Ep 30 Confidence to Overcome Cancer with Andy Storch
Alyssa Dver:
If you're smart and work hard, but just aren't where or who you want to be, welcome to your podcast, Real Confidence. I'm your host, Alyssa Dver. And I'll be sharing a bit of brain science, some surprising social secrets, and a touch of tough love. Why? Because I believe confidence is everyone's fundamental right and choice. Let's get to it.
Andy Storch, I'm giddy. I'm psyched to be here with you. I can see you and you're smiling back. And I know my listeners are gonna smile just hearing your story. Even though it sounds really sad to begin with, we know that the punchline is you're fine and you're great and you're awesome. And I'm here talking to you with just absolute goosebumps. So, tell the listeners a little bit about you and why we're here.
Andy Storch:
Sure, yeah, I'm excited to I'm pumped to be here. This is awesome. Because we get an opportunity to help people. So, I'm Andy Storch, I'm a consultant, coach, speaker, author. I've got a book called Own Your Career, Own Your Life. I do a lot of work in the corporate space, working to inspire people to take ownership of their careers. I'm also a husband and a father of two kids. I live in sunny Orlando, Florida. And I think we're talking today, not necessarily about career stuff, but overcoming major challenges, and especially health challenges because I went through testicular cancer, I found out that I had testicular cancer in November 2020. And in fact, I had surgery two days after I published my book, and then I thought that might take care of it. But I later found out that the cancer had spread to my stomach and my neck. And I started on a journey of doing tons of research, and trying a lot of different things, including listening to my doctors and doing a lot of other things that doctors don't tell you about. And I went through chemotherapy, which was awful, but a necessary evil at the time, as well as doing many other natural things. And several months of treatment, and you know, discomfort and all those sorts of things. But I got through it. And as of just a couple of months ago, I got the all clear from my doctor that my latest scans show that I'm 100%, cancer free and our mission, whatever you want to call it, life is good. So, as you mentioned, the punchline of the story is that I made it through and I'm healthy.
Alyssa Dver:
All right, well, I'm gonna peel apart a couple of things that you dropped in there, because it was a lot in one sequence there. And I don't want to miss some of these gems. First of all, just give people an idea. You don't have to say specific age, because you know that sometimes people don't but like you're not an old guy, you got young kids.
Andy Storch:
Right? No, well, actually, you know, I get where you're going with this question. And the surprising thing is actually the opposite. That was so surprising. I was 40 years old. When I found out I had testicular cancer, I'm 41 now. And testicular cancer, it turns out as a young man's disease, it typically affects men between the ages of 18 and 40. And I was at the top end of that window, I just snuck it in right before, but I shared a lot of my journey on social media. As soon as I found out, I shared it on social media, I shared the whole entire journey, a lot of it on LinkedIn, and Instagram and, and a lot of people appreciated that I wanted to let people know what was going on. I had several people reach out to me and say, thank you for sharing, I've been going through cancer as well. And I have not told anybody because I didn't feel comfortable. So, everybody's in their own area of comfort on that right. And everybody has to do the right thing for them. But in doing that I also connected with a lot of people who had also gone through testicular cancer like you've like, formed this club, especially of you know, men who we've all had a testicle removed. So, but I found out that my neighbor next door neighbor, who was like a 30-year-old guy had gone through it when he was 18. And a lot of guys have gone through it at 18-19. It's like very, I won't say it's very common at that age, but it happens a lot for whatever reason.
Alyssa Dver:
So, you know, and you're, you're such a positive person and I didn't know you prior to all of this. So, let's dig into the gems that you dropped in there because you went you were diagnosed, you go through this situation. Talk to me about your confidence. You remember where you were mentally at that time?
