If someone was to ask my advice on what I felt would move their health needle most, it would be this:

• Don't sweat the small stuff (and as author Richard Carlson reminds us in his book of the same name, "it's all small stuff")
• Give to and serve others in need (the best way to stop ruminating and forget your own dramas).
• ...and relax!

In 2016, I was diagnosed with leukaemia. I’d been suffering from generalised anxiety disorder for 10 years, compounded by a demanding media career which had left me burnt out, exhausted and depleted. 

It’s no wonder I got sick. My body was constantly in fight or flight mode, running from imaginary predators, so it had no time to focus on rest and repair. 48 hours after being diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, a rare form of blood cancer, I also discovered I was pregnant with my first child.

It was at the time, one of the hardest ordeals I’d ever faced. Doctors advised me to terminate my baby in order to begin treatment which would likely save my life. I refused, and embarked on a mission to arm myself with knowledge on how to care for my body and my unborn child.

Eight months later, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy and had begun a life changing health journey.

I started oral cancer therapy, but received little support from conventional doctors on how to nourish my body and support it while it fought this disease and dealt with the often debilitating side effects of treatment.

So I took matters into my own hands, and spent four years studying naturopathy, researching the connection between stress and illness and finding natural ways to look after myself while on some pretty hardcore modern drugs.

It’s often life changing moments like this, involving a health scare, the development of a chronic illness or injury which reaffirms to us the importance of good health. 

Medicine is not a religion or a political party; we shouldn’t feel obliged to choose between conventional and complementary therapies. 

My philosophy is that by creating a foundation of good health through a nutrient-rich diet, regular movement and wellness practices which nourish the body, mind and spirit, we can reduce the chance of relying on modern medicine later in life.

But I’m also so grateful to witness the slow but sure democratisation of health and the collapse of the fortress which once fiercely gate-kept important medical knowledge from anyone without the finances and time to attend medical school.

We no longer have to sit in the back seat. We all have the right to sit up front with our medical team, navigating and advocating for our health together.

September 9 is World CML Day. 

On that day, I’ll be celebrating with my family. I’ll also be giving thanks to modern medicine, the millennia of ancient wisdom it is founded on, and for the freedom we have today to follow whichever health path we choose.