Turning Cancer Around
Thanks for coming – I’m guessing we have a lot in common. If you’ve come this far you are probably either a specialist cancer practitioner or a curious patient recovering from cancer and from the effects of treatment. I’m both! Although my diagnosis happened almost thirty years ago I’ve never stopped thinking about how to increase my chances of survival. And I made it my mission to help others do the same.
My name is Dawn Waldron and I’ve dedicated thirty ‘reclaimed’ years to understanding cancer. At first it was wholly for my own benefit but it morphed into a clinical practice and teaching career that has helped countless others. In 2025, I was surprised and thrilled to receive the Yes to Life Holistic Cancer Care Innovator Award in recognition of my efforts to push the boundaries of holistic cancer care.
Closing the gap
Following my own diagnosis in 1997, I knew instinctively that I needed ‘more than medicine’ to stand a chance of seeing my daughter (now in her thirties) grow up. Perhaps you know the feeling? Back then, in those pre-Google days, when medical research was still locked up in libraries, there was no easy way to design an evidence-based health programme, but I was determined to close the gap between what medicine prescribes and nature provides.
After decades of intense study and clinical work, in which time the research on the importance of natural health for cancer has mushroomed (pun entirely intended), I’m saddened by the lack of change within the conventional system. There are some heroic attempts being made by a few pioneers to promote integrative oncology, but it’s clear that a lot of doctors are going to have to retire before any significant shift occurs.
That’s not great news for cancer patients who generally don’t have time to wait a whole generation for the care they need. So in 2023, I changed my focus from one-to-one consultations to sharing my knowledge and experience with a larger audience. My Substack (and wider teaching work) is focussed on supporting the growing profession of specialist cancer practitioners, and equally to encourage and empower the growing family of long term cancer survivors.
My message can be summed up in a sentence: Don’t let the complexity of cancer blind you to the simplicity of healing.
Using the Stack
I started writing this Substack in September 2021 and all the weekly articles are still available. The first six months were designed to take you through the process of diagnosis to the end of treatment, showing you what to pay attention to. After that we went on a long journey into the intricacies of mitochondrial function - an epic voyage that takes some time but will revolutionise your understanding of metabolism. Starting in 2026 we will be exploring the widely-acknowledged importance of personalisation for cancer patients - largely through the lens of nutrigenomics - for managing outcomes.
A Focus on Flux
Central to my work is the idea of mitochondrial flux. Flux refers to the final step in the energy-making process that is essentially electrical in nature. The existence of flux is the fundamental difference between being dead or alive and so it’s logical that the body has many ways to protect this mechanism. When it goes wrong, cancer is one of a number of possible ‘unhealthy’ outcomes.
Fluxable is all about restoring healthy mitochondrial metabolism, supporting the finely-balanced ebb and flow of our biochemistry, promoting the essential communication network between our mitochondria, our microbiome and our genes, and respecting our vital relationship with nature. It creates a firm foundation for cancer prevention and recovery and powerfully underpins integrative oncology programs to support improved treatment outcomes.
Flux is such an important element of cellular function that I would be bold enough to say that when flux stops, cancer starts.
Modern life is not designed to optimise flux. The way we live and eat tends to stick a huge spanner in the mitochondrial works and much of what you will read here is about reprogramming the damage in a positive direction, correcting the abnormal reprogramming that is a recognised ‘Hallmark’ of cancer. And yes, you read that correctly. I am one of a growing number of cancer experts who believe that cellular rehabilitation may be possible, holding out the tantalising prospect of ditching the cytotoxic (cell-killing) medications that we all fear so much.
One of the core messages of Fluxable is that we can’t get back into balance and enjoy optimal flux by employing extreme solutions. Human biochemistry is held in a delicate equilibrium and we have to respect that fact when approaching healing, whether we are thinking about medicine, exercise, supplements or broccoli. A deficiency can’t be balanced by a deluge. Cancer is ultimately a bunch of cells that have forgotten where they live and what they are here for. Recovery is about rebuilding the terrain and the messaging that pulls them back in line - it’s a holistic pursuit.
