Spirituality

The Spiritual Side of Healing: Surrender, Support, and Soul

When you're first diagnosed with cancer, it’s easy to throw everything you have at it: the best doctors, clean eating, cutting-edge supplements, daily meditation, biohacking, journaling, infrared saunas — you name it. I did all of those things. But there’s one crucial element of healing that’s not talked about as often: surrender.

There comes a point when you realize healing isn’t only about control — it’s also about letting go. Letting go of the belief that you can manage every outcome. Letting go of the fear that tries to convince you you're not safe. And letting go of the pressure to fix everything through sheer force.

This is where spirituality stepped in for me. And maybe for you, too.

Finding Faith in Something Bigger

Spirituality doesn’t have to mean religion — although it absolutely can. For me, it simply meant acknowledging that there is something greater than myself, and calling upon that force for support, guidance, and healing.

Before my diagnosis, I didn’t have a formal spiritual practice. But once my body and mind were pushed to their limits, I knew I needed help beyond the physical. I feel especially grateful that I didn’t have to walk this spiritual path alone. I’ve been lucky to have a gifted teacher and mentor, Luciana. She has been a transformational resource, helping me open my heart and connect to something bigger than myself. Through everything from talk therapy to personalized meditations, she has guided me with wisdom, compassion, and presence. Her support has helped me move from fear into trust, from tightness into expansion. I often wish everyone could have a teacher like her — someone who sees you fully, believes in your potential to heal, and walks beside you as you learn to trust your own spirit. I began to trust not just my body’s ability to heal, but the divine orchestration of it all.

When Your Head Doesn’t Have the Answer

I’ve always been a thinker. A planner. Someone who processes the world from my mind — with research, logic, analysis. But Luciana taught me something profound: sometimes the answers aren’t in your head. They’re in your heart.

It took practice (and a lot of patience) to get out of the loop of fear and “what-ifs.” When I was spinning in worry or trying to solve something that couldn’t be solved, I realized I had to shift. From thinking to feeling. From grasping to trusting. From control to surrender.

This shift didn’t mean giving up — it meant opening up. Letting my heart lead. Letting my intuition speak. Letting spirit hold me when my mind didn’t know what to do next.

Fear as a Portal

One of the most important roles spirituality played in my healing journey was in managing fear — especially the fear of recurrence, and the deepest, darkest fear of death. At one point or another, I found myself repeating the acronym:

F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real

The mental spiral that can happen after a diagnosis is real. But I learned that fear can also be a doorway — a portal — into faith.

When I felt that fear rise, Luciana taught me to pause and call in my spiritual team — whether you call it God, Source, angels, spirit guides, or just your higher self. Tuning in spiritually helped me move out of fear and into love. It reminded me that I am not alone, that healing is happening even when I can’t see it, and that peace is always available when I ask for it.

Scan days — or as many of us call them, scanxiety days — were, and still are, when my spiritual practice was tested the most. I wanted so badly to control the outcome, to peek into the future and be guaranteed everything was okay. But that certainty doesn’t exist. What did exist was the opportunity to surrender. To pray. To trust that my body was healing and that I was being guided and protected — even in the unknown. On those days, I leaned into Spirit harder than ever. I’d wrap myself in light, ask for good news, and then breathe… because worrying wouldn’t change the scan, but surrendering could change me in the moment.

A Few Practices That Helped Me Spiritually Heal

As part of my work with Luciana, I also explored the world of energy healing. Practices like chakra clearing, especially focusing on the heart chakra, and breathing exercises became powerful tools to release fear and invite more love and trust into my body. Energy clearing meditations helped me feel lighter, as if I was releasing layers of stress I didn’t even realize I was carrying. Reiki, in particular, was deeply supportive—its gentle, balancing energy often left me calmer, more open, and more connected to my healing path. I tried it all, and while each session felt a little different, the common thread was a renewed sense of clarity and alignment. For me, these practices were less about “fixing” something and more about remembering that my body, mind, and spirit are always working together to guide me toward wholeness.

There are so many ways to connect with Spirit — find the ones that feel right for you. Here are a few I can share that are accessible no matter where you are in the world:

Heart Coherence Meditation by Dr. Joe Dispenza: A powerful daily tool for shifting out of stress and into healing.
Marianne Williamson’s Prayer Book: Short, poetic prayers for love, health, surrender and strength. I’d read one in the morning or before bed.
Mala Beads: I used these as a physical anchor during meditation, repeating a mantra like “I am healed. I am safe. I am supported.”
Visualization Exercises: I often imagined a pink healing light surrounding me during treatments. I visualized the light allowing in what I needed and gently releasing what I didn’t.
Insight Timer App for Meditations: A couple of my favorite guides to search for are Sarah Blondin and David Ji.

Balancing Masculine & Feminine Energy

I also continue to do deep inner work exploring the balance between masculine and feminine energies—within myself, my body, and my life. I began to see how much of my identity had been shaped by doing, achieving, organizing, pushing through—the classic traits of masculine energy. While those qualities helped me accomplish a lot, I realized they were sometimes overriding the softer, more intuitive, and receptive parts of me. Healing asked me to reconnect with my feminine energy: to feel more, to receive support, to slow down, to listen inward. This wasn’t about gender—it was about integration. Letting both energies coexist. Letting myself be both strong and soft. Focused and fluid. Structured and surrendered. That harmony is now something I actively cultivate as part of my spiritual wellness.

When to Let Go

Spirituality also helped me feel into when to take action and when to simply trust. Sometimes healing doesn’t come from another protocol, test result, or supplement. Sometimes it comes from silence, prayer, feminine intuition, and surrender. From asking, “What do I need right now?” and listening for the whisper of an answer.

When I could quiet my thoughts long enough to drop into my heart, that’s where I found the real answers: You are safe. You are loved. You are healing.

If you’re on this path — whether newly diagnosed, post-treatment, or caregiving for someone you love — I invite you to explore the spiritual side of healing. You don’t have to be a “spiritual person” to start. Just be willing. Just be open.

Let your spiritual practice hold you when the science feels overwhelming.
Let love be your strategy when the fear kicks in.
Let surrender be your medicine when control isn’t enough.
And when your head spins… drop into your heart. That’s where peace lives.

You are already being held by something bigger. Ask for help, and then — listen.

Disclaimer:

Every person’s cancer journey is unique, and treatment plans should always be personalized. The information shared in this post is based on my own experience and is intended for informational and supportive purposes only. Please consult your physician or medical team before making any changes to your treatment, supplements, or self-care routine.