When Paul McKenna’s partner Sally died of cholangiocarcinoma last year, he decided to write a book that would help others.
Sally benefited from using natural therapies and increased her health and happiness, reducing side effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Even though she wasn’t able to heal in time, she wanted to assist others as much as possible.
The book, ‘Cancer Kintsugi, a simple & natural cancer healing roadmap’, aims to assist others find a way through their cancer journey.
“Sally outlived expectations of her disease,” Paul, from Ocean Grove, said.
“For most of that time, she was very healthy and happy, and many people, including her oncologist commented on this.
“I took my favourite photo of her a few months before her death, and it shows a spritely, cheeky and beautiful woman full of vitality.”
Paul said ‘Cancer Kintsugi’ is about repairing and reconnecting body, mind and spirit and healing “beautifully and powerfully, embracing imperfection”.
“It’s complementary to modern medical practices,” he said.
“Mind, body, spirit medicine has been practised for thousands of years in many different cultures, and it certainly supports modern Western medicine.
“It can also be used with great success on its own as long as you do regular testing to ensure your health is balanced and progress is being made. Cancer is very complex and it takes a range of expertise and a holistic approach for its treatment.”
Paul said the book is intended to be a guide and starting point for others to begin their research.
“Most of us are visual learners, and because of my graphic design background, I wanted to feature illustrations, charts and images to aid learning,” he said.
“Those going through cancer can be exhausted, and a lengthy book may not be helpful or useful, so I wanted to keep it brief and easy to digest that could be picked up for a few minutes at a time, much like a coffee table book.”
Paul and Sally learnt so much going through her cancer journey that it seemed natural to want to pass that knowledge on and help others going through the same experience.
“Helping others through the process of writing is helping me heal from the loss,” Paul said.
“Even though Sally’s passing was deeply traumatic for us all, it was still quite a wonderful and moving experience. Our supportive and beautiful families and friends played a significant role in that, and I’m forever grateful.”
You can find out more, purchase the book or contact Paul a cancerkintsugi.com.au.
