TESTIMONIALS FOR THE CANCER DEFENSE PROGRAM
Over these many years, Marisa has continued to inspire me with her passionate commitment to her own healing and her selfless dedication to helping other cancer patients and their families.
— Mitchell Gaynor, M.D., Founder and Director of Gaynor Integrative Oncology
Author of The Healing Power of Sound, Dr. Gaynor’s Cancer Prevention Program and Healing Essence
I have known Marisa Harris for more than ten years. I met her when she was first diagnosed with cancer and have followed her healing journey ever since. I never cease to admire her courage, intelligence, passion, and persistence. She brings these same qualities to her coaching and teaching, allowing her to help others hone in on exactly what they need in order to heal and thrive.
— Elizabeth Lesser, Cofounder, Omega Institute
Author of The New York Times bestseller, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and The Seeker’s Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure
If someone would have told me that with a diagnosis of metastasized breast cancer will come the happiest and most authentically lived days of my life, I would have said that they are out of their minds. Meeting Marisa and deciding to participate in both her group and individual coaching resulted in my living a life that I hadn't imagined possible. She asked me a question that I had long since forgotten to consider. "Julianna, what would you love?'' She asked me not once, not twice, but many times. Finally, I admitted, "I'd love to dance again with my husband." Sounds trivial, but it wasn't to me. "I'd love to spend more time focusing on me, instead of my sons and my husband. I love them dearly, but that seems to be my life. "I'd love to create the most beautiful garden. And advise other women who would love to do the same." And I did. My husband and I danced to our favorite songs from years and years ago. I got out of the kitchen and out of the laundry room--making space for them to make their snacks, lunches and do their wash. And, I invited friends and family, and my dear coach, Marisa, to come the next year to enjoy one of the most beautiful gardens in Connecticut. I also had tools and practices from Marisa that minimized the side effects of the chemotherapy. She helped me make decisions about doctors and practitioners that came from my truth and not authorities. She helped me from the very beginning step into a sense of well-being and confidence that my life would be wonderful regardless of the statistics and evidence. Marisa is a healer.
— Julianna Iorio (breast cancer)
When I met Marisa Harris at Omega Institute and heard her story of how she survived from and thrived with Pancreatic Cancer, I knew that I had to work with her as I confronted Stage IV Lung Cancer. After just 4 sessions, our work together has made a huge difference in my life. Marisa's warmth, positivity and dedication are extraordinary. She has inspired my commitment to get completely well again, and to motivate other lung cancer patients by speaking out as an advocate. Working with her has also strengthened my confidence that my novel, The Realist, which will be published on December 5, will climb the bestseller list and be the first of many books I write.
– Sarah Coleman
I was referred to Marisa shortly after I learned my Stage 3 breast cancer had become Stage 4. And what a fortunate moment for me! Marisa is a profoundly gifted counselor and spiritual guide who has been my mentor for the past three years. Her authenticity, guidance and example have been key factors in my own healing, both physical and spiritual. She has been with me all the way, through my experiences with metastases to brain, liver, bones and lungs, through issues of pain and fatigue, depression and moments of hopelessness. Marisa has never "given up" on me, instead remaining unfaltering in her belief that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment, and that every moment in our lives presents an opportunity for growth.
Through the use of instructive tapes, study programs, books, meditations, journaling and weekly discussions, Marisa has guided me on my journey to personal healing. She has shown me how to craft a future that reflects my unique personal vision and live into it now. Her message has always been one of faith, belief, authenticity and love, both self-love and gratitude for every moment of life.
Her methods are gentle and unequivocal. She has never pushed me into any action, rather offered me many opportunities to experience life in new ways. I am now and will continue to be forever indebted to Marisa Harris for her guidance, insight, and unfailing faith and love.
– Valerie Reeve
Last fall, I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. I knew that healing would require more than chemotherapy or surgery. I also knew that I wanted to play a key role in healing myself. By serendipity, I got Marisa's number and I called her right away. After my first conversation with her, I knew she was the right person to help me. Her wisdom, her insight, her knowledge, and her heart have made my journey a transformative experience. Each session with her has helped me along the way. My work with her has helped my body tolerate chemotherapy in an incredible way and my scans and blood work results are excellent. But most of all, the tools she has given me have helped me become a much better and happier person. I am so blessed to have Marisa in my life. A lot of people experience a cancer diagnosis as one of the darkest times of their life. Marisa has helped me turn this diagnose into an amazing opportunity for personally growth.
