How Julie Stevens used data to guide her Stage 4 colon cancer treatment

Key wellness & self-advocacy strategies from the interview

1) Build “7 healing toolboxes” (treat the whole system, not just cancer)

Julie frames healing as leveraging multiple lanes at once:

• Pharmaceuticals (conventional medical treatment)
• Vitamins & supplements
• Diet (nutrition)
• Lifestyle
• Environment
• “All and healing” (a broader mind/body/meaning-making approach)

Core idea: Don’t accept a “one-lane” approach—partner with your medical team while pursuing complementary supports.

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2) Create a multidisciplinary care team (not a one-on-one)

To cover those “lanes,” she brought in additional practitioners:

• Herbalist
• Acupuncturist
• Chiropractor
• Reflexologist
• Dentist
• Therapist

Goal: Understand vulnerability + treatment options + how to reduce side effects (“outsmart side effects”).

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3) Use a “data-first” mindset to hold clinicians accountable

As a former industrial/organizational psychologist and data analyst, Julie emphasizes measuring efficacy instead of waiting blindly.

• Ask: “How will we measure treatment effectiveness?”
• Track response using biological measures, not only imaging timelines.

Example testing strategy described:

• CTDNA (blood-based tumor DNA) for monitoring changes in cancer burden
• CA markers (she mentions CA19 as her marker)
• NGS / next-generation sequencing (tumor mutation profiling; examples like “neoenomics” were mentioned)

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4) Get tumor/genetic profiling early to match the right treatment

Julie argues that standard “plug-and-play” care can miss what’s personalized to your tumor.

She encourages patients to:

• Ask for specific mutations
• Request broad NGS panels (not only “targetable mutation-only” reports)
• Consider providers for full-suite testing (examples mentioned):
  • Caris
  • Tempus
  • Guardant and Tempus (and other “big testing companies”)
• Use AI-supported tools to translate results into options (examples referenced: “radical health AI” / “outcomes for me”)

Why it mattered in her case: Her tumor was described as MSI-high, helping her qualify for immunotherapy (she centered Keytruda as the PD-1 inhibitor in the dialogue).

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5) Monitor beyond “PET says victory”

Julie highlights the limitation of imaging:

• A PET scan may show improvement only when cancer burden drops below a detectable threshold—not necessarily that it’s gone.

She emphasizes interest in:

• Minimal residual disease (MRD) / serial CTDNA
• Combining blood-based and tissue-based CTDNA approaches (including methylation-based and tumor-informed methods)
• Using serial CTDNA testing to detect treatment failure sooner

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6) Prepare the body with nutrition, microbiome/immune support, and emotional work

Julie attributes her unusually strong response partly to what she did before/during conventional treatment:

• Eliminated processed foods
• Increased plant foods
• Used nutrition to support microbiome + immune system
• Worked through past trauma with therapy
• Exercised and lost nearly 100 pounds during treatment
• Framed cancer as an invitation to change (transformational reframing)

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7) Use joy as a therapeutic strategy (mental, social, and emotional regulation)

She describes an unconventional—but consistently used—self-care practice: living in joy during treatment.

Examples she shared:

• Asked for a “disco stroll” in the hospital to engage other patients
• Threw theme parties and created a celebratory environment during infusions
• Brought themed food/gifts/music/games to shift the clinic experience
• Used humor/costumes to create meaning and connection

Reported outcome: Her joy helped her stay engaged and reportedly inspired others—including someone who expressed suicidal ideation and said they didn’t act because of her presence.

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8) Adopt an “at-home healing” routine (simple daily foundation)

Her collaborator (Chris Beat Cancer) reinforces the theme: treatment alone isn’t healing.

Practical focus areas mentioned:

• Sleep
• Exercise
• “Anti-cancer diet” / whole foods
• Time outdoors (sunshine, fresh air, nature)
• Forgiveness/faith (as part of mind/body resilience)
• Reduce inflammation
• Limit exposure to environmental toxins

She also advises simplifying overwhelm:

• Start with basics first, then become more granular when you have bandwidth.

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9) Practical healthcare navigation: ask for tests—even if insurance says no

A direct actionable tip from Julie:

• If insurance doesn’t cover a test, don’t stop
• She claims many testing providers may offer:
  • patient exception / financial relief
  • potentially free testing upon request

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10) Build decision systems (AI + data tracking) to personalize ongoing care

Julie is developing tools to translate wellness behaviors into measurable outcomes.

• Vetal Life app (in development)
  • Input blood markers
  • Compare to optimal ranges
  • Track behaviors (food, supplements, activity)
  • Generate questions/letters for oncologist visits

She also plans to collect survivor data to identify which behaviors correlate with better outcomes.

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter / interviewee: Julie Stevens (radical remission survivor; author/podcaster; referenced: “Mojo Healing,” “Data in the Dirt,” “Data G”)

• Host / interviewer: Chris Beat Cancer (Chris)

Referenced organizations / testing companies / models (as mentioned)

• ASCO (oncology conference)
• Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK)
• Guardant
• Tempus
• Caris
• Personalis

Referenced research area / frameworks

• NGS (next-generation sequencing)
• CTDNA
• MRD (minimal residual disease)
• PD-1 inhibitors / immunotherapy (Keytruda mentioned)

Referenced research/benchmarking organization

• Gartner / CEB (as mentioned)