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| Karen Massey, the Raw Vegan Queen |
Last month, I was contacted by Karen Massey, a.k.a. the 'Raw Vegan Queen', whom wanted to share her inspiring story with me. After reading her inspiring story and checking out her website, I decided to interview her and share her amazing story on my blog.
Karen is 46 years young vegan, who survived breast cancer. She refused chemotherapy in favor of raw living foods, and has been cancer-free for 2 years!
In the interview below, she shares with us her touching story, her tips and words of inspiration, her favorite recipes, and her lifestyle. She is an inspiration to those who are struggling with cancer. Check out the interview below to learn more about Karen and her inspiring story!
When I was 44, I was overweight, miserable and snacking on junk food. I got a wake up call when I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. I had the lump removed and was then told that the cancer had spread and I would now need a mastectomy. I went on the have my right breast removed. I was then told, that the cancer had spread even further into my rib cage. My surgeon told me to I needed to go home to recover for 6 weeks and on my return, I would need to have my top two ribs removed in order for him to reach the cancer.
It was in those 6 weeks whilst I lay in bed, that my daughter lay on my bed with her laptop. We researched alternative cures for Cancer, we came across things like The China study, Gerson Therapy, Fat sick and nearly dead, forks over knives amongst many other. The very next day I bought a juicer which came with a Jason Vale juicing book. My daughter then brought me my first organic juice followed by 6 more every day for 6 weeks. I was too poorly to eat so it was easy to just drink juice. I also took 6 x 100mg Vitamin C capsules each day. After a couple of weeks, I felt so much better, that my daughter and I went for a colonic to clear out my system further.
After the 6 weeks, on my return to see my surgeon, the relevant scans were done before they removed my ribs. Can you imagine how happy we were to be told the cancer was nowhere to be found, It had gone! My surgeon and my Macmillan nurse were in shock. Where had it gone? It had definitely been there prior to my juice fast.
My surgeon then suggested I had 6 weeks of chemotherapy. I refused this in favour of my diet.
Describe your lifestyle and food philosophy?
I am now 2 years cancer free and a raw vegan. I still drink juice each day. I am 100% vegan but not fully raw anymore. I will lightly cook vegetables.
What does an average day look like for you?
A normal day would be to wake up and make 2 litres of lemon water. Whilst drinking this I will make a batch of green and red juices that will last throughout the day and I can take out with me. Breakfast will be something like vegan porridge which is really simple to make, Lunch is usually an enormous salad. Which i can also take out with me, and dinner will be something like vegan pasta or stuffed mushrooms. I snack on raw fruit and nuts.
Does your whole family eat a plant-based diet?
My family have been great towards my vegan lifestyle. They saw first hand the power of raw food. My daughter Melissa was already vegetarian since the age of 7 and my son Denver is an athlete so it was not difficult to get both of them to eat more healthily. I also got my best friend, mother and sister to buy a nutribullet. I even put my dog on a raw diet!
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| Karen at her daughter's graduation with her son, Denver |
Have you noticed any changes from changing your diet, besides getting rid of cancer?
The changes that I have noticed since becoming raw vegan happened pretty instantly. I have long thick hair that comes out in my hands when i wash it. Straight away, I noticed that this didn't happen. There is no doubt that my eyes went bluer or maybe just brighter. And there is no doubt that my skin became younger looking, softer and I definitely have a better complexion now than i did 10 years ago.
What ingredients are must-haves for your pantry?
The must haves in my pantry are lots of lemons, Kale and spinach, all salad ingredients. Nutritional yeast in place of cheese. Definitely pine nuts. Pink Himalayan salt. And of course my spirilina and wheatgrass powders, my chia and flax seeds, and my hemp seeds. Not forgetting my recently found Matcha tea which I love, I have this in replace of green tea.
Is there anything you are completely strict about when it comes to your diet?
I am pretty strict with my lifestyle. Making sure every day has raw food in it.
Do you ever get cravings for the old foods you used to eat prior to your lifestyle? If so, how do you cope with them?
After my initial juice fast, cravings to junk food simply went away. I sincerely mean that i do not crave cheese and bacon, the things that all non vegans seem to think I should crave. I now know that your body is simply fulfilled with all the nutrients you are giving to it so you just don't crave anything.
How did you become the Raw Vegan Queen?
I became Raw vegan queen when my daughter Melissa suggested I took photographs of all the creations I was making in the kitchen and put them on instagram. I wasn't very keen on the name to start with but I have grown to love it.
For those who are struggling with cancer, do you have any words of inspiration for them?
To anybody who has cancer. I would suggest simply going vegan. Do your research. See that lots of people have stories like me.
What would your advice be for someone looking to incorporate more raw living foods into their diet?
Get yourself a juicer and/or a blender and start by having at least one green smoothie per day. Incorporate as much raw food as you are capable of into your life, whether in salads, simply by eating it or in smoothies and juices. Lastly I would suggest that you stay positive. I was so excited by my discovery of the power of raw food that I stayed happy and positive throughout, I truly believed I could beat this thing and I was right!!!
Please share your favorite raw vegan recipes?
This is my favourite juice:
- 3 organic carrots
- half a pineapple
- 1 large sweet potato
- half a pineapple
- 1 large sweet potato
Juice these 2 ingredients and then put the juicer in the blender with a frozen banana and a couple of frozen strawberries, you can also add a teaspoon of maca powder.
Vegan Pancakes
Made with just 3 ingredients
- 3/4 Cup of Rolled Oats (or oat flour)
- 1 cup of Almond milk
- 1 banana
Put some coconut oil or olive oil in a pan, and make 5-6 pancakes. Serve with anything you like. I used Maple syrup.
If you don’t have oat flour, put some rolled oats in your blender and grind into flour before adding the other two ingredients, this just makes for smoother pancakes.
I hope you guys enjoyed this interview with Karen. Check out her website and follow her on Instagram, Twitter and like her on Facebook. Karen is a living testimony that stage 4 breast cancer CAN be reversed through the power of raw living foods! Share with anyone who has cancer, so they may get inspired! She's an inspiration to those who are suffering with cancer, and a living testimony that breast cancer CAN be reversed through the power of raw living foods! Follow her blog, along with her journey!
karen's website http://www.
Instagram http://instagram.
Like Raw Vegan Queen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rawveganqueen 
I will be doing a n interview series (similar to this one) on my blog, RawVeganLiving. I will be interviewing/featuring inspiring raw vegans. Stay tuned.
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