– Juliette Gimon
Marisa Harris asks questions that open doors that put us on the path of finding one’s essence. She gives us the tools for a life of joy and healing. Through her coaching, adversity becomes a meaningful growth experience. Her insights are profound.
– Regina Axelrod, Ph.D., Chairperson, Department of Political Science, Adelphi University (Breast Cancer)
Marisa Harris shares with her clients her unique understanding of how best to cope with the shock of diagnosis, the rigors of treatment, and the existential challenge of living with cancer. A remarkable long-term survivor of pancreatic cancer, Marisa has honed her skills as a compassionate listener, counselor, and educator of cutting-edge cancer therapies. She gives cancer patients and their families a bounty of knowledge and empowerment. By her example, Marisa Harris is nothing less than a model of resilience and a harbinger of hope.
— Henry Dreher, Director of Cancer Consultation Services
Author of Your Defense Against Cancer, The Immune Power Personality and Mind-Body Unity: A New Vision for Mind-Body Science & Medicine
Marisa’s wisdom, experience, compassion and warmth have played an enormous role in my ability deal with my health challenges and the accompanying fear. She has also helped me identify some long-submerged themes that had kept me from fully experiencing the life I should be having. Because of her counsel, I have made significant changes, dealing more positively with medical issues, ridding myself of toxic relationships and moving on in my creative life, as well.
– Phyllis Mulhado, Writer (Diagnosis squamous cell carcinoma and paraproteinanemia, a blood plasma disorder and pre-cursor to multiple myeloma)
Marisa’s wisdom, experience, compassion and warmth have played an enormous role in my ability deal with my health challenges and the accompanying fear. She has also helped me identify some long-submerged themes that had kept me from fully experiencing the life I should be having. Because of her counsel, I have made significant changes, dealing more positively with medical issues, ridding myself of toxic relationships and moving on in my creative life, as well.
– Paulette Crowther, 53 years old, former Associate Director of Communication & Public Affairs at Cardoza Law School, currently full time student Graduate School of Landscape Design, Columbia University (anal cancer)
Before I met Marisa, I saw my cancer diagnosis as a devastating blow to the life I had built for myself and my family. I was afraid of how the diagnosis would impede the life I felt I should be living.
But after 12 weeks of working with Marisa, I now see my cancer diagnosis as an opportunity to reinvent myself. Marisa has shown me that while I can’t choose not to have the diagnosis, I can choose how I respond to it. I have learned to approach each day with happiness, gratitude, and love for being alive and for the people in my life. have learned to accept and even embrace uncertainty, and to be patient and love myself. I believe in my future and am exitedfor all the wonderous experiences that await me.
– Anonymous
When I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I didn’t know what to do. It’s an experience that can made me feel alone and hopeless. After reading about the survival statistics associated with a stage IV diagnosis, I realized I needed something positive to help me through this. That’s when my wife and I searched for survival stories. One such story was of Marisa Harris. In the article we read we discovered that she was giving back to the cancer community through her coaching practice.
After connecting with Marisa it was clear to me she was that beacon of hope I needed. As a result of my coaching with her for the last ten months, I know myself better - I have changed my perspective and outlook on life for the better, I have improved my diet, I exercise more and I have a better connection with my family. Most importantly, in large part due to her coaching, I truly believe I can beat this cancer diagnosis. There’s nothing more important than that belief.
– Connor Page, diagnosed at age 39. Father of two boys, ages 2 and 4, and a husband of a loving wife.
As a stage IV lung cancer patient who has worked with Marisa for over a year, I can tell you with complete confidence that Marisa is who you want on your team if you are dealing with a life-threatening illness. I have never met anyone as inspirational as Marisa - ever.
Marisa has a way of looking at issues in ways that had never occurred to me, reframing the way I think about them, and then developing concrete steps I can take. Her advice is always spot on. She includes nuggets of wisdom in our sessions that stay with me constantly throughout every day and give me the mental tools I need to deal with every challenging situation that comes my way. After a call with Marisa I always feel better, and more energized.
