they had any medicinal benefits, but…I was desperate!

So, we started using essential oils daily, and within 3 months of Kicker’s diagnosis we were using them to support his immune system, to combat the side effects from treatment and for my anxiety.

As I saw how they were supporting us, I knew I needed to dig deeper to understand the science behind them, how they worked and why they’re so therapeutic.

Come to find out, there’s a whole lot more to essential oils than just being “refreshing, uplifting and comforting.”

So, what exactly is an essential oil?

An essential oil is derived from an aromatic plant and through a careful steam distillation process it’s actually 50-70% more powerful than its dried counterpart.

In fact, 1 drop of Peppermint Essential Oil is equivalent to drinking 28 cups of Peppermint tea!

There are also many published studies about their effectiveness on human health, but basically, essential oils have hundreds of different compounds in them, and each compound can have a different medicinal benefit.

For example, Peppermint Essential Oil supports an upset stomach, helps to relieve headaches, reduces fevers and even increases alertness.

So, when trying to address one of those health concerns, a person might apply the oil topically, particularly on the bottoms of their feet.

This allows the oil to penetrate through the skin and enter the bloodstream within 28 seconds, and because the foot has the largest pores and the blood flows upward towards the heart it makes for an even more effective application and faster support. 

Let’s address the role essential oils play

You have trillions of cells in your body, and each cell is a tiny motor that keeps you alive and thriving. Each cell also has a cell membrane, which acts as the protective layer to the mitochondria…or the inside of the cell.

Now, viruses duplicate their DNA on the inside of a cell, and bacteria and fungi live on the outside of the cell. So, in order to penetrate any cell membrane, which is composed of fat, the body needs a fat-soluble source.

Well, here’s the exciting part…essential oils are lipids!

This means that essential oils can penetrate ANY cell membrane to help maintain the integrity of your immune system, and it was this science that made me a believer and confirmed that using essential oils is incredibly effective and beneficial to maintain health!

 

Immune Support Blend

One of the blends we used during Kicker’s treatment and continue to use today is this Immune Support Blend. It protects the immune system on an ongoing basis and helps to fight off infections when your immune system is compromised.

In fact, one of the oils, OnGuard, is so high in antioxidants that it makes blueberries look like a snicker’s bar.

• Oils: OnGuard, Oregano, Lemon, Tea Tree and Frankincense
• Directions to Make: To make a roller bottle blend in a 10ml bottle, add 15 drops of each oil and top it off with Fractionated Coconut Oil. For kids ages 5 -10, you only need 7 drops of each oil. For kids ages 1-5, you only need 3 drops of each oil. For infants 1 and under, you only need 1 drop of each oil.
• Directions to Use: Apply a few swipes 2x/day on to the bottoms of the feet.
• Here’s a video I did making my Immune Support Blend, if you are interested.

Does essential oil quality matter?

I receive this question all of the time…and the answer is YES! Not all essential oils are created equal.

First, most essential oils sold in stores are labeled “Not for Medicinal Use.” These oils are to only be used for aroma. However, that aroma may be more than what you bargained for!

Secondly, most essential oils on the market are distilled using toxic solvents and are grown in areas that are not conducive for a therapeutic result.

Therefore, you’ll see labels on oils, such as Peppermint, which is known as an herb that can be ingested, state, “Not for Internal Use.” This is because of the toxic distillation process, poor growing conditions and/or aftermarket additives used to meet profit margins.

So, it is extremely important to make sure that you’re sourcing your essential oils from a company that grows their product in areas of the world that are ideal for the plants, implements distillation practices that are slow and pure and uses integrity that ensures nothing is ever added or taken away from the essential oil.

What my family uses

After a lot of research during my son’s cancer battle, I chose to use doTERRA Essential Oils. You can use them aromatically, topically and internally.

I also know that there are many other opinions and perspectives about essential oils, so I encourage you to do your own research to find a company you trust.

My son truly beat the odds

When we left the hospital after Kicker’s initial diagnosis, we were told to expect to be back at the hospital at least 10 times during the next 1.5 years of his 3.5 years of treatment due to viral or bacterial infections.

Well, Kicker completed his treatment in February 2017 and was never hospitalized for ANY illness or infection during that time!

The doctors couldn’t believe how healthy he was through treatment and would often commend how “lucky” he was to be doing so well during the chemotherapy protocol.

I know that essential oils played a huge role!

So, let me ask…if these powerful, natural solutions can help a child thrive through cancer, what can they do to help support you and your day-to-day health challenges and goals?

If you would like to begin empowering yourself and implementing these natural solutions into your life, I’d love to hear from you.