When we approach cancer from a metabolic perspective we are looking at chemical pathways that stretch back billions of years and which have been conserved through many iterations of our development. These pathways evolved alongside the patterns of the planet in order that we can thrive in the earth’s ecosystem. Even after twenty years of reading countless research papers I have never read anything that contradicts the idea that ‘getting back to nature’ is the right direction. Use gyms, meal replacements, supplements and weights if you must but turn to walking, gardening, cooking, singing whenever you can and fill your plate with local, seasonal, organic animal and plant foods to gently remind your body not just to survive but to thrive.
Fluxable Education
But, let’s be clear there is only so much that can be accomplished by writing long and complex articles. It gets a bit boring - for you and for me. So, n 2026 I will be refocussing my efforts into webinars and professional education (and in the process reducing the word count of my posts in an attempt to make it easier to keep up). It’s not about providing less information but about packaging it more thoughtfully for you, dear reader!
I will also be offering an NTEC accredited course on the Fluxable theory for nutrition practitioners in 2026. Details will be made available as soon as they are available, and I hope to offer webinars too, perhaps on a quarterly basis, to explain more about my work in ways that are easier to grasp.
“The best lecture I have heard in a year, hands down 🤓 - if you think you understand metabolism, and you haven’t heard Dawn explain proton motive force… This is a game changer! You have to hear this. You will be blown away.” Tanya Borowski.
Dawn’s weekly blog and online education programmes translate the Fluxable concept into accessible wisdom for specialist cancer practitioners and determined 'expert patients' working to change outcomes for themselves and others. We dive deep into the science but come up holding simple truths.
“I’ve heard only amazing feedback about your speech Dawn! Our groups are a buzz with how your delivery is practical and straightforward with tangible takeaways. I’ll defo be tuning in on Saturday. Thank you 😊 Be Kind Nutrition”
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Fluxable Conversations
After thirty years I’m increasingly certain that change will only come for oncology departments when patients demand it. Part of my work is to support patients and practitioners to keep pushing for what they need to improve outcomes. Too often this area of inhibited by ideas of politeness and respect but it should really be informed by the urgency of life or death. Better nutrition means better outcomes. Of that we can be sure. It is indefensible that it is not communicated at the sharp end of the NHS.
To support you to initiate these conversations I’ve developed a graphic that explains the different approaches and outlines their risks and benefits. You can use this to inform your own choices and/or you can take it with you to your appointment to explain and discuss your survival plan. I don’t recommend using valuable consultation time to convert your oncologist but I do support you in being assertive in stating that you are looking for ‘more than medicine’ while being keen to collaborate with your medical team to understand any risks and benefits from their perspective. The important thing here is to bring the conversation into an adult to adult sphere (rather than the parent-child dynamic that so often infuses cancer consultations) and to frame yourself as the CEO of your protocol, seeking help and support rather than conforming to the convention.
It is my hope that if enough of us ‘dare’ to push the boundaries we will create the transformation that is necessary to save more lives.
There is a lot of information on my Substack, and I recommend scrolling through to find the posts that are relevant for you. But if you want to cut to the chase, please listen to this 45 minute talk I was invited to do in September 2024 for the wonderful Yes to Life Charity.
Thank you for reading. Please subscribe below, and please, please share this page with others.
Full Disclosure
I am not an oncologist and, that being the case, I am not allowed to offer to treat anyone for cancer, to prescribe any treatments for the disease, or to give advice in connection to cancer treatment. The information and advice contained in these posts is designed to educate specialist practitioners and expert patients and is not intended to replace any cancer treatments or support diagnosis. If you are going through cancer treatment and seeking to improve outcomes I strongly recommend working with a personal practitioner. I am very much in favour of a combined medical and complementary approach, often referred to as integrative oncology. When I was diagnosed with Grade 3, Stage 3, hormone receptor negative breast cancer in 1997 I underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. My survival is due in large part to the wonderful medical care and treatment I received at that time. However I believe that my own determination to survive to see my two year old daughter grow up, and the diet and lifestyle changes I made to radically change my health played a huge part in my survival. At the time there was no evidence to support that idea, merely instinct. As a long term survivor I went back to college to study nutritional therapy at ION for 3 years, graduating with distinction in 2004. Since then I have never stopped studying, including a postgraduate certificate in 2016, and have enjoyed watching the accumulation of evidence for the metabolic approach to cancer.
