When doctors told Pele Kama her breast cancer had become metastatic and she had anywhere from four to ten months to live, she started making a series of bold choices, the first of which was perhaps the boldest of all. 

“They pretty much said, ‘These are your options; you have to have chemo and also surgery.’ And I'm like, ‘I’m not doing it.’ It was something in my gut. I'm stubborn. And to be frank, I love my titties. I still have them. I didn't go forward with chemo.” 

That was ten years ago. She is now cancer-free, careful not to use the word “cured” as it’s not scientifically-approved language, but in remission and, again, without any cancer detectable in her body. “A few years before I was diagnosed, my uncle and grandmother  were living with cancer. As soon as they took chemo, they died. So I was like, ‘I'm gonna pay attention to what happened to my now-ancestors. Both of them were living fine until the chemo. I just trusted my gut and said, ‘No, I'm going to go different routes.’”

A native of Oakland, a community very much part of the Northern Californian philosophy to life that prioritizes clean eating and holistic healing, the self-described “tree-hugging Californian” Kama tells BET she did a lot of study, research, and investigating, ultimately embracing a field called Human Design. While it’s important to note that Kama is not a doctor qualified to give medical advice, she says this approach worked for her because it assessed her genetic makeup and crafted an approach tailored to her, including foods to eat and which to avoid. “It was the least resistance that I've ever had,” she says. “ I had far more resistance, on a mental, spiritual and physical level, to allopathic medicine and the [big corporate hospitals] and all these other places. But when I was treated by these naturopathic doctors and so forth, the path was effortless. It was as if my body surrendered to the process way easier.” 

Related: Understanding Breast Cancer's Disproportionate Impact on Black Women: A Doctor's Perspective

The other bold choices Kama made helped her heal, too. She says that, prior to the official diagnosis, she was in a marriage that wasn’t working, wasn’t eating well, and putting everyone else’s needs ahead of her own. She spent years ignoring major signs like fatigue and even pain in her lymph nodes before finally getting checked out––one of the reasons Black women die from cancer more than other groups. The diagnosis lit a fire in her; she ended the marriage and moved to Utah where the slower pace and high altitude put her in a different state of mind. “I just  transformed my life,” she says. “That was the best decision. I felt my body just fall into place. I let so much go. I had to pay attention to me, and put all my focus into survival.” Having outlived the estimates for her expiration date by a decade and counting, it’s fair to say her instincts worked. 

Kama says that many of the lifestyle circumstances she was in before her diagnosis are familiar to a lot of Black women: putting their needs last, prioritizing work and family obligations over self-care, and ignoring pains that might be warning signs. Her advice to others? “Trust yourself first and foremost,” she says. “This homogenized society has gotten into Black women's heads, and let’s be real, the medical industry is not so good with Black women. They don't have the best reputation for how they treat Black women. Remember, you're the one that's in your body. So self-love, self-care, and prioritizing her life and decisions are important. Because if you don't prioritize yourself and your health, what’s the point?”