Tag: Brain Tumor

A New Trick For Brain Tumor Survivor & Pro BMX Rider, Josh Perry

July 21, 2016

“My experience led me to become a Holistic Health Coach – focusing on nutrition as the path to better health and well-being”

Thrilling ups and downs, rapid turns and hard crashes are all part of life. Sometimes things take a smooth, predictable approach and other times you get caught in a tailspin from out of nowhere that slams you hard on the concrete. It’s not really about how hard you fall, but more about how quickly you are willing to get up and take another shot. Just ask Josh Perry…

Today Josh is a happy, healthy 27-year-old man with his whole life ahead of him. Six years ago, shortly after achieving a lifelong goal of becoming a professional BMX athlete, he received his first brain tumor diagnosis.

Josh had a meningioma, a benign tumor that caused intense headaches and significantly impaired vision. His tumor was successfully removed through an open craniotomy, an invasive surgical procedure that requires an opening of the skull. His recovery was slow but complete and within two months Josh was back on the BMX circuit. He felt he’d been given a second chance and took advantage of every opportunity to compete, travel, perform and give back to the community.

Two years later during his yearly check-up, an MRI showed two new tumors at the original cancer site. Josh felt his world grind to a halt for the second time. The optimism he’d built following his first diagnosis, surgery and recovery were squashed. Josh knew that there had to be an alternative to invasive brain surgery and after the harsh reality of a second diagnosis set in, he committed to finding another way. Following extensive Internet research and discussions with his surgeon, Josh learned about and decided on Gamma Knife® radiosurgery. With this non-invasive approach, beams of radiation are precisely delivered to specific areas of the brain without surgically entering the skull.

“The kind of SRS that I had is called Gamma Knife and it can be used treat areas deep areas of the brain or areas that are close to critical parts of the brain that control the spinal cord and our ability to see and hear.”

One week after Gamma Knife radiosurgery Josh was once again at the helm of his BMX bike. He reported the procedure to be painless and similar to getting an MRI, only shorter. In addition to continuing to compete on the BMX circuit, Josh is channeling his experiences and his newly earned certification as a holistic health coach towards broad-scale health awareness programs and campaigns.

As one of a handful of people to have survived three separate brain tumors, Josh believes it is his mission to help educate people with brain tumors about their options. Nearly 78,000 new cases of primary brain tumors (including cancerous and non-cancerous tumors) were diagnosed last year, and nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. alone are living with primary brain and central nervous system tumors.

Check out Josh’s blog Daily Brainstorms to read more about his story, see some cool BMX videos and read about his newfound love for sauerkraut and kombucha.

Tips from Josh: never take your life or health for granted

  • Despite the challenges of my brain tumor experience, it taught me an invaluable lesson: Just because I am young and athletic doesn’t mean nothing bad can’t happen to me. Life and health are precious and you can’t take them for granted. This new mindset led me to think more and more about healthy living, and more specifically, healthy life choices, healthy nutrition and a positive mental attitude.
  • In February 2014, I enrolled in the world’s largest nutrition program, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. A year later, I completed the program to earn a certification as a Holistic Health Coach, enabling me to help others achieve their goals to improve and maintain their health and wellbeing.
  • I want to live the life I dreamed of while helping others to do the same and to become as healthy as possible. I also wanted to show others I’m no different than them – in the sense that we all possess the power to overcome adversity in our lives. I am living proof that anyone can achieve their goals when they put their minds to it, nourish their body and think positively.

-Josh P.

ESPN & X-Games Feature

Friday, March 3, 2017.

“Tufts Medical Center in Boston just called with my latest MRI results: There are two new masses on the right side of my brain the size of peas (about 8mm in size from residual growth), where the surgery was done. My options are to follow it and see if it changes in growth, MRI no sooner than six months, Gamma Knife radiosurgery or full-on open cranial surgery. Haha, yay.”

Written by, Brian Tunney

http://xgames.espn.com/xgames/bmx/article/19197792/josh-perry-quest-progress

“The message arrives in text form from Josh Perry, a 27-year-old professional BMX rider about to enter the 2017 competition season. A week before, we had spoke on the phone for an hour about his life as a professional BMX rider currently living and training in Cary, North Carolina, and how he was aiming to push himself into a larger role as an advocate for nutritional health and positive thinking, working with brands outside of BMX to help expose larger audiences to the passion that he’s devoted his life to.

A week later, the above message arrives. Ordinarily, the news has the potential to derail an entire day or year, let alone positive ambitions for the future. But Perry isn’t like anyone I’ve ever met before. On top of all of the common injuries that accompany the life of a pro-BMXer, this isn’t Perry’s first experience with masses in his brain. In fact, this is his third time.

Perry quickly follows up with another text message: “Just rode a morning session and rode just as well as I’ve been riding. Nothing has changed if I don’t allow it to.” This from a guy who has already had his skull cut open to remove a large tumor, while doctors stopped the flow of blood to his brain through an artery in his groin.

“If I didn’t hit my head riding, I’d be dead.”

Perry’s history with brain tumors began in March of 2010.

Perry was attempting to learn a new BMX Park trick on a quarterpipe when he over-rotated and landed off the bike, crashing down on his shoulder and head. Although he was wearing a helmet, Perry decided to undergo an MRI because of the fear of traumatic brain injury. But this wasn’t Perry’s first bout with injury as a BMX professional. There were lingering, unanswered issues in his recent medical history. Throughout that past year, he had been experiencing periods of intense headaches coupled with bouts of temporary blindness. After repeated doctor visits and an attempt by doctors to get Perry on pain killers, nothing had been diagnosed.

