Julianne O'Brien

Hello I am Julianne a mother to my three daughter, my triple positive girls.

Sometimes it takes something momentous to make you really change the way you’re living your life. For me, it was the diagnosis of breast cancer June 2014 ,a mastectomy in Dec 2014 and a new diagnosis of Stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer that rocked my world.
I decided my daughters were my triple positive and there was no question of not being here in their lives.

Previous losses and challenges, including the death of my younger sister from a brain aneurism at 40, my husband leaving a year later & supporting my mother through ovarian and bowel cancer treatment, had taken their toll on my life. But it was my own cancer diagnosis that stopped me in my tracks. I thought I was a super human who never said no, joined every comittee, watched every game of volleyball, waterpolo & netball. Something had to give and it was my health.

During my recovery from the mastectomy I looked at what changes I could make in my life to help heal myself and my mother? Now my mother has the strongest will to live I have ever seen. After ovarian cancer and two bouts of bowel cancer, two knee replacements, diabetes we are celebrating her 85th birthday this year. On her 80th she had a party with 130 people there. Not bad to have that many friends and family at that age. She lives for her family especially all the grandchildren.

I began to ask questions of myself can I stop this cancer from coming back, statistics on this with triple negative were not great. I did endless research. I was excited and motivated by what I learnt. It was during this time when I could not afford to go to a cancer workshop I was recommended to read Kelly Turners book ‘Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds. I read it in three days. I remember reading Shin Teryama story and it really stuck in my mind. I wanted to meet this man in person and in 2019 I ticked this off my bucket lists and went to Japan to meet Shin in person, such a joyful person who was still running workshops in his 80’s, smile workshops. His family were his strong reason for living.

I immediately put into practice the Healing Factors from Kellys book. This gave me a guideline on where to start. Some of the factors I was really strong at others needed a lot of work. I planted an organic garden so it was not so expensive to make my green drinks everyday.

My focus was on healing, I asked my family to support me and that this was my time to heal my body and thrive. I turned down chemotherapy and decided food was my medicine.

Richard my partner I met 5 weeks before my mastectomy, became my wellness coach & would meditate with me twice a day. I had my yoga family who were so supportive even though I had to have a break during my operations.

Gradually, I integrated all the learnings that resonated with me into my daily life I soon felt more resilient - physically, mentally and emotionally. I chose to take control of my health and when faced with chemo I listened to my intuition and instead practiced all of the 10 factors to prevent my cancer coming back.

I am now 9 years in remission and have changed my triple negative into a triple positive.

My three daughters and my partner Richard have been my strong reasons for living .

I also changed my career. I joined Kelly Turner in 2017 and trained as a Radical Remission Workshop Facilitator. Since then I have trained in Functional Medicine so I have a better awareness of what I can use to help my body heal from disease.

I moved to a coastal property where I wake up listening to bird song and look out to the sea. I swim daily with my Moai friends and have vegetable gardens. I practice meditation and gratitude. Daily laughter with neighbours and friends is my positive emotions.

From Bluewater Sanctuary I run Wellness workshops and we spend 3 or 5 days going through the 10 Key factors of Radical Remission. I cook all the food from various organic gardens including my own. We have a sauna and rain water showers daily.

Intuition I believe is my daily practice listening to what my mind and body is telling me.