She guides me through every aspect of my life from top to bottom, because, as she has taught me, it's all connected. Mind, body, relationships, diet, exercise, and more - it's all about boosting the immune system and creating a life that is not merely good, but extraordinary. Before I met Marisa, my mind was mostly filled with anxiety. A year after working with her, it's mostly filled with happiness and gratitude, no matter how challenging the situation. I have learned from Marisa not only how to avoid getting overly stressed about the challenges life brings my way, but to go a step further and be grateful for them because of the opportunities and other positives they bring. As shocking as it may be to say, as a result of working with Marisa I no longer see my diagnosis as a negative - instead it's been the best thing that ever happened to me. Marisa taught me to embrace it as an opportunity to reinvent everything about our lives. At her inspiration, we overhauled our lives from top to bottom, including a move across the country that has proven to be exactly right for us. I've transformed from being fixated on the stressors of every day and constantly delaying happiness to later, to being constantly happy and grateful for what I have, *now*. And my wife is happy now, as well. Marisa saved both of our lives.
My work with Marisa centers on drafting a vision of the future I want and developing a knowledge that it will happen, thereby actually causing it to happen now via the placebo effect and its powerful healing powers. Combining this work with Marisa with traditional cancer treatment has led to incredible results. As I write this, I am realizing that the vision for the future that Marisa had me write down a year ago has already come to be, at her inspiration. I am happy, and no matter that the doctors still call me "stage IV," I am healthy - the tumors are gone from my scans with any remaining cancer microscopic, at most. If it's still there at all, it won't be for long. I am alive, happy and healthy because of Marisa.
– Daniel, age 55, father of two daughters, ages 11 and 13, and husband of a loving wife
I have been diagnosed with cancer three times before my 50th birthday, the first two times with relative ease – malignant melanoma at age 23, and a double mastectomy at age 45. At age 48, however, it was different: I had to undergo chemotherapy for a lobular breast cancer tumor 6.5 cm long.
It was a catastrophe in my mind. I had wild fears at the thought of a blood test and a drip for EIGHTEEN chemo sessions. Other injections were needed to bring on menopause, keep my white blood cell count normal, etc. I could not maintain my equipoise between believing that chemo was the route to health and my complete and utter dread of it. I was told repeatedly that I had to have a positive attitude to get well, and simultaneously let in the things that I feared, in order to heal. Instead, I was dancing with my devil and letting it dictate the rhythms of my response to the treatment – until a friend recommended that I call a cancer and life coach in New York.
Her name was Marisa. That was all I knew. She lived thousands of miles away from my home in Johannesburg, South Africa, but from the first time I heard her voice on the phone, she sounded very close by. The most immediate comfort came from the fact that she had been through cancer herself – a cancer far more serious than my own. She had travelled the course and beaten the odds. That immediately gave her a head start as far as my own battle was concerned.
But it was much more than her shared experience of an illness that made me feel like she was the right person to help me. Within the first thirty minutes of contact, Marisa had started giving me the tools to navigate my way through my life crisis. The first and important and enduring insight that she gave me was that we are completely responsible for every experience in our life. We create these experiences by the words we speak, the thoughts we feel, and the attitudes we adopt. She showed me that I had to take control and become the master of my fears and my destiny. She expertly got me to visualize being in the Chemo room, feeling empowered and letting the treatment in. If I were to write the script that I have learned through my work with Marisa, it would read, in essence, like this:
“I am willing to release the pattern within me that has created my condition of deep fear for injections and the treatment I am receiving. I am stepping out of the victim role. I am no longer helpless. I acknowledge my own power and can choose to use it positively. I love and accept myself exactly as I am.”
Marisa is an empathetic listener. She doesn’t just listen like most therapists I had been to. She has taken me to an entirely new place by sharing a perspective on life that is both inspiring and authentic. It has brought me much peace and Joy that I never could have imagined.
I am now writing this testimonial halfway through my chemo sessions. Instead of living in disharmony with what I am going through, Marisa has helped me to embrace my life and see the opportunities that this difficult situation presents me with. I will always be eternally grateful for having picked up the phone all those months ago.
– A woman with breast cancer