Andy Storch:
Yeah, so I had already done a lot of what we'll say we'll call inner work, personal development. I've been just investing a ton into personal development since 2016, reading books, listening to podcasts, joining mastermind groups, hiring coaches, doing a lot of you know, mindset type work that has a light that allowed me doing a lot of meditation and mindfulness work, which I think allowed me to build a lot of resilience, investing in building a growth mindset so that I can kind of turn off time challenges and opportunities, do hard things very different from the way I grew up. And I wrote a chapter in my book about mindset. And that was all about how you can turn challenges into opportunities and overcome setbacks. But I hadn't really faced any huge challenges up to that point, I had my share of challenges until this, but I also I think, was well equipped going into this to be able to address it. And one thing I knew was that fear doesn't really serve anybody too well. And then I don't want to diminish fear, like fear is natural. And, you know it's normal, I think, in a situation like that. But I chose to see this as more of a challenge than this, like scary thing. And I also looked at it logically, you know, my urologist told me that testicular cancer, I think, has a 97% survival rate, if you go through the treatment, depending on when you catch it, that sort of thing. So, I knew that I was going to be able to take care of it. I just didn't know how long it was going to take.
I was more annoyed that it was going to get in the way of marketing my new book, and, and all the things that I you know, that I wanted to do, you know, kind of saw as knowing challenge. But I also see, I look at the challenges that we face in life and realize that we're all going to face challenges. We all have different challenges. You know, a lot of people told me throughout my ordeal that like, you really put things into context for me when I was going through something, I figured, well, I don't have as bad as Andy. And I would say, look, it's not a competition, right, we all have challenges that we face. And usually that thing that you're facing, seems like the worst thing in the world in the moment. But what I remember during that time is the nature of impermanence, it's not going to last forever. And we all face challenges. And if I do the right things, and have the right mindset, I will get through this. And so, I think in developing that mindset, and believing in myself, and like, you know, kind of the process that I can get through this, that built confidence. The other thing was that I, you know, my book is called own your career and your life, I'm a big fan of taking ownership of your career in your life. I'm also now a big fan of taking ownership of your health as well. So, I really try to take full ownership of this situation. And what I mean by that is taking a holistic approach, asking a lot of questions of my doctor, not just doing whatever they say, because, you know, your doctor probably has your best interest in mind. But frankly, they don't know everything. And there could be other things that you could be doing, investing in a lot of different options, doing a lot of my own research, so that I had all the information as much information as I could arm myself with. And I think that builds a lot of confidence. I know, I've talked with you about confidence on my podcast. And I think having more information, you don't want to get into information overload. But having that information builds a lot more confidence that like, okay, I know I can get through this. This is how I'm going to do it. I know it's going to be hard. But I know I will get through it. And I'll come out the other end and it will be better. And it turns out it was.
Alyssa Dver:
Well, the motivation was to have you here. Other than in fact, I just adore you and you have such a great story here. But we have something really very much in common. I don't even know if you are aware of it my origin story, a few of my heroes story and how I started ACI I won't get into jibs and drabs of it, but has to do with my older son who was diagnosed with a neurological crisis when he was eight and hearing the doctor after drugs and poking and prodding him for years. I was like, no, I don't doctors. And so, I'm not going to tell anyone who's listening, not listen to their doctor. That's not at all what I'm saying. But you get to a point where you're like, I gotta take ownership of this. And it's scary. It's confidence challenging on every level who we're not doctors, right, like I check or whatever. Well, I didn't I mean medical degree, but what comes out the other end is not just the confidence that you've overcome, hopefully. But there is a sense of that control or the other C word. And I'm wondering, do you remember the moment that you said, I'm not because I know you said to the doctors, no more chemo? I'm not doing it anymore. Yeah, it was scary. So what? What was that moment like? And why did you say I'm done? I'm taking ownership, I'm doing something different.
Andy Storch:
Yeah. So, it was committed to taking ownership throughout. And you're right, like doctors, there's a lot of great doctors out there and they have your best interests, most of them have your best interest in mind. But what I've found in researching and investigating this whole situation is that doctors are generally focused on treating the one thing that's in front of them, which is a symptom, but they're not thinking about the holistic view, right? They're not thinking about the bigger picture. And they're often not thinking about the long-term ramifications, right? So, a doctor sees cancer and the, you know, the regular regimen is given them chemo, and that will kill the cancer and give them more chemo and that will kill the cancer more, right?
