Businesswoman takes raw approach to recovery

Provo - Shelley Abegg turned to a raw food diet after being diagnosed with cancer. At right is a biophotonic scanner that she uses to measure the levels of a person's antioxidant defense. She is running the test on a reporter. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

    The day Shelley Abegg was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, she started planning her funeral.
    The first priority for the single mother from Provo was making arrangements for her then 9-year-old son, Taylor.
    "I was shell shocked," Abegg, 47, said. "It was an emotional roller coaster. I had to stop planning my funeral and crying, and come up with a plan."
    That plan would eventually turn her life upside down.
    Frightened by the harsh side effects of chemotherapy, Abegg decided to go against her doctor's recommendations to undergo the drug regimen after her lumpectomy.
    "Chemotherapy obliterates your immune system," she said. "It's like playing Russian roulette."
    After much prayer and research, Abegg traveled to the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego to detoxify her body. During her three-week retreat, she discovered the importance of eating only raw foods to cleanse and nourish the body. The institute stresses a raw-food diet -- which has since become popular with Hollywood celebrities such as Demi Moore -- nutrition education, spiritual reawakening and positive mental exercises.
    When Abegg returned, she simplified her hectic life, working less at her mortgage business in favor of spending more time on herself and with Taylor. She focused on nutrition, prayer and a positive attitude.
    But she faced much criticism.
    "Here I was this capable, successful businesswoman and everyone was questioning my decision not to undergo chemo," she said. "Several people asked me if I was doing the right thing."
    Despite the speculation, Abegg pushed on in her quest to heal herself. She sought out everything she could get her hands on about raw food diets. But at the time, that lifestyle wasn't as trendy as it is today, so Abegg had few resources -- mostly books and Internet sites -- at her fingertips.
    A food aficionado, Abegg experimented with different fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and grains, and made wheat grass juice a staple of her diet.
    As the raw-food diet gained more attention, Abegg met fellow raw fooders and they exchanged recipes and held potluck luncheons.
    "We are not hippies or whackos," Abegg said. "We're normal, everyday people who believe you are what you eat."
    After a year on strictly raw foods, Abegg said she feels more energetic than ever and is mistaken for being much younger than she is.
    "People look at me and think I'm in my late 20s or 30s," said the former Miss Utah runner-up.
    After two normal mammograms, Abegg said she no longer worries that the cancer will return, because her body has been cleansed and is now getting the nutrients it needs.
    She plans to get a mammogram once a year, although some doctors recommend breast cancer patients get mammograms every six months for two years following the diagnosis.
    Although going raw takes immense dedication and is challenging, Abegg said the hassle is well worth it.
    "I was addicted to cooked food," she said. "I was eating so much because the food wasn't nourishing me. The food was dead. Now I eat and can go six to eight hours. What's really exciting is the change in my moods. I feel so vivacious."
    chamilton@sltrib.com