Essentially, it took a BMX crash (the exact outcome Perry aimed to avoid) to get him to undergo a brain scan and discover the source of his symptoms.

But the outcome of the examination was not anything that he had expected. “I wanted to get an MRI to make sure my brain wasn’t swelling and the doctors told me ‘Yeah, you have a large mass that shouldn’t be in your brain and it’s a tumor, and we’re not sure it’s cancerous or benign but it needs to come out.'”

Perry was 21 at the time. Afraid and alone, Perry’s mind began to race. “First thing I thought of was ‘I’m dead.’ The second thing I thought of was riding BMX,” says Perry. With the doctor still speaking to Perry, he stood up and walked out of the office. “I remember them trying to stop me. I wasn’t running or anything, I was just zoned out, dealing with that thought of fearing for my life, and also sad that I wasn’t going to be able to ride anymore. All I thought about was riding.”

Perry was diagnosed with a meningioma, a tumor that forms from the meninges layer of the brain. His brain had two of them, growing around the main artery on the left side of his brain. The tumor was also pushing down against his optic nerve, causing his vision to blur. He was given two choices — have surgery to remove the tumor, or die. “The tumor was too large, and growing too fast, that any other treatment wouldn’t do the job,” says Perry. “It wasn’t a choice.”

At the time, Perry was coming into his own as a respected and renowned BMX Park professional. He was sponsored by BMX brands such as Eastern Bikes and Demolition and was riding in national competitions such as ESPN’s X-Games and Mountain Dew’s Dew Tour. After moving to his adopted hometown of Greenville, N.C. several years earlier (legendary BMX home to Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist and more), Perry was beginning to court media interests and bigger opportunities within the realm of professional BMX riding. “I was living my dream,” he says.

“That crash changed everything.”

Immediately, doctors scheduled surgery for him to have the tumors removed on April 16, 2010. And in the days that followed his diagnosis, Perry experienced a range of emotions that dealt with his own mortality and approach to life. “I felt so fearful, sad and alone because I had no one to relate to,” says Perry. “I was never going to ride again, and if I did, I figured I wouldn’t be able to get back into it fully for a year, and then, I was also thinking, ‘Oh, I might die, this is crazy.'”

Then, almost as if Perry’s inherent BMX thought process kicked in, a change occurred. In the same way that he had tackled and mastered infinitely impossible BMX tricks over time, he was not going to let his diagnosis hijack his life. Fear and sorrow took a back seat as a sense of positivity overwhelmed himself. “I started to shift my mindset,” he says. “I looked at research, statistics, rehab and it pushed me to be positive. I kept visualizing riding, I soaked it all up and turned that negativity into fuel for me to be positive and believe that I was going to ride again.”

Days later, Perry entered Duke University Hospital to undergo a four-hour craniotomy to remove the tumors. He was required to sign legal paperwork stating that the hospital was not liable for his death, additionally acknowledging the dangers that came with the surgery, including stroke and paralysis.

“The last thing I remember when I was falling asleep was telling my friends and family that I love them, but I was just thinking about riding again and being alive,” says Perry. Over six hours later, the surgery was completed, and tests on the tumor later revealed that it was benign. But the surgery was not without complications. Because of the location of the tumor, the surgeon needed to invest extra time into precisely cutting it out from the artery it was embedded around.

Later that day, Perry awoke following surgery. “I came out, I could see, hear, move, and thought, ‘Alright, I’m not paralyzed. Alright, cool.'”

The surgery was a success. And three months later, Perry flew to the U.K. to compete in an international BMX Park competition dubbed NASS. He placed ninth in the Pro class. “I was pretty pumped,” he says.

“It’s a miracle that I also didn’t get diabetes.”

At the end of 2010, with checkups still underway, a BMX friend recommended a Netflix documentary to Perry entitled “Food Matters.” It clicked for him, linking diet and fitness to the loose approach of BMX professionals, which inordinately involves unhealthy doses of late nights and partying punctuated by fast food meals and heavy amounts of sugar. Again, Perry’s mindset began to shift. By definition, professional BMX riders are almost encouraged to avoid being termed “athlete,” invoking lifestyle over the sport and a no-rules approach to riding/training. But Perry was beginning to connect the dots, identifying how intrinsically linked his diet, fitness, and riding were. Slowly, he began to wean himself off soda and fast food. “I don’t eat that much sugar in a month now compared with what I was eating in a day,” says Perry. “I was partying a lot, eating fast food, drinking soda, young and living on a budget, all of it was horrible.”

Two years later, following scores of follow-up exams, healthy BMX competition placings and the chance to design a signature product with then-sponsor Eastern Bikes, Perry was in India performing BMX demonstrations when his mother reached out to him. A recent MRI had revealed two new masses growing in the front and rear of his brain. “I talked to my surgeon, and he recommended Gamma Knife Radiation treatment,” says Perry. “But after that second diagnosis, that’s when I really got into holistic health and nutrition, the biology of food and how it interacts with your body. And how your mindset can change the chemical makeup of your body and your brain.”

Perry’s first Gamma Knife Radiosurgery happened on Nov. 22, 2012. The process, which Perry likens to an MRI, is a type of radiation therapy used to treat tumors in the brain, using specialized equipment to focus about 200 tiny beams of radiation on a tumor or other target with acute accuracy. “The radiation doesn’t damage the tissues it’s going through, but when triangulated, it’s powerful enough to make an impact, like the Power Rangers,” says Perry.

