Chris Wark: Beat Cancer Daily (Part 1)

Chris Wark: Beat Cancer Daily (Part 1)

John FarrellBy John Farrell11 Minutes

JF: What was the reason for writing Beat Cancer Daily?

Chris: I wrote my first book Chris Beat Cancer to tell my story and help readers understand the perils and pitfalls of the medical industry and the cancer industry. And also understand the incredible nutritional diet and lifestyle science that is out there for anyone to discover and use to change their life. After I wrote that book, I realized based on my own life and journey that it’s one thing to learn what to do, but it’s another thing to take action to change your life. We all need daily encouragement to stay on the healthy path.

I wrote Beat Cancer Daily to encourage and inspire anyone that’s on a healing journey, and not just cancer patients. Anyone that wants to improve their life knows they need to make changes, and they need action steps, helpful tips, and reminders to stay on the healthy path.

JF: I love how you have the book set up. Some days you share an anecdote, and on other days it might just be a simple quote. What helped you determine which quotes to use? Is there a quote that speaks to you more than others?

Chris: Every quote in the book is in there because it’s a quote that I love personally. Some of the quotes are obviously quotes from Scripture, but there are also quotes from successful people, writers, doctors and inspirational figures. They’re quotes that really spoke to me, encouraged me, inspired me, got me to think differently about obstacles, problems, or challenges, and that gratitude is something we have to practice.

Sometimes gratitude doesn’t come naturally and we have to step back and actually take every thought captive. What is gratitude? It’s thanking God for the good things in your life. That’s what gratitude is. It’s counting your blessings, and it’s a theme throughout the whole book.

Do I have a favorite quote? I don’t. I love all the quotes in the book so much. Some of the days just had a very simple idea, because I felt the idea and the sentence or two were so strong that it could fill up an entire day, just thinking about the one idea.

The one that comes to mind is one sentence, and it’s “Forgiveness is a courageous act.” That’s something that I did not steal from anyone. That was an original thought. I think a lot of times we don’t view forgiveness in that way. We view forgiveness as a sacrifice, and in some ways it is. You’re giving up the desire that you have to get even, to get justice from a person who’s hurt you. And you’re releasing the bitterness and resentment, and you’re giving them to God.

It’s human nature that we don’t want to do that, and it feels difficult to do it. It takes courage to let go of bitterness and pain and resentment and give it to God and to trust him with the outcome. That’s really what the courage is about. It takes courage to step out in faith. It takes courage to trust that God really will work all things for your good. So, forgiveness is a courageous act.

JF: One of my favorite quotes in the book is from Day 140: “Thoughts are chemical. They can either kill us or cure us.” It speaks to how, regardless of the struggle you’re going through, how the mental state can affect your healing.

Chris: Yes. And that’s a quote from Dr. Bernie Siegel. He’s a medical doctor who I have great respect for. He worked closely with a lot of cancer patients, and he just made some very profound observations in his books about the nature of health and healing.

The thing is, a lot of people refer to cancer as a battle, right? You’re a warrior, you’re a fighter, you’re a survivor. It’s a battle, but the truth is – the way I see it – you have to win the battle in your mind before you can win the battle in your body. And the battle in your mind is really a battle for your thoughts.

Fighting your temptation and urges to think negatively, to be pessimistic, judgmental, critical, envious, and jealous of others, lust. These are sinful thoughts.

It goes back to the 10 Commandments. Coveting – that’s a thought that’s sinful. Envy … thoughts. Lust … sinful thoughts.

Cancer taught me that I had to choose my thoughts. First of all, that I could choose my thoughts and that I had to take mental action to choose to think positively, to look for the good in every situation. To trust God. To give him my fears and to choose to take care of myself. To choose to not eat junk food, fast food, and processed foods, drugs and alcohol. Instead to choose fruits and vegetables. To make healthy choices. Everything you do starts in between your ears.

JF: You’ve talked about how with your book you want to inspire people and encourage people that are not only facing cancer, but those who are also facing other hardships in their life. Why is that message of courage and inspiration so important today, especially with the pandemic and all the political unrest?

Chris: 2020 has been a really difficult year. It’s been an exceptionally difficult year on so many levels, and there’s so much fear right now in our world. There’s so much uncertainty, and there’s a lot of shaking going on in the world. And more than ever we need a message of hope.

That is really a big theme that runs throughout Beat Cancer Daily. It’s not just for cancer survivors, it’s for anybody that needs and wants hope to understand that God is in control. That you can trust him with your life and with your future. You don’t have to live in a state of fear and anxiety. You can live in a state of joy and hope and peace, and it all hinges on your daily choices.

But sometimes we just need to be reminded of how good we have it, because it’s easy to get focused on the things that are not going our way and let that steal your joy. But in the middle of any circumstance, you have the choice to focus on the positive.

I got some bad news this week. I’m dealing with stuff in my personal life. My dad is in the hospital. He’s nearing the end of his life, and that’s difficult. It’s a difficult season for us. And yet I can still count my blessings, and I can still say, “Thank you, God, that I’m alive. That I’m healthy. That my wife and children are healthy. That we have a home that we’re not at risk of losing.”

JF: I’ll pray for you and your family.

Chris: Peace and joy for him is what we’re praying for. He’s 83 and it’s okay. He’s had a good life – a very healthy, disease-free life. He’s just near the end of it.

But, what I was getting at is I could focus on my dad’s failing health and let other things consume me, or I can step back and count my blessings. If you do that, it transforms your outlook. It’s effective, and you get a fresh infusion of gratitude and joy. That’s something that we all just need to do right now.

About half of Americans are not going to be happy with who gets elected. They’re going to be really unhappy with who gets elected, but our happiness and joy doesn’t come from politicians. The joy of the Lord is our strength and happiness comes from within, and you can stir up joy and happiness in your life. Those are the things that I’m trying to help people do in Beat Cancer Daily.

Order a copy of Beat Cancer Daily: 365 Days of Inspiration, Encouragement, and Action Steps to Survive and Thrive by Chris Wark