How I Started to Heal After Doctors Gave Me 6 Months to Live
The Power of Belief
When I was first diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer, the doctors told me I had four to six months to live.
And I believed them. Doctors know best, right?
I carried those words with me everywhere — to bed, to the dinner table, every waking moment those words echoed in my head.
I remember one night, very early on, when I sat at the kitchen table with my wife, Buffy, trying to show her how to do our QuickBooks. We have a small production company in Los Angeles and I’d always done the books. But if I wasn’t going to be around, she needed to learn.
So I opened the computer and started to walk her through it…
Now, I don’t know about you and your spouse, but we’re not that good at teaching one another how to do ANYTHING.
But I was going to try…
“Here’s our list of clients. Here are our outstanding invoices.”
“So everything’s over here?”
“Until they’re paid. Then I put them over there.”
“Why do you put them over there? Couldn’t you keep them over here?”
“If I kept them over here I wouldn’t see them over there.”
“You wouldn’t need to see them over there if you kept them over here.”
This went on and on until finally…
I slammed the laptop shut.
“This is insane. By doing this, we’re expecting me to die. If I do, then so be it — you’ll figure it out. But until then, let’s act as if I’m going to live!”
And right there… our mood changed.
Because it was the first time since this whole thing began that our mindset started to shift.
It went from expecting me to die to the possibility I could live.
That was hopelessness talking. And it almost won.
But in that moment, I caught myself. I realized something important: the only thing I was believing was death. And if my body was ever going to heal, I had to start believing in life.
That was the night everything changed.
You Can’t Heal in Hopelessness
Here’s what I’ve learned: you can’t heal in hopelessness.
There isn’t room for both hopelessness and healing in the same space. One will crowd out the other.
That’s why belief had to be my first step. When I share my “Healing Recipe,” I always say belief is like the dough of the pizza. It’s the base. Without dough, there’s no pizza. Without belief, none of the other ingredients stick.
Science backs this up. Look at the placebo effect — people are given a sugar pill, but because they believe it’s medicine, their body responds as if it were. Tumors shrink. Pain decreases. Healing begins.
Belief literally changes biology.
And that’s why I say: before anything else, healing starts here.
How I Practiced Belief
A belief is just a thought you think over and over again.
So if you want to change the belief, you have to change the thought.
But let’s be real — how the hell do you do that when everyone around you, even your own doctor, is telling you otherwise?
You change the input.
You change the words you speak about yourself.
I know — when you wake up, you feel pain. But what if you labeled it strength instead?
At night, you feel sick. But what if you spoke healing instead?
That’s where a mantra comes in. An affirmation. A phrase you say over and over again.
I did. And I still do.
I am Strong.
I am Powerful.
I am Healthy.
I am Healed.
At first, it felt awkward. But I repeated it in the morning. I repeated it at night. I repeated it when fear crept in during the day.
Over time, those words reprogrammed me. My body started to follow where my mind was leading.
I also guarded what I allowed into my head. I turned off the news. I stopped feeding myself fear. Instead, I watched comedies, read books like Radical Remission, listened to meditations, and surrounded myself with stories of people who had healed.
It was like I was building a bubble — a healing bubble — where belief was protected and could grow.
Your Turn
So how do you start?
Here’s a simple recipe you can use today:
Write your mantra. Make it personal. Mine was, “I am strong. I am powerful. I am healthy. I am healed.” Yours might be, “I am calm. I am loved. I am healing.”
Repeat it daily. Morning, night, and any time fear shows up.
Collect evidence. Find stories of healing that prove what’s possible. Let those stories fuel your belief.
Guard your mind. Cut out negativity where you can. Feed your belief with positivity, laughter, faith, and hope.
It’s not easy. But it is possible.
My Invitation to You
Belief was my turning point. The doctors stabilized me with medicine, yes. But it was belief that allowed my body to step into healing.
So let me ask you:
👉 What would you dare to believe if you knew healing was possible for you?
Because healing is possible.
With belief,
Mark