He drove home that same day, a month after winning the annual Trans Jam Pro BMX contest in North Carolina.

“Living with three brain tumors, overcoming brain tumors, being positive and healthy and fit, all of these things are so much bigger than BMX.”

In 2014, following a run of respectable contest placings, the opportunity to design a signature bicycle with Eastern, and a run of healthy check-ups, Perry enrolled in a course with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a holistic health coach, completing the course a year later. “It was a lot of understanding that there’s a good, better and best approach to everything,” says Perry. “But the most important thing I learned was how high blood sugar levels, or consuming sugar at all … how toxic it is for your brain.”

In a sport surrounded by athletes endorsed by energy drink sponsors and processed food brands, Perry’s approach to nutrition is unique, but he aims to change that perception. “I wish more health-oriented companies would get involved in BMX and that more riders would take their health more seriously, and also realize that they have a responsibility to kids to show that,” says Perry.

Through BMX clinics, a website dubbed Daily Brainstorms, and social media channels, Perry is doing all that and more. He added new sponsors to his list of endorsements, including Garden of Life Whole Food Supplements, and he is helping to change the perception of the BMX pro as a lazy, junk food-fueled party animal. He’s starting a new YouTube series titled “Quest To Progress.” And when fellow BMX pro Scotty Cranmer suffered a traumatic brain injury in October of 2016, Perry was one of the first to reach out and send him literature concerning brain health.

In a sport mired by concussions, injuries and shortened careers due to lack of care for the body, Perry has emerged as one of the sport’s first advocates of brain health, while continuing to advance his own riding and goals both in and out of the sport. Following the completion of the 2016 competition season, Perry finished 10th overall in the UCI x Fise World Cup Series and is preparing to take on the 2017 competition season across Europe and the U.S.

But first, he’s scheduled for another round of Gamma Knife Radiotherapy. “The new brain tumors make me a little uneasy, seeing as I was told the original tumor was benign, yet new masses are appearing in other areas,” says Perry. “But I see things different now. I’m trying to help people, by sharing my experience and what it’s led to learning about nutrition and fitness and positive thinking.”

“And, more than ever, I’m still living.”  Perry’s second round of Gamma Knife Radiotherapy begins later this year, and he’s begun to take on speaking engagements to discuss his life experience. He’s also now rounding the seven-year mark since his initial diagnosis and surgery.

Josh Perry isn’t just living, he’s seizing.”

-Josh P.

How Stereotactic Radiosurgery Saved My Life

I had the recent opportunity to share my story in my local home paper, The Cape Cod Times! This is so special to me and I am excited to share with all of you.

By Josh Perry

Posted Dec 12, 2016, at 2:01 AM

Eight years ago, at the age of 18, I reached my goal as a professional BMX athlete. I had won my first pro contest, I had ridden in the X-games for the first time, I was approaching my third year as a professional on the Dew Tour, and I felt as though I was on top of the world. And then my world turned upside down.

I hit my head while riding one day and had to get an MRI, which revealed a benign, meningioma brain tumor that had invaded the left side of my brain. It was growing into my brain from a layer of my skull called the meninges and it was pushing down on my optic nerve. As it turns out, the tumor was the cause of the debilitating headaches – which my doctors and I thought were migraines – that I had been suffering from for some time. In the spring of 2010, I had to have my skull cut open to remove it. The six-hour surgery was successful, and five weeks later I was well enough to get back on my bike. And for almost two years, my life was back to normal.

In the fall of 2012, though, I faced a setback. An MRI showed two tumors the size of blueberries growing back. Because they were located in a very dangerous spot close to my main artery, surgery would have been too risky. I knew there had to be an alternative, and after the harsh reality of what I was facing set in, I made it my new goal to find another way. Through research and close consultations with my surgeon, I learned about a form of radiotherapy called stereotactic radiosurgery.

This cutting-edge technology – the concept for which was developed nearly 50 years ago and which has treated more than one million patients afflicted with brain tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders – has a high success rate for tumors like mine. In this approach, beams of radiation are focused precisely on small targets in the brain, which means that the beams converge on the diseased tissue or tumor without harming healthy tissue around it.

I decided to go for it. In my case, the treatment, which was silent and practically painless, involved a machine that looks similar to an MRI machine and involved three sessions at 15 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes. No time in the hospital, no side effects of note, I was back on my bike in a week, and I felt like nothing ever happened. A follow-up MRI scan in November 2013 showed a slight decrease in one of the tumors. The following year’s MRI showed even better news, with both tumors now decreasing. Subsequent MRIs have continued to show progress, and while I may never be tumor free, the treatment I received not only means I am alive, but that I can keep on living the life I want to live.

 If I had been diagnosed with this condition 20 years ago, I probably would not be alive today. Instead, I am living a physically, mentally and spiritually fulfilling life because of the innovative advances in medical technology.

Radiotherapy’s reach and effectiveness have grown by leaps and bounds, and it can now be delivered with previously unimaginable precision, reducing side effects while minimizing the time patients like me spend undergoing the procedure. As a result, radiotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for tumors of all types, both cancerous and noncancerous.

I am a true believer in the power of positive thinking, and I would say my journey is the epitome – literally and figuratively – of the theory of “mind over matter.”

Josh Perry, formerly of Dennis, lives in Cary, North Carolina.

