At 26 Gabby Glen was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Despite what her specialist and other doctors advised her, she didn’t have it removed and instead decided to treat her cancer naturally. The Red Cliffs resident chats to Caitlyn Morgan about her life-changing decision. Pictures: Carmel Zaccone
FOR many it’s hard to imagine being in your mid 20s, a young parent of two and being told you have cancer.
This was however the reality that Gabby Glen faced on March 27, 2018.
“I always had an overactive thyroid from teen years, then after pregnancy I was dealing with bad skin, lots of hair falling out, extreme fatigue, rashes on my face and weight gain. It was like nothing I had experienced before,” she says.
“In February I finally went to the doctors, expecting it to be a hormone problem, I had my thyroid checked and an ultrasound, where they discovered numerous nodules and one was particularly big.
“They did a biopsy, which I had assumed was just standard, but when I went in for the results, they said the nodule was papillary carcinoma. The nodule was cancerous.”
Gabby remembers being in complete disbelief.
“I never thought it would be cancer. I just couldn’t believe it,” she says.
“I always had thyroid problems so I thought I really need this fixed.
“Straight away the doctor said I needed to see a specialist and that I needed to do some research. So I went home and did extensive research, finding myself a specialist in Melbourne.
“The specialist said I needed to get the whole thyroid out. At that point, I asked about getting only half of it out and was informed that even if I did that initially, I would eventually need to get it all out.
“The diagnosis was to remove the thyroid, without needing chemo.”
With the cancer not aggressive, Gabby had time to do her research and decide how she wanted to tackle her diagnosis.
“I originally thought yes, let’s get it out and there will be no more problem but the more I researched, the more I realised the importance of keeping my thyroid,” Gabby says.
“It regulates every organ in the body and I did not want to take it out of my body.
“Mum has a very natural lifestyle, at the beginning she never said ‘this is what you should do’. She just gave me things to read and was very supportive.
“I read a book Never Fear Cancer Again and that explained it perfectly. It was that and a whole collection of things that I had read, that made my decision.”
In April, Gabby returned to her specialist and informed her that she didn’t want surgery but would instead “treat it naturally”.
“She was shocked and said there was no evidence to support it so she couldn’t support it but she agreed to it as long as I was regularly checked,” Gabby says.
“The reaction to treating it naturally was the biggest struggle, it wasn’t that I had cancer but the reaction. While I did have a small group of supporters, there was a lot with the old fashion mentality that what the doctor says, goes.
“I was even lying to people, saying I was booked in for surgery just so they would keep off my back.”
A month after her initial diagnosis, Gabby implemented what she had been researching.
This included Vitamin C infusions, drinking two litres of juice daily, monitoring her PH level, saunas five times a week, cutting out gluten, dairy, meat, sugar and caffeine, changing to natural deodorant and chemical free beauty products, eating organically where possible, which included creating her own vegetable garden with her mum Marg Burton, exercising, filtrated water and coffee enemas.
“The more results I got, the more effort I put it. Our bodies are capable of healing themselves,” Gabby says.
“When I was a teenager it was my lifestyle that created my thyroid problem.
“I want people with thyroid problems to know that it’s possible to change it just by your diet.”
Not long after implementing the changes, Gabby saw the results she was looking for.
“In March the nodule was 18mm by 11mm, by April it was 15mm by 9mm and in August it was 13mm by 8mm. I hope by this August they will say that it’s gone,” she says.
“I was very nervous. I did really believe there would be a change, there had to be with the amount of things I was doing.
“When I was given my first result I almost fell off my chair I was so happy.”
Gabby says there was been some mixed responses.
“People are amazed and gobsmacked,” she says.
“People have said I am very brave but I don’t consider myself brave, just that it’s common sense. Some people do think I am crazy for doing it but I have also had a lot of support.”
One of her biggest supporters has been her Aunt Gabby Cox, who invited Gabby to become the face of Karma Kameleon and model for her once a month.
“I was in Melbourne and I had just been at the specialist. I was physically at my worst and she asked and I thought you have got to be nuts,” Gabby recalls.
“She could see what was about to happen and the potential.
“With photoshoots once a month, they have been a montage of how much I have evolved.
“I didn’t realise that I did look sick but now I can see how much I have changed and that even my eyes are brighter now.”
Gabby no longer has such an intense daily schedule but some of changes are here to stay.
“I will forever live a healthy lifestyle, it’s been completely life changing,” she says.
“In a way I am glad to have had the diagnosis, it has turned my life around.
“There have not just been physical changes but I am mentally fitter and it’s extremely important to be both.
“It has taught my kids so much and has made me a better parent by now connecting more with my kids and having more energy.”
To keep up to date with Gabby’s journey, find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/gabbyglen.
