How One Woman is 'Kicking Cancer's Ass'

“I was a ravaged wreck,” Dena Mendes said about being bald and 98 pounds at one point during her fight against cancer.

But now the Highland Park resident is using her struggles to empower others, saying, “I needed to go through this so I could help other people.”

In 2001, Mendes was diagnosed with Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive form of breast cancer. But the now 45-year-old explained that her original pea-sized tumor ended up spreading after a “botched lumpectomy” and she has been battling the disease ever since.

In the U.S., 12 percent of women are at risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, according to data. The American Cancer Society notes that about 60,000 DCIS cases are reported annually and account for about 1 out of every 5 new breast cancer diagnoses.

Wishing she knew then what she knows now, Mendes decided to write a book, A Survivor’s Guide to Kicking Cancer’s Ass.

“Oh my god, you’re freaking out,” Mendes said about the surreal feeling of someone being told she has cancer. “Right when you’ve been diagnosed, what’s the first thing you need to do?” That was one of her original questions she hoped to answer for others.

“It’s a life preserver for people who have been diagnosed, who are going through it [and] people who have loved ones going through it,” the author said.

The idea to write the book was inspired by an instructor during a Kabbalah class when participants were asked about the legacies they wanted to leave behind.

“It just hit me,” said Mendes, who afterward courageously called Hay House Publishing to get the ball rolling. “You will publish my book,” she remembered telling the agency.

Also a naturopathic doctor and a holistic chef, Mendes has spent the past 10 years intertwining her doctor's health advice with her own techniques and believes the fight against cancer is a “balance between effort and ease.”  

While a port has been placed under the skin in her chest for Herceptin drug infusions every three weeks, Mendes refuses to take any other medication.

“I have a chapter in my book, to port or not to port,” Mendes said, noting she uses the time she is sick for research and development. “I’m not going to get angry and frustrated, I’m going to find what works and share it with others. That’s what my life has been like.”  

In the book, which hits stores in November, Mendes lists several of those remedies.

“I know how to combat the burning of the esophageal lining when it’s on fire from too much chemotherapy and radiation,” she explained. “Aloe and marsh mellow root and licorice root, and I have a drink for it.”

Because Mendes finds fault with some cancer treatments, such as needle biopsies, she wants to make sure patients know their options and feel confident speaking to their doctors about them.

“We’re just going to beat the s*** out of you with as much toxicity as we can when your body needs its immune system the most,” Mendes recalled of her painful experience with chemotherapy, which she later discovered wasn't the right treatment for her.

Now, she pays more attention to the signs and symptoms her body gives her and pleads with others to do the same. “Always, always, always, follow your intuition.”

In fifth stage cancer, Mendes has a positive outlook on life while she continues to deal with the disease. “You have the ability to have cancer, brain, lung, bone, it could be anywhere in your body, it’s just not big enough or it’s not active to see on a PET scan,” she explained of her current condition.

“I’m going to live every single day while I’m here to the max,” said the author, who is determined to help others cope with what she has already gone through.

Click on the video above to hear from Mendes.