-Josh P.

The MRI That Saved My Life

 

The MRI That Saved My Life

Josh Perry, Pro BMX Rider

It is said—mostly to scare young riders into taking appropriate safety precautions—that the likelihood that a motorcycle rider will have an accident is 100 percent.

In my career as a professional bicycle motocross (BMX) bike rider, I can tell you that not only is there a 100 percent chance you will fall sometimes, but there is almost a 100 percent chance that you will fall every time you ride. Sometimes, though, falling can be a good thing. It was only after a serious slam that I received the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that detected a brain tumor and saved my life.

I grew up in Massachusetts, where I first started riding bikes with my friends. We used bikes for more than just transportation, and soon I was learning how to do jumps and other tricks. By the time I was 17 years old, I had grown comfortable doing backflips out of quarter pipes and over box jumps. I needed to be closer to the best riders to continue to progress in the sport, so I relocated to Greenville, North Carolina, where I had access to the best BMX training facilities.

No matter how good you are, you always fall. At 17, you can bounce back from a fall that would take you out for weeks at age 37. Constantly being plagued by minor injuries forces you to learn to be in touch with your body—for example, knowing whether you have to favor one leg over the other to absorb the impact of a jump. When I started having migraines, it was only natural that I would attribute them to riding However, I didn’t know how to compensate for this degree of pain.

In October 2009, the headaches became severe. I am not a medical professional, but I had done some research and decided I would need an MRI or a computed tomography (CT) scan to determine the cause of my headaches. Unfortunately, the doctors told me multiple times that I did not need a scan and gave me painkillers instead. I knew they were merely a mask and that my body couldn’t handle the drugs, so I never took them.

I had to take many days off because of the pain, but I never stopped riding. That all changed in March 2010, when I hit my head and was knocked unconscious. It turns out that I really did need an MRI, which I finally got, only much later than I wanted it.

The MRI results showed one benign meningioma tumor taking up the entire left portion of my brain. Bingo! Now I knew why I was getting those headaches. Upon receiving the diagnosis, I was afraid. The doctors explained to me that if I wanted to live, I would have to undergo surgery. Later, I would find out that if I had been given an MRI a year earlier, my doctors could have performed gamma knife radiosurgery instead of a much more invasive surgery.

I had surgery on April 16, 2010. The procedure that was supposed to last 4.5 hours actually lasted for six because the tumor was located near the main artery and my optic nerve, in the area that controls motor skills. Fortunately, the surgeon did a superb job.

To this day, medical imaging remains essential to my quality of life.

Six months after the initial surgery, an MRI showed that two areas of the tumor had started growing back. In November 2012, I underwent gamma knife radiosurgery. Six months after that, another MRI showed that the tumors were stable. In November 2013, an MRI showed that one of the tumors was slightly decreasing in size, and by October of the following year, both were shrinking. Today, I continue to live with two brain tumors and undergo annual scans; most important, I feel good and am back on my bike.

People often ask me whether being diagnosed with brain tumors is the worst thing that has happened in my life. It was certainly one of the most shocking and scary experiences, but not the worst. To the contrary, in some ways, it was one of the best things that could have happened to me because it taught me to be more in tune with my body. As a result, I am now healthier than I have ever been. I just wish I’d had a scan earlier.

At the time of my diagnosis, I appeared to be the pinnacle of health and wellness, but medical imaging helped my doctors detect the invisible. Thanks to the benefits of medical innovation, I have a new lease on life and am able to compete at the highest level in my sport. People should not have to face a catastrophe to get the right scan at the right time.

-Josh P.

You Are What You Eat

Wow,  over 7,500 words later and part 4 of my story is here!

Make sure to read part 1, part 2, and part 3 before continuing any further. 🙂

I thank you for your interest and support in reading about my story. When I started this blog I originally just wanted to write something to celebrate it being 5 years since my brain surgery in 2010.

It’s crazy to think back to a time in your life when you thought your life may actually end. I know it’s inevitable and that we are all going to die one day but when your 21,  just starting your dream career and loving life, this can be very traumatic and life altering. If you’ve been reading along then you know that I took the experience of having surgery for a large meningioma brain tumor taking up the left section of my brain (followed by Gamma Knife radiation 2 years later for 2 smaller brain tumors) and turned it into fuel for living and advocating a healthy, happy, and positive life.

I left off in part 3 with my return to BMX after Gamma Knife radiation treatments at the end of 2012.  A follow-up MRI scan (6 months later in May of 2013) from the Gamma Knife radiation treatment showed the 2 tumors to be stabilized. They said that this is great news and that people live normal lives after Gamma Knife with their tumors being stabilized.

The next scan in November of 2013 showed a slight decrease in one of the tumors. The following years MRI in October of 2014 showed even better news, both areas were now decreasing! I was so stoked but it’s weird at times to think about having tumors in your skull still. It’s a pretty wild and unexplainable feeling, especially when your ride BMX for a living.

It’s driven me crazy at times with different aspects of my life including, diet, health, family, friends, and BMX. Over time, this led me to go crazy with my diet and lifestyle. I would try to be “perfect” in order to keep the tumors from growing back. I would begin to dive into nutrition and biology for a more in-depth understanding of the effects that food has on our bodies.

