Two years ago, Sophie Trew spent two months in Colombia filming a documentary and suffering from severe exhaustion. The then 23-year-old filmmaker blamed her extreme lethargy, breathlessness, and night sweats on her traveling — until a lump began growing on her neck.
Upon returning home to the UK, Trew's doctor diagnosed her with Hodgkin's lymphoma — a cancer that affects the lymphatic system and warrants six months of chemotherapy. Quickly overcome by chemo's sickening side effects and determined to regain her wellness, this young woman searched everywhere for alternative treatments.
Shockingly, she found only a handful of useful resources to aid her recovery. Empowered to change this reality, Trew recommitted to her search and started her Facebook page, Trew Talks.
There, she devotes herself to fostering awareness about every relevant lifestyle change and treatment option she finds, hoping that her actions aid others in their cancer recovery and prevention.
Of her diagnosis, Trew told LittleThings, "It made me wake up and realize how powerful our mind-body connections are, and the importance of taking responsibility for my body."
Keep scrolling to learn more about this remarkable cancer survivor doing all she can to help others lead their healthiest lives.
[H/T: Daily Mail]
When Sophie Trew returned from a two-month documentary filmmaking adventure in Colombia, she felt beyond exhausted.
Suffering from extreme lethargy, night sweats, and breathlessness, this then 23-year-old blamed her symptoms on a travel hangover she just couldn't shake.
But then, a lump surfaced on her neck.
Her doctor first thought she'd contracted tuberculosis during her travels. However, tests proved otherwise.
Trew was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that targets its victim's lymphatic system.
Disinterested in succumbing to her cancer's stronghold, this brave woman jumped right into a six-month chemotherapy treatment and was immediately overcome by the drugs' intolerable side effects.
Chemo was more difficult than Trew could have ever anticipated it would be — both physically and emotionally.
Despite feeling a constant sense of seasickness, mixed with a world-shattering hangover, she told Daily Mail, "Getting cancer at any age is a shock, and at 23, it changed my life completely.
“One minute, you’re trying to find your place in the world as an independent adult, the next you’re hooked up to drips, dependent on others and hoping drugs can save your life.”
Though the experience had its harrowing moments, Trew didn't let her pain or discomfort overtake her will to regain power over her own wellness.
She turned to homeopathic remedies to treat her unbearable symptoms.
This survivor completely transformed her lifestyle, slowly introducing exercise back into life and ridding her diet of sugar, dairy, and most glutens.
She told LittleThings, "Cancer, for me, has been both destructive and transformational.
"Despite the treatment physically and externally destroying me, if I put the pain aside, it has radically transformed my approach to life."
She continued to tell LittleThings, "There’s nothing like being hooked up to drips to force you to be present. The past couple of years for me, since my lymphoma diagnosis, have been a whirlwind.
"Before getting ill, I was living in my head, going from one event to the next, rarely stopping. Getting ill forced me to stop.
"I’m grateful for all the experiences, lessons and people I’ve met because of cancer. In a sense, it was like a medical holiday. I got a new hair cut and got to spend quality time with my favorite people."
Braving this experience also opened Trew's eyes to how difficult it is, at present, to find quality resources about alternative cancer recovery options and, even more importantly, cancer prevention tactics.
She told Daily Mail, "We're in a cancer crisis. I think the only way we're going to have a breakthrough with cures is when we really look at an integrative approach.
“Every person needs a different program for recovery, and when it comes to life or death, there can be no time for closed-mindedness.
“At the moment, there’s so much emphasis on treating symptoms, but not much discussion on causes.”
Of her own experience, she told LittleThings, "I wish I had known about prevention, or that the way I was living was leading to cancer. I thought I was healthy, but I ate a lot of sugar, meat, dairy, fried foods — all these things are inflammatory and acidic."
If she had only known just how strongly inflammation and acidity levels are positively correlated with developing certain diseases, Trew likely would have changed her habits much earlier on.
"Some things are out of our control, but I could have had more control.
"I don’t wish too much, though, because I’ve learnt the lessons now."
Now, this strong survivor is using her experience as fuel for change.
In remission and thriving, Trew currently works as a personal care manager for Victoria's Promise, a non-profit striving to provide cancer-stricken women all the support, information, and care Trew herself had been so desperately searching for during her own journey.
Shortly after her diagnosis, Trew also started her Facebook page, Trew Talks. Through Trew Talks, Trew carries out her personal mission: to reshape how the world approaches cancer treatment and prevention conversations.
Trew told LittleThings that Trew Talks is, "where I share everything I wish someone had told me before I got ill. I share everything that has helped me recover and get back to having more energy than before.
"I feel great and I would love to to connect with others to start a conversation about health, well-being, cancer recovery and prevention."
She continued, sharing that, "I am sick of people getting sick. It’s so painful for us all. People are dying not knowing all the health options available to them.
"If a few people can be inspired to think about their lifestyles, maybe the products they're using or the food they're eating, I’ll be very happy."
So far, she's found the response to her Trew Talks project beyond inspiring.
"As for members of the community looking and writing on my page, honestly, it means the world. Every message and comment is a huge boost to keep researching and exploring.
"Life, at the moment, for me is like an on-going health experiment, as I’m on this sharing mission. I want to try anything and everything to feel good and also to share with others if it helps me."
"I’m sure it sounds strange, but I don’t really remember how I was before being ill. Cancer crashed in and took over a lot of my headspace, but I do know it’s woken me up."
Now, Trew is on a mission to continue spreading her awareness with the rest of the world.
Trew recommended to others that, "When doctors tell you there’s nothing you can do, don’t believe it. Taking control of your health is essential to your recovery from cancer.
"The food we eat can either be poison or medicine and, unfortunately, with junk food dominating our culture, this is a huge factor in rising disease rates.
"It’s so important to believe in what you do and to be kind to yourself. At the end of it all, health is the most important thing we have and prevention should be a real focus.
"People, love and support are the things that get us through our worst situations. There is so much more we can do when it comes to cancer, and taking the time to do your individual research is so important."
While Trew has been able to find habits and remedies that now make her feel more energetic than she ever has before, the threat of relapse still weighs heavy in her mind.
She told LittleThings, "To be honest, the thought of a relapse is terrifying, so I’m determined to live in a way that prevents a reoccurrence as much as possible."
"Despite it being in a painful way, I’m full of gratitude now and wouldn’t take back my diagnosis because of the life changing lessons."
Of her future plans, Trew told LittleThings, "I’m hoping to grow the Trew Talks community and reach out to people around the world to find out about health in other places.
"There are many incredible stories of people helping themselves, it really is a fascinating topic."
Blindsided with her own diagnosis, this survivor now lives her truth, fostering a dialogue to reshape how we treat and prevent cancer.
What do you think of this survival story? Have you or a loved one ever braved cancer treatment? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.
To follow along with Trew's non-toxic health and wellness tips, be sure to check out her Facebook page, Trew Talks.
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