I AM HealingStrong

Hosted by HealingStrong

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Episodes

156

Latest episode

Sep 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Discover how to transform the most challenging chapter of your life with Jim Mann's inspiring podcast. As a stage 4 cancer survivor, and a HealingStrong Group Leader, Jim interviews famous musical artists like Tasha Layton, Ellie Holcomb, Katy Nichole, and Tim Timmons, as well as health influencers who beat incurable diseases like depression and addiction. Through humor and a renewed sense of purpose, guests courageously share their stories of overcoming the toughest times and learning to trust God. Tune in to Jim's powerful podcast to find hope and inspiration.

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60 recent

October 2, 2026Episode 15632 min

156: Riding for the Ones We Love, Acute Myeloid Leukemia | Marlice Alves

Marlice Alves returns to the I AM HealingStrong podcast six and a half years after her diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia. Marlice is a longtime nurse and leads a HealingStrong group in northern Rhode Island. This time she and host Jim Mann talk about the Heal-a-Thon, a grassroots fundraiser where HealingStrong groups raise support in their own creative ways. Marlice shares how her daughter's indoor cycling studio hosted two special rides. The first was a Friday night worship ride set to Christian music. On Saturday morning, riders tied balloons to their bikes bearing the names of loved ones lost to cancer. She explains why the biggest win wasn't the dollars raised but the chance to introduce new people to HealingStrong, and she encourages group leaders to join in without comparing totals. Jim shares his group's plans to walk the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and the two reflect on slowing down the way Jesus did. Marlice closes with encouragement for anyone newly diagnosed: take a deep breath, start learning, and hold on to hope. The next Heal-a-Thon is October 3, and groups can also choose another date that works for them. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

September 25, 2026Episode 15539 min

155: No Evidence of Disease Was Not the Finish Line She Expected, Breast Cancer | Maria Schenkel, Part 2

When Maria Schenkel first joined Jim Mann, she was days away from a mastectomy. Months later, she returns to share what happened next. She walks through the pathology results that surprised her, including a primary tumor that had not doubled in size and partial necrosis, along with lymph involvement that brought hard new decisions. She explains why she chose to continue her own integrative plan rather than pursue a full axillary lymph node dissection. She also describes two circulating tumor DNA tests that showed no evidence of disease, and the moment her new oncologist acknowledged the work she had done. Then the conversation turns to what comes after. Maria speaks openly about the heartbreak she never expected in survivorship, including the loss of her grandfather, whose bedside she kept in Germany, and of several friends from the cancer community. One of them passed just before this recording. Out of that grief comes a message about life being precious, purpose, and community. She stresses that she is not advocating skipping conventional treatment, but encouraging people to ask more questions and look within. Jim adds his own perspective from ten years out. Listen to Part One of their conversation on episode 121. 121: Breast Cancer, A Wheelchair, Fear & A Different Way To Heal | Maria Schenkel HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

September 18, 2026Episode 15444 min

154: Their Cancer Documentary Didn't End the Way They Filmed It, Stage IV Prostate Cancer | David and Kathi Peters

Three Words: A Couple's Journey from Cancer to Wholeness streams globally from September 25 through October 4, 2026. Learn more at threewordsdoc.com or get tickets and watch the trailer at https://buytickets.at/globalstoryfilms/2412234 . David and Kathi Peters return to the podcast almost three years after their first appearance (Episode 116), this time to talk about the documentary they've spent that time filming. It releases September 25 as a streaming premiere on Redeem TV. David is still living with stage IV metastatic prostate cancer. The growth has slowed but continued to spread, and he has since gone through radiation on his spine, sacrum, and prostate, a shift away from the purely natural approach they hoped would be enough toward a blend of traditional and integrative care. They talk candidly about the parts of the journey that didn't make it into a tidy ending, the fear, the disappointing test results, and the isolation that can creep in even inside a strong community. Kathi speaks openly about caregiver burnout and the discipline of caring for herself, through red light therapy, sauna, exercise, and simple things like a cup of coffee with a friend, so she has something left to give. David shares how a newer clinic in Tennessee has brought encouraging results and how living with purpose, rooted in their faith, has shaped how they've faced this diagnosis. It's an honest look at what a cancer journey actually looks like when it doesn't wrap up neatly, and a reminder that showing up for each other, and for God, matters more than having all the answers. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