All that I learned about sugar (artificial and natural), chemicals (flavorings, colors, stabilizers, etc.), preservatives, and GMO’s along with their ability to fuel diseases, scared me beyond belief. It made me a stress case and definitely negatively affected areas of my life, like my relationship with Charlotte. I have since gained an enormous amount of perspective on how this was controlling my life. I decided to not let it control me anymore and I’ve never felt better. They’re some things I wish I could take back and fix, but that’s a part of life. We’re human and must learn from our mistakes in order to grow and sometimes what we want may become a reality again.

Food Matters

As I mentioned previously, I started to really dive into nutrition after having brain surgery. What sparked this interest, later becoming a passion and huge part of my life, was the film “Food Matters“. Charlotte and I watched this video on Netflix with the recommendation from a good friend of mine and fellow BMX athlete, Craig Mast.  A little lightbulb in my head turned on after watching Food Matters. I’m not saying that the cause of the brain tumor was 100% my diet, even though I know it didn’t help it and in fact it fueled the growth, but I was convinced at this point it was the cause and I would do what I could to learn how to prevent it from coming back.

The Power of Food

Up until this point, I never heard of the phrases “whole foods” or “processed foods”. Little did I know I had been introduced to whole foods all along, thanks to Charlotte. Now, I don’t mean to say I wasn’t eating copious amounts of processed foods on top of those meals because I was. If it wasn’t for Charlotte’s amazing cooking, my diet would have solely been made up of 2-liter of Dr. Pepper/day, swiss cake rolls and oatmeal pies, Skittles and Twix, Mc Donald’s, Sonic blizzards, Subway as my “healthy” option, Taco Bell, frozen chicken patties from Walmart, Bojangles, the cheapest white bread I could find, tons of Gatorade because “we need electrolytes”, 2 boxes of Kraft mac and cheese at a time, American cheese, ketchup, and the list goes on. My relationship with food consisted of how cheap it was, how much I could eat, how “good” it tasted to me, and how easy it was to make or grab on the go.

While in high-school I started to get more into BMX and that involved a lot more travel than usual. This also meant less time for me to have dinner with the family or cook myself meals. Now that I look back on it, it was just due to my ignorance of how healthy food can be convenient and easy to make. I would basically live off fried egg and cheese sandwiches on white bread for breakfast, school lunch which usually consisted of pizza or burgers, a butterfingers smoothie after school and before riding, and Wendy’s for dinner after riding on my way home. Sometimes for dinner, I would ride down the road from the park to the local 7-11 and get a ton of hot dogs and a can of Arizona iced tea. Dominos pizza was always a cheap favorite as well.

Diets and Cravings

After I moved to Greenville, Brandon and myself started to take note of what Mirra and Guettler were doing with their diets, supplements, and their training. We would start going to the gym, buying generic protein mixes, and try to eat more vegetable and fruits. I would also try all these “cold turkey” attempts to cut out soda, dairy, fast-food, etc. but it would always backfire and lead to me being worse off with the amount I consumed than before. I have since learned quite a bit about this topic and have had great success.

When we cut foods out drastically like I did, we don’t allow our bodies time to adjust to the changes. Mainly, the sugar abundance change. I was eating so much processed foods, full of added sugars, that I was consistently having an enormous amount of glucose (blood sugar) lingering around. When you cut those added sugars, even it’s from juices, candy, junk, fast-food, soda, sports drinks, or processed foods so rapidly, your body goes through a withdrawal process and your cravings begin to skyrocket. I have experienced this many times over the years as well as have researched a bit into it.

Another thing that leads to backfires and cravings is putting eating restrictions on ourselves. Saying “I can’t have this or that” makes us want it that much more. But when we say, “I can have that but I would rather have this”, we don’t create this “forbidden fruit” effect on our minds. We can shift our perspective to food  being “bad” and “good” to being “healthy” and “not so healthy” that way we give ourselves the choice. We can also learn to shift our relationship with foods. We can acknowledge why we are craving particular foods and learn how to replace junk with whole food alternatives. This is so rewarding physically (especially with healing from injuries and the recovery process), mentally, and emotionally.

IIN (The Institute of Integrative Nutrition)

I was trained how to help others implement healthy changes into their diet and lifestyle while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. There I became certified as a Holistic Health Coach. I went to IIN to learn more about nutrition and its correlation with our health, how to heal myself, and how to help others do the same. That is where I learned about the holistic approach to health and using food as functional medicine.

What does this mean? It’s simple… We are a system and when that system is interrupted, symptoms manifest. These symptoms (weight gain, inflammation, rashes, diabetes, cancer, etc.) are largely caused, if not 100% at times, from what we do with our lives and the foods we consume. There are the minor instances of gene related disease, but that’s only about 25% of disease in our country. When we look at what we are eating and doing in our lives, and how these symptoms could be caused, we can then correct the cause and heal our bodies.

It was the end of 2013 and I was on a roll with researching nutrition and holistic health. I was reading books and watching documentaries, as well as taking a whole ton of notes. I was trying to understand how the food we eat directly affects our health and quality of life. I have learned that our health is affected by what we fuel it with, physically and mentally. Think of our body as a vehicle and using soda in replace of gasoline. Doesn’t work out too well and may run ok for a bit but then problems arise.

The lives we lead are just as important as the foods we eat. The founder of my school, Joshua Rosenthal, said something along these lines,  “You can juice all the raw organic broccoli you want, but if you have a negative relationship at home, hate your job and co-workers, and don’t have anything to fuel your soul within your life, no amount of organic juice is going to keep you healthy.” That is so true and I have experienced this so much in my life.

