Hi, I'm Sharan West, co-founder and co-owner of Australian Pumpkin Seed Company.
The reason for this page is provide information to help other young people with bowel cancer and their families, and to become a major player in finding concrete prevention and early detection strategies for the prevention of cancer.
I wrote some emails during my cancer experience to share what was happening with me to friends. I realised that a lot of people could benefit from my story for themselves or perhaps someone close to them. My emails had more details than all the other stories I had read.
With all this information I deceided I could put it to good use by gathering it together, adding even more detail and some tips that I would have found very useful at the time, and writting an e-book. “Bowel Cancer at 32”, is my survival story which I believe could benefit anyone who reads it.
Suddenly finding out I had bowel cancer at age 32 was definitely the biggest challenge of my life so far.
Looking back over the last (and most eventful) eight years of my life, I have a list of things which have been... character building! ;)
- The drought and feral pigs - the pigs ate a crop and cost thousands of dollars in losses and fencing them out, which was a big challenge for our business.
- April 2005, family home burnt down - living in caravan and temporary "hut" til June 2006.
- Mum had accident and almost lost her hand, Dec 2007, out of work 3 months.
- May 2008, Dad had someone suddenly swerve into him while doing 100km/hr on the highway. Massive head on collision, lucky to be alive. Continuing ongoing recovery.
- May 2009, me suddenly diagnosed with Bowel Cancer, surgery, 6 months chemotherapy, still recovering from side affects.
- April 2010, Dad had stroke, probably due to car accident.
- May 2010, overseas shipment to keep business going arrives mouldy, still trying to get compensation and money back. No product, no sales and suddenly NO job.
As you can see April/May is not a good time for me or my family! All these challenges have made me take a good look at myself and made me work out the type of person I want to be and what I want to do with my life.
Considering the statistics are 1 in 2 people will get cancer, it is now something that touches EVERYONE. With this in mind, I believe there needs to be a lot more done to find out the reasons why we are getting cancer and how to prevent it. My own personal opinion is that it is nutritionally based (based on findings by Professor Brian Peskin) and so the food we eat is very important to me. I would like more testing and studies done in this area.
From my experience I know that I was very deficient in zinc. Zinc plays a major role in our immune systems and it is our immune system that destroys cancer cells before they get out of hand. The hospital I was at never tested me for zinc. They never told me I was deficient and should try to increase it. If I didn't have the background I have I wouldn't have known to find out I was deficient and to do something about it. I believe that getting my zinc levels up is just one of the things I need to do to help prevent me from ever getting cancer again.
So, with the thought of selling my e-book “Bowel Cancer at 32” and raising funds for cancer prevention, I added even more detail and photo's. My plan is also to add more stories and tips as time goes on.
Now its up to you. You can purchase my e-book “Bowel Cancer at 32” for just $10 and help my fund raising efforts and most likely yourself, a family member or friend with the information you read. Many of my friends have said they were inspired by the positivity I showed throughout my caner experience. You can be inspired too.
Bowel Cancer is one of the leading diagnosed cancers and is affecting more people at a younger and younger age. I was only 32 but children as young as 5 have died from it.
Early detection from having a colonoscopy can stop anyone from having to go through what I did. As well as bowel cancer being one of the leading detected cancers it is also one of the leading cureable ones as when caught in time it can be chopped out with minimal after effect.
My bowel cancer experience has also made me determined to promote bowel cancer awareness and the need for colonosopies and more testing. There is a simple stool (poo) test (called an FOBT) that can be done before a colonoscopy to see if there is any detectable blood, which cannot be seen by the naked eye, which is a major warning sign for bowel cancer. If more of these were done on younger people (they only cost approximately $28), then a lot of lives could be saved.
By purchasing my e-book “Bowel Cancer at 32”, you will be helping future promotions for more FOBT testing.
Just $10 and know that your $10 will go to a very worthy cause...
Also in my e-book “Bowel Cancer at 32” I have included a section on:
I give practical advise and the tips I learned from this experience that anyone can apply no matter what sort of cancer or chemotherapy treatment they are facing. If you are just having a colonoscopy then some of these tips will help you too.
Empowering yourself is one of the ways to help you stay positive. This is a major factor in beating and preventing cancer. I also believe this is an important lesson for general life. Even if you do not have cancer, lessons can be learned that will help anyone on their journey to happiness.
Click below to order securely through PayPal - its only $10
Once you have read my e-book “>Bowel Cancer at 32” (or even now) you can also leave a donation for the amount of your choosing.
Now, to be completely honest: the initial funds raised by sales of this e-book will go towards helping our family business to firstly continue and then to grow....PLEASE KEEP READING...
The benefits of being able to continue our business in pumpkin seeds in Australia are:
- promotion of sustainable farming practices that produces nutritious food for the health off all who eat.
- the benefits of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil itself - there are many scientifically and observed health benefits (eg prostate enlargement treatment, urinary and reproductive support, general nutrient levels - a lot more research can be done in this area).
- I will make sure our business profits are directed at health studies and cancer prevention. A business can produce more funds and publicity than just my wages for working in another business that doesn't have a purpose for their profits.
I believe in paying it forward and honouring my word to do so.
I thank you now for purchasing my e-book “Bowel Cancer at 32”, making a donation, or even just reading to the bottom of this page!
Wishing you health and happiness,
NOTE: I use PayPal to process all orders. This means I don't get your credit card details and PayPal can also process any refunds necessary (if you feel you want your money back, I'll happily give it to you, just let me know within 30 days). Your credit card details are secure with PayPal.