They don't have to live with your body for the next 40 or 50 years. But I do right and so I wanted to take a holistic approach to this look at all different options. And you know, my research of chemotherapy is it's a toxic chemical. It is designed to, I mean it actually its origins are in Is the what's it called, like the gas that was used chemical warfare during World War I that is the origin of chemotherapy is from the chemicals used during warfare in World War I. And, you know, research that was been done subsequently in the 30s, 40s, 50s. And it hasn't changed that much since then. And so, I don't want to put this stuff in my body now. I tried a lot of natural things. I ended up being in so much pain that I ended up going into the hospital in January 2021 and doing the chemotherapy. Turned out I had pancreatitis that was causing so much pain. And once I started doing the chemo, and I did the I got hydration really got fluids, it kind of calmed down. So, I ended up doing two cycles of chemo. And I didn't want to do anymore, it was the most awful experience I've had in my life. And so, I got tests done and they came back and showed the cancer which had spread to my stomach and my neck had receded was no longer in my neck. But there's a little bit left in my stomach. And my oncologist said, we just need you to do one more cycle of chemo and I think you'll be done. And I said, well, I don't want to do any more chemo. And she said, well, this is the standard protocol for this. So, I said, okay, well, I asked a bunch of questions, and let's let me think about it and went back did a lot of research. So I found studies that people that have gone through with two cycles of chemo, you know, realize that it could already be receding on its own, went back and forth a lot, quite frankly, this is one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life, I was also looking at investing a lot of money into some, you know, natural solutions to heal my gut biome, stuff that I can't even really like, go into here. But it was a tough decision. I talked to a couple of close friends. You know, nobody has the answer, right? Nobody knows what to do, only you know what to do. And my wife supported me either way.
And ultimately, I decided to pass on that chemo. And it was because I felt like I could get through without it. And I didn't want to put that stuff into my body anymore. And quite frankly, I was afraid. I didn't like doing it. And that was part of it, too. Like I just, I just didn't want to do any more of it. And I was willing to take a chance and try the other things. And that's what we did. And it worked out well. I'm you know, like I said, I'm cancer free today without doing the additional round of chemo, which, you know, if you're looking at that decision, you know, on a micro level, it increases your odds of beating cancer because it kills the cancer in the moment. But the question I kept asking myself was, what if the other side of that is it takes 10 years off my life? Right? Because I'm putting toxic chemicals in my body. That's a tough decision. And well, my wife and I decided just like when we started the chemo. And then when we made this decision is whatever decision we make we go with that with confidence, right? That once we make that decision, we're confident in that decision. Because I believe so strongly in mindset, I believe that your body will follow what your mind wants to do. And I'm not saying like you could heal cancer with your mind. But if you choose to do something, but then you hate it the entire time or you're against it the whole time, then I don't think it's going to work as effectively as if you sit there and believe and meditate on it and say like this is going to work for me, I can feel it, you know, killing the cancer, whatever it may be. So, I skip that round of chemo. But I still did a lot of other things I was juicing every day I switched to a plant-based diet, I was taking tons of supplements, as I was doing high dose vitamin C. And I invested a lot in some natural therapies to heal my gut biome as well. And luckily, it all paid off.
Alyssa Dver:
Well, you said in that conversation just now you said you know, it was a scary decision, you didn't know for sure you didn't have certainty, which is the foundation of confidence. But what you didn't know is that whatever you decided you were going in its whole brain, right, like whole heart, whole brain. And whether people believe in, you know, the spirits or the mind, or self or whatever, it doesn't matter in many circumstances. And this one's an extreme one. Yeah, don't always know. And you can't always know. But you still have to make a decision and commit to it. Right. And I think that, that that was a really bold move, and you had a great support system to boost on that. So, I'm going to offer a little bit of a break for some time for our sponsors. And then when we come back what I really want you to talk about as our as we conclude the podcast today here is somebody who's going through this really give them some tips, or somebody who's helping somebody else go through it like how to really sit down and analyze what the best thing you know how they get through this and make those decisions with confidence. So, we'll be right back.
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Alyssa Dver:
Hi, I'm back with my buddy Andy here who has not just only conquered cancer with confidence, I can't even say it all, but it literally has, you know, kind of this energy and positivity I hope that you can feel it through the audio here because if you saw Andy's bouncing around the screen. My friend, you know, if you were to roll yourself back in wish somebody said to you at that time where you were like chemo, no chemo? What kind of advice would you like have liked to heard, then that you we can give to people who may be going through it now or supporting somebody who is?