Whether it’s shifting my perspective on a situation that confronts me in my life, mending a negative relationship, or finding things I am passionate about to integrate into my regular life schedule, I have seen enormous improvements with my physical and emotional being. IIN refers to this as “Primary Food” and “Secondary Food”. Primary food being the things in our lives like careers, relationships, joy, finances, creativity, etc. When we are full of Primary food, we start to see cravings vanish and people said to have an eating disorder are miraculously cured.

Secondary foods are vegetables, meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, water, vitamins or even alcohol, drugs, caffeine, candy, soda, cigarettes, etc. Basically, anything we eat, drink, or inhale is considered secondary food. Sometimes we can have a 100% organic, fresh, local diet but our social life, finances, education, or work are not going well and that has a larger impact on our lives.

Stress can do more damage than the healthy food you consume does good sometimes. It can also work the other way. Think back to being a child out playing with your friends or siblings and having to be reminded to eat dinner. Your primary food was so on point that your body and mind were fueled so well that you were not hungry for secondary food. You had to be reminded to make sure to eat.

Small Changes Lead to Long-term Success

Try to identify the areas of your Primary and Secondary food that are going well. Then, identify the areas that you can improve on and make a list of some ideas of how to make this happen. Start by first identifying the issue, then outline a specific goal to resolve this issue, and then make a list of 3-5 “action steps”, or a plan of attack, to allow yourself to start the journey to accomplishing your goals. I have learned this indirectly from BMX while having to set goals for tricks and steps to work my way up to that trick.

Starting off with small steps is perfectly fine. In fact, I suggest that at first. You have to also remember no accomplishment is too small and to celebrate every single accomplishment and success. Another great quote I love is, “If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” This has been a game changer for me. Instead of dwelling on what’s wrong or what I am not accomplishing, I have begun to shift my way of thinking to how I can change my approach and execution to reach my goals. I have seen huge improvements in my diet and life by doing this and I have faith you can, too!

“When given half the chance, our bodies can heal themselves by themselves.” – Joshua Rosenthal

Quality Over Quantity

Another topic I want to touch upon is how we view our food. I find most people view it as their comfort or their “have to have.” We depend on certain foods for the effect they have on us and the way they make us feel. But, we don’t think about their quality and how it affects our health. We mainly think, “how much can I save on this or that brand.” I used to do this, probably more than most as I was 17-19 years old, trying to make it as a professional BMX athlete, and was low on money. When we work on reducing our intake of junk and processed foods, we allow ourselves to introduce new healthy foods, crowding out the junk, as well as we don’t over eat poor quality foods that just run through our bodies from lack of nutrition being supplied.

At the same time, we begin to see how different sources of food affects our energy, weight, mood, and much more. Eating healthy DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE! You just need to learn how to identify healthy food from non-healthy food and how to make a balanced meal that tastes delicious to you. That’s where health coaches, like myself, come into play. My role as a Holistic Health Coach is to guide you through your journey to learning about food and the role it has in your life, how it’s affecting your health and quality of life, and to devise a step-by-step plan to integrate small changes that provide long-lasting results. Nothing like the normal “diets” you’re familiar with that are not sustainable or enjoyable.

When I use the analogy of our bodies as a machine or a vehicle, and that the food we eat becomes our fuel, tissues, muscles, cells, and organs (gasoline, engine, parts, oil, etc.), we can start to understand and see how that makes sense. Especially when I explain the negative effects of the use of additives like hormones, antibiotics, artificial flavors, stabilizers, colors and dyes, and pesticides.

There are two forms of food you will see me talk about in future articles to come, which are Macro and Micro nutrients. We’re most familiar with the macro nutrients. These are our proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, which provide calories (fuel) for our bodies among other functions. Micronutrients are our vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that don’t provide calories but provide nourishment to our cells, tissues, organs, and our blood.

If this is the first time you have had your view of food and health questioned, and you want to make some changes, then I recommend starting slow. Try these steps:

  1. Find support within your life. This can be a friend, a life partner, a co-worker, or a family member. Anyone that will encourage you and maybe even try to implement healthy changes along side you.
  2. Try to drink more water every day.
  3. You don’t have to cut anything out. Just add in some more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. You may start to notice over time with adding healthy foods in that your cravings subside and you find yourself not even wanting the “junk” foods anymore.
  4. Take notice to ingredients lists, instead of labels, and compare them to other brands. See what you notice about the length on ingredients and the words you find that you may not notice or even be able to pronounce.
  5. Try preparing simple and quick foods at home for your day and eat out a bit less. This saves you money as well!
  6. Try to add in at least 30 minutes of some sort of physical movement a day. This can be a 15-minute walk and back, bike ride, hike, sports of some sort, yoga, going to a gym, etc. Anything that gets your blood flowing and heart rate up more than normal.
  7. Try to acknowledge your cravings and shift the way you view food and what it represents to you.
  8. Never be afraid to ask for help from an expert. I have invested in myself with proper training and nutritional education to be able to help myself and help others as a Certified Holistic Health Coach. It’s my passion to take what I have learned and experienced and share it with you.

We have to remember that we can not rush this process. We can’t get down on ourselves if we have setbacks or don’t notice improvements right away. First of all, we have to think about how long we have been living and eating one particular way to put ourselves in a position that we want to change and improve on. We can not expect it to be easy or happen overnight.

