Editor's Note: We are saddened to note that Ann passed away in January 2024, more than 30 years after being diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
Ann Fonfa was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 1993. She was suffering from extreme Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, still not recognized as an illness today. She avoided chemotherapy, hormonal and radiation treatments using surgery and natural strategies to survive.
Told she was stage IV in 1997, Ann added personalized Chinese herbal prescriptions to her complex complementary protocol. In 2019, Ann was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma and is again using Chinese herbal medicine as well as monoclonal antibodies.
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In 1999 Ann founded the Annie Appleseed Project, an all-volunteer cancer nonprofit sharing evidence-based information on complementary therapies and integrative oncology. She is well-known for moving awareness forward and has spoken at many conferences and events. Her work continues to educate and inform people with cancer, as well as, those in the oncology field.
The Annie Appleseed Project hosts an annual Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer conference featuring patient panels and medical practitioners from around the world. Ann also advocates for male breast cancer and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Listen to Ann's story and others like it here