Andy Storch:
So, here's some advice, if you're going through this, you have a loved one who's going through this, there are several things I did. And I'll try to boil this down to maybe like a top five, that you can pick one or two things and take away from this. But I also created a document by the way, laying out my story and all of the research that I did, and anybody can go grab that for free on my website by going to AndyStorch.com/cancer. And it's all laid out there. I would say, number one, take full responsibility. I think one of the biggest issues and problems with health issues like cancer is that people become victims. And I think the healthcare system and doctors support that, that this was out of your control, nothing you could do is just genetics, like, all you can do is just sit there and take the medicine. And it's not true, you want to take full responsibility. And that means responsibility that you may have caused this cancer and a lot of cancer come most cancer comes from bad nutrition to your environment from stress. So, I would really start to investigate Well, how did this come about? And what changes can I make to prevent this happening in the future because no change, you know, nothing gets better. No change happens unless you take responsibility, and you start making changes to the results. And I want to take responsibility.
Number two is taking a holistic view, do lots of research, investigate lots of different options. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your doctor because they don't necessarily know everything. And they owe it to you to explain whatever they're doing. I think a lot of people don't. And again, doctors are great, but they don't always have all the answers. And people usually just take everything on faith and think the doctors are God when they're not. Right. So, listen and get second opinions, do research. But really take a holistic view.
Number three is remembering the nature of impermanence like this is awful now, but it won't last forever. And related to that, I would say come back to optimism. So, I was big, I learned this and one of the books I read called Chris beat cancer by Chris Work, I think he talks in there about the importance of making plans for the future. And this goes back to like being a victim don't think like, oh, this is the end, no matter how bad it may be making plans for the future. So, you have things to look forward to. And you know, feel you feel confident you're gonna get through this, and you know, come out on the other side. So, remember, this is not going to last forever, remain optimistic, make plans for the future.
Number four is, do whatever you can to take care of your body and your health don't just rely on doctors’ kind of goes back to the second one. And then the last thing I will mention is take care of well relate to that. Also take care of your mind, so big on meditation.
And then the last thing is gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. No matter how bad things are, we can always come back to gratitude, we can always find things to be grateful for whether it be your family, your friends, the weather outside a nice cup of coffee or tea. I am someone who regularly writes down my gratitude anyway. But I really double down on that. Throughout my cancer experience, there was two things I did every single day. Regardless of how bad I felt, I meditated for at least 10 minutes. And I took out a journal, I wrote down my gratitude. I wrote down my gratitude for my family, for the nurses and doctors who helped take care of me for the weather. And eventually I started writing down every day that I was grateful for this cancer. And that gratitude helped me get through so much. Because no matter how bad things are, we can be grateful. And that can completely have the power to completely transform your mood, and your outlook and your confidence as well in a situation. And I really started to believe it that I was grateful for that cancer. And now I am really grateful, especially now that I've gone through it. I'm grateful for the experience, because it allows me to have conversations like this and hopefully help other people who might be going through similar things. So, remember, no matter what challenge you're going through gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, is the answer.
Alyssa Dver:
Well, on a perfect note to end this podcast, I am very grateful not just for this podcast today but being part of your world and grateful I guess to your cancer for making it possible for us to be together so well we'll salute that but I'm also very grateful for all our listeners who are there if somebody needs a positive some more information you throughout the website before but let's do it again so people can jot it down. Here you go.
Andy Storch:
Oh, for sure. So, any information on beating cancer go to AndyStorch.com/cancer and I'm on all the social media channels Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. And all my career stuff is on ownyourcareerownyourlife.com.
Alyssa Dver:
Perfect, Andy, thank you so much. We'll talk again really soon. So before we completely wrap up, I want to let you know that full transcripts and show notes for this and other episodes can be found on the website, www.AmericanConfidenceInstitute.com/podcast. I also want to remind you once again, that the best way to get confidence for yourself is to give it to others and you can do it so easily just by liking and sharing this episode on your favorite social media channels. You can even give me some confidence fuel by sending in any comments about the topics I've covered, or ones you'd like me to consider for the future. So, for now, this is Alyssa Dver, thank you for helping to bring more confidence to the world.
This podcast was produced by Mindful Media. All rights reserved by Alyssa Dver and the American Confidence Institute. Music written and performed by Jeff Weinstein.