We can’t beat ourselves up if we fall off track or have a slip-up and indulge at a party or in a moment of loneliness, stress, or even success. If we remember that we have the power to get back on track with the very next snack or meal, everything will be fine! Stressing over eating something “bad” will do more harm than enjoying that moment and getting back on track the next time. We are human and have a lot of temptation around us at all times. If we want to have ice cream, fast-food, a soda, or even a beer, then go ahead. As long as you can acknowledge that it’s your choice and not your cravings. Even if that’s not possible,  try to learn to take note of why you’re doing this and how you can prepare for next time this feeling or scenario comes up.

Our health and weight are also not 100% dependent on exercise. Exercise does help assimilate food better, though. About 20-30% of our weight is actually dependent on exercise and the other 70-80% is the food we choose to eat. All food has a different biological effect once ingested and metabolized. This is why working with a health coach, like myself, is very helpful to see how we may be getting in our own way by doing what we are taught is ”healthy” and falling for marketing/ health claims like I have done in the past (another topic I will discuss in a future article).

I also recommend watching “Food Matters”, “Food Inc.”, and “Fed Up”. Those can be life changing films for you, as they were for me.

If you can try to adapt some of these changes, I promise it’ll go a long way. You may even see the benefits associated with this concept and take it even further. You will probably start to feel better in the morning and on your bike or in your life in general. I sure have and I have faith you will, too!

I go for another MRI scan this November of 2015 and I am confident that both tumors will be decreasing even more. I have taken what I learned while attending IIN and have implemented this valuable information in so many areas of my life. I have begun to work on goals with my Primary food and have got a great balance on my Secondary food. I have kept a positive mindset and worked hard to get to where I want to be and am thankful for all that this handwork has down for my life and the people and opportunities it has led me to.

I am not saying it’s easy or that I maintain this 100% of the time. Again, it’s not about being perfect but allowing yourself to make mistakes, forgive yourself, and to know that you can always get back on track. If you can do this while loving yourself and supporting yourself, it can truly be life changing.

You can reach out to me for support by leaving a comment to connect. I love helping others take control of their diets and lifestyles to lead a healthy and happy life. If I can make the changes I have addressed, anyone can. Seriously!

Keep an eye out for more articles in the near future. They are going to be a bit shorter but equally exciting and informative. In my next article, I plan to introduce my goals, topics, and plans for this blog.

Feel free to reach out and follow me on my social media outlets, too:

Twitter & Instagram – @JoshPerryBMX

www.Facebook.com/JoshPerryBMX

Until next time, I wish everyone health, love, and happiness!

-Josh P.

Transcend

Welcome back, fellow brainstormers!

I am honored to continue sharing my story with all of you! If you missed part 1 or part 2, please make sure to check those out first. 🙂

By now you probably know where this article will be taking us- radiation for 2 new tumors in my skull. I left off talking about returning from the Bahamas in September of 2012 for a birthday cruise with Charlotte. The month of November would be a very hectic, yet rewarding, month leading into radiation treatments for the 2 new tumors in my brain.

I was stoked to start the month off by winning the Trans Jam pro park contest stop of Greenville, NC along with street best trick and pro park overall champion! I was more stoked to collect some custom made trophies from one of my BMX idols, Mike Laird! Best of all, both Charlotte and my mom were there to see me ride and celebrate.

A few days later I would be back on a long flight to India along with my buddy Nick Digeroloma. We were heading back with Scott Wirch and Spencer Bass to do another week of demos for a company called “Thumbs Up” that’s owned by Coca Cola Inc. The first trip to India was wild and I was grateful to get the opportunity to check it out again. Due to food poisoning or some type of bacterial infection from the previous trip, I was very reluctant and cautious to eating any sort of food. I thankfully made it out fine this go around. I will have to write a separate article dedicated to both of my wild India adventures.

I think I flew back to the states on the day before or the day of my birthday. I know I had flown back from Saudi Arabia the year prior on my birthday. That year I actually walked into my house, with 3 minutes left on my birthday, to a house full of candles, a cake, and Charlotte waiting for me wrapped in a bow. She may not like me sharing that part but I don’t care, I absolutely loved it! I was beyond happy to come home to this. Even though I forgot my keys and the door was locked, sort of ruining her surprise, I still thoroughly enjoyed the gesture. It was the best way to return to America for the last 3 minutes of my birthday. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

This year’s birthday would go a bit different. Char had planned a surprise birthday party at my favorite sushi joint in Greenville- Japan Inn. We were guided into the party room where we would be greeted by all our close friends that were in town, an amazing ice cream Reese’s cake, and SUSHI!

The next day we would start the 12-hour drive to my dad and step mothers house on Cape Cod, MA. I was born and raised on Cape Cod until I made the move to Pro Town USA, Greenville, NC,  when I was about 17. We wanted to get there in time for Thanksgiving (the following day), chill with my dads side of the family, and check out the Cape a bit.

I had also planned a day trip with Charlotte, Brandon, and Craig (who happened to have moved from Greenville to Maine recently) to meet up with Liam and Scott Criv. I wanted to film an edit and shoot some photos at Rye Airfield Skatepark in Rye, NH. Rye has always been one of my favorite places to ride in New England. I made trips there as much as possible with friends once I got my license.

I was determined to have some content come out while I was in recovery. I didn’t want to be known as the rider that got brain tumors, twice, and wasn’t going to ride anymore. I wanted to have something to let people know I wasn’t going anywhere and would get past this and ride again. Liam did an awesome job on the video and I was stoked to get some dialed shots from Scott. Big shout out to Beau at Rye Airfield for always supporting me at Rye!