September 11, 2026Episode 15335 min

153: "Cancer Is Not a Death Sentence", Large B-Cell Lymphoma | Mark Mateya

Mark Mateya, a Carlisle, Pennsylvania attorney and former studio musician, was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma after a routine biopsy on a small arm growth came back malignant. After a rocky first appointment with an oncologist who initially confused his chart with another patient's and warned that forgoing chemo would be "suicide," Mark declined chemotherapy and found Chris Wark's Square One program and Healing Strong. He shifted to a whole-food, plant-based diet with juicing, reduced stress by selling his law practice (while staying on part-time), and pursued a mix of therapies including RGCC/SOT (a blood-based treatment through a lab in Greece) and multiple visits to the Immunity Therapy Center in Tijuana. He's candid that he does not have a formal NED diagnosis, but reports his circulating tumor cell count has dropped from 2.8 to 1.4 over roughly three and a half years. Mark credits his faith and connection with fellow Healing Strong leader Karen McKeon/Maxson for keeping him grounded early on, and now leads a Healing Strong group in Carlisle, where he originated the "Heal-a-Thon" fundraiser (modeled loosely on Penn State's THON) to raise money and awareness for the organization. The episode closes with his message to newly diagnosed listeners: they are not alone, cancer is not a death sentence, and they have time to think, pray, and take responsibility for their health. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

September 4, 2026Episode 15252 min

#1 of the Top Ten Tour: Exploring Apricot Seeds, Laetrile, & Reviving Natural Cancer Therapies | John A. Richardson, Jr.

We have made it to the final podcast of the Top 10 Tour, celebrating 100,000 downloads. We're revisiting our most-downloaded conversations ever: Jim's talk with John A. Richardson Jr. John shares the story of his father, Dr. John Richardson Sr., who left a conventional medical career in the 1970s to treat cancer patients with laetrile, a compound found in apricot seeds. He walks through his father's clinic, the patients he treated, the raids and lawsuits that followed, and how that legacy became John's own life's work through Richardson Nutritional Center and Operation World Without Cancer. Jim also shares a piece of his own story, a stage four melanoma diagnosis in 2016 and a recent scan that came back clear. Together they talk about faith, trials, and staying hopeful in the middle of a hard diagnosis. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

August 28, 2026Episode 15142 min

#2 of the Top Ten Tour: Healing Secrets of Apricot Seeds and Laetrile Therapy | John A. Richardson Jr.

The Top 10 Tour continues with one of our most-downloaded conversations of all time. John Richardson — president of the Richardson Nutritional Center and Operation World Without Cancer — joins Jim Mann to tell a story that's been in his family for over fifty years. His father, Dr. John A. Richardson, became a Bay Area folk hero in the 1970s for offering laetrile to his patients, and a national headline in June 1972 when his clinic was raided. The arrest didn't end the movement — John says it started one, leading to G. Edward Griffin's book World Without Cancer and a grassroots network that grew to a million members strong. John walks Jim through the science as he understands it: what amygdalin is, why he believes the cyanide warnings have been overstated, and what his father documented in Laetrile Case Histories . He also opens up about the family business, where the seeds are grown, and why he believes this story is finally getting a hearing. Jim also shares his own first encounter with apricot seeds after his 2016 stage four melanoma diagnosis. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

August 21, 2026Episode 15043 min

#3 of the Top Ten Tour: Healing Through Forgiveness, Faith and Natural Medicine | Chris Wark

After being diagnosed with cancer as a young man, Chris turned to research, whole food nutrition, and radical lifestyle change, and has spent the years since helping others do the same. In this conversation, Chris and Jim talk about what he calls the "beat cancer mindset": taking full personal responsibility for your health, forgiving yourself and others, and choosing daily to trust God with your fear instead of letting it drive the journey. Chris opens up about the early days after his diagnosis, reading George Malkmus's God's Way to Ultimate Health, converting to a raw food diet almost overnight, and searching for confirmation that he wasn't just following "some quack." He and Jim talk candidly about faith under pressure, the discipline of forgiveness, why gratitude functions like a "superpower," and how a cancer diagnosis can turn life "from black and white to color." Chris also shares how becoming a father mid-treatment gave him a new reason to fight, and why community, not a single expert, is what actually gets people through. Whether you're newly diagnosed, walking alongside someone who is, or simply working on your own health, this episode is a reminder that the most powerful tools for healing (diet, movement, faith, and forgiveness) cost nothing but your willingness to change. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

August 14, 2026Episode 14938 min

#4 of the Top Ten Tour: Stage 3 Breast Cancer, Stress & Surrendering to God's Sovereignty | Julie Dekam

Julie DeKam was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma in December 2015 after insurance requirements delayed proper imaging and a thermography doctor misread her lump as hormonal. She underwent a double mastectomy and six rounds of chemo, then discovered Chris Wark's Square One program and fired her oncologist when he pushed further treatment. She went all-in on a plant-based, holistic protocol (juicing, coffee enemas, supplements, detox work) alongside naturopathic care, and her hormone markers normalized within a year. She later joined Chris Wark's support team, where she's worked since 2017. She also shares how her cancer journey and a difficult divorce deepened her trust in God's sovereignty, and how she eventually remarried. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

August 7, 2026Episode 14837 min

#5 of the Top Ten Tour: Uncovering Radical Remission | Dr. Kelley Turner, PhD

Dr. Kelly Turner (PhD, Radical Remission & Radical Hope author) joins Jim to discuss her 15 years researching unexplained cancer recoveries. After discovering 1,000+ documented "spontaneous remission" cases in medical journals, she found these healings aren't random. Survivors share 10 common factors (diet, exercise, stress reduction, intuition, positive emotions, and more) that boost the immune system, working alongside conventional treatment rather than replacing it. Kelly and Jim talk about why this research often falls outside oncologists' focus, the science behind laughter and immunity, and how these same healing factors have shown up in recoveries from ALS, Alzheimer's, and HIV. A hopeful, science-grounded conversation about the body's capacity to heal. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org

July 31, 2026Episode 14728 min

#6 of the Top Ten Tour: Overcoming Cancer Fears: Emphasizing Healthy Living & Faith | Kathy Gilkey

This is a Healing Strong podcast episode featuring Kathy Gilkey, a Florida-based follicular lymphoma survivor. Kathy was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in 2017 after finding a lump under her arm. She declined chemo and radiation, instead following a protocol from a fire captain whose wife had stage four kidney cancer: 100 days of juicing (about 90% greens with apple), no solid food. Her tumor shrank from a 4 to a 1, and her oncologist told her to keep doing what she was doing. After moving from California to Arkansas, the stress and emotional upheaval of leaving her home church and community led to depression, and the cancer returned as a spinal tumor. She did 10 rounds of radiation but had a severe reaction when starting chemo (throat closing, numbness) and stopped, returning to diet-based healing plus emotional/inner healing counseling. She's now been in remission for three months, with oncologist visits every six months. Other points covered: she still juices (using an inexpensive Black & Decker juicer, running pulp through twice for more yield), largely avoids sugar and carbs while having added back some meat and fruit, and her husband hasn't adopted her diet but is supportive and healthy in his own way (they cook separate meals). Her background as a florist exposed her to chemical sprays, and she later became a church counselor. She's now launching a new Healing Strong support group in Englewood, Florida, hosted at a faith-based community facility called EPIC. She closes by encouraging newly diagnosed listeners with Jeremiah 29:11 and a message of trusting God and avoiding negativity. HealingStrong's mission is to educate, equip and empower our group leaders and group participants through their journey with cancer or other chronic illnesses, and know there is HOPE. We bring this hope through educational materials, webinars, guest speakers, conferences, community small group support and more. Please take advantage of our FREE resources below to help you along your health and healing journey: Support Group Directory Holistic Curriculum - Participant Guide Support Our Mission - Donate Additional Health Resources Listen to Previous Episodes Website: healingstrong.org