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About

Andrea Schaffer Headshot AZ.jpeg
 Education & Certifications:

Certified Oncology Nutrition Consultant (ONC)

Oncology Nutrition Institute

Metabolic Terrain Advocate

Metabolic Terrain Institute of Health (MTIH)

Alison Gannett's Keto for Cancer Practitioner Program

Cancer Peace University

Supplement Academy

Functional Supplement Specialist

Restorative Wellness Practitioner Level 3

RWP 3

(Gastrointestinal Wellness, Hormone Health & Blood Chemistry)

Restorative Wellness Solutions

Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

FNTP

Nutritional Therapy Association

Courses with Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt

(ART 1 and 2, Applied Psycho-Neurobiology)

Holistic Health Coach

Institute for Integrative Nutrition

BA, Colgate University

Andrea's Story

Cancer touches us all. Whether we have it ourselves during our lifetime or someone we love has it, we are all affected by it. I am no different. The first time my mom had cancer, she was in her early 40s, about the same age that I am now. This was quite traumatic to my teenage world, but my mom would not be deterred from living her long, full life. She had travel to do (and still does!). Thanks to modern medicine and her steadfast will to overcome, she is still here with us today and I am incredibly grateful.  This inspires me to help my clients, family and friends to both avoid cancer as well as increase the chances that they can heal from it should it arise.

When I first started studying oncology nutrition, it was because of my mom, but it turns out that it may have been to prepare me for what was to come. 

 

In February 2023, I did a preventative full body MRI at a company called Prenuvo, and it found that I had a 2.3 by 2.4 cm mass in the right temporal lobe of my brain. About the size of a walnut. I had no idea, I was asymptomatic. It was a shock! I have been on a journey through the medical system since, culminating with surgery at Barrow Neurological in Phoenix, Arizona on April 5th, 2023. After surgery, I was released from the hospital and returned to mostly normal function remarkably fast. I credit that to the talents of my surgeon and all the work I did preparing for surgery. As soon as I found out about the tumor, as my training instructs, I immediately went on a therapeutic ketogenic diet (also known as therapeutic carbohydrate reduction or as I like to call it, SuperKeto!, which is very different from internet keto), and worked to mitigate any other contributing factors I could identify.  Two weeks after surgery, once pathology came in, we found out that it was a malignant grade 3 oligodendroglioma. While this was not good news, my surgeon luckily was able to remove the full tumor and we are utilizing my diet, while monitoring labs (and using them to know where I need to work on my health), to avoid recurrence. My goal is to avoid chemo and radiation as possible, due to my cancer being of the brain. 

Food has always played a central role in my life as a creative outlet, a health-transforming tool, and a source of joy. It is now something that may end up saving my life. 

I understand the large undertaking of radically changing diet and working hard on improving health because I am doing it too. Not only do I guide others, but I am walking the walk myself.

I am forever grateful to have the education and contacts in the holistic oncology world to help inform every health decision I make and what I recommend to my clients.

Here is a short clip of an interview I did shown on NBC Nightly News and the Today Show about the life saving potential of full body MRIs like the Prenuvo scan I got in 2023:

 

I was interviewed by Cindy Kennedy from the Metabolic Terrain Institute of Health (MTIH), Dr. Nasha Winters' non-profit that is revolutionizing cancer care. We spoke about how I utilized the Metabolic Approach to address my brain cancer and terrain.

 

 

My Prenuvo story was also included in the August 2024 issue of Vogue Magazine (linked to article photo below):​

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