The next day, Charlotte and I left for Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Brandon let us stay with him and his chick Marian right outside of Boston. We left their place real early the next morning. We drove and parked at the public train parking lot and took the T into the city. I used to do that when I was younger and it was always pretty fun!

We checked into the hospital to get my blood work and paper work done. Dr. Julian Wu explained how Gamma Knife radiation works and the possible side-effects, along with the success rates. The success rate is about 85%. Elekta did an amazing job with this machine and I can’t thank them enough for all their support! They would follow up with me in the years to come for a few different published interviews and a live Skype meet and greet for their employee Christmas party at their Sweden headquarters!

Lsskell Gamma Knife is a pretty wild technology. Its virtually in-invasive, painless, and the most precise treatment of radiation for tumors with minuscule damage to surrounding tissue.

The next thing on the to do list was confirming my appointment time for the next morning. Apparently once we were finished they also told me to go talk with the Gamma Knife department and learn about the procedure. Charlotte and I both missed that part as we made our way to the Museum of Science

I don’t remember anything else on our minds other than going to the science museum and getting some food! (A great common interest that Char and I share, our love for quality and delicious food!) We were both so excited to go to the museum and nerd out on science. That is something I have always enjoyed sharing with Charlotte, our fascination with science, facts, and nature. She expresses it with her hair stylists skills and mixing colors, and I express it with my passion for holistic nutrition and health.

The next day we would check in around 5-6 am. They got me right in as the first patient that day and started an IV on me. That is when reality really kicked in. Even though I was confident about our decision for Gamma Knife, I was still having to deal with tumors in my skull again and this time going through radiation treatments. I remember sitting in the waiting room talking with Charlotte and her assuring me everything would be ok. She has always been great with making me feel confident and safe in these situations.

They would then attach a frame to my head by anchoring 4 screws into my skull, which the year after my treatment is when they got rid of the frame for an updated technology. I was glad I missed the appointment the day before where they would explain this to me. If I knew about this the night before I probably would have been up searching for photos and videos like the original surgery out of curiosity. (I am told I’m crazy, haha.) They used this for accurate measurements with a sort of bowl they would temporarily attach to the frame. It was like one of that salon hair drying bowls you see an old woman sitting in with hair rollers but with tons of small holes in it. They used the holes to enter in measurement sticks all over my head.

All in all, it was not bad. There was no pain whatsoever. I only got nauseous for a moment when they initially were installing the frame because even though you couldn’t feel the set screws being installed, your head still shook from the procedure and you could hear the drill. Again, I felt nothing because I was numbed up but it was still unpleasant for the short amount of time it took. I usually never get nauseous for this type of situation but it was early, I had an empty stomach, and my emotions were going crazy. After it was finished being installed, the nauseous feeling went right away.

The treatment was done in an MRI type of looking machine. They clipped me into a headboard I was laying down on, via the head frame they had just attached, that took me into the machine. They clip you in with the head frame to assure no movements and absolute precise measurements for treatments. There were 3 sessions of treatments at 15 minutes, 10 minutes, and another 15 minutes. It was painless and silent. Nothing like an MRI. Haha, if you have had an MRI you know what I am talking about.

We drove back to NC right after treatments and I was on the road to recovery. To my surprise, the recovery would only be about 7 days. I basically just had to wait until the incisions from the frame healed as long as I felt fine. I was back on my bike in about a week and felt like nothing ever happened.

I took this photo on my day back. I remember how damn good it felt to sprint at this 10-foot quarter pipe and just blast this tuck no hander! That is the thing I have always loved about BMX, the feeling you get while flying in the air; the frustration of not landing a trick and then the gratification when you finally land it; the feeling you get after you slam to the ground from unfathomable heights, for most people, and bounce back up like nothing happened because how determined you are to get the trick; the feeling you get when your focused on something that you know has the risk of seriously hurting yourself, but you don’t think about that because all your thinking about is how awesome it’ll feel to ride away after you pull it; and the feeling you get when you see the clip of something you finally pulled after hours of trying it, sometimes days, or the finished product of a video project. That is why I love BMX!

After I was back on my bike from Gamma Knife, I filmed with Dan Foley for one of my favorite videos that were featured on Vital BMX.

I wanted to film a solid video to let people know I wasn’t going anywhere and I wanted to step up my game, too! I had a checklist of things to film, saving the scariest one for last. I got it all done and some! Foley is amazing at what he does and I was stoked on how the video came out. I was also shooting with Cody York for an ESPN feature at the same time.

Shortly after the video was released Garden of Life, Barleans fish oil and I connected. I was getting more into nutrition and holistic health after radiation. I went to the local Vitamin Shoppe and told them I was looking for clean and organic supplements, Without hesitation, they put me onto Garden of Life and Barleans, and I’m thankful to have found them. I’m also grateful to be a part of such amazing brands that share the same views as I do and for their love and support over the years.

In May, Dan Foley and I filmed a quick interview/riding video for Vital. The video briefly ran through the initial surgery, Gamma Knife, my road to recovery and getting back to normal (riding and mentality wise).

Following the release of the Vital video was Dew Tour Ocean City, MD. I was excited to be invited to compete but also couldn’t shake having flashbacks from the year before. (Read more about why here.) Todd Meyn and I made the drive from Greenville, along with Rob Daren (another BMX legend I look up to and am grateful to call a friend and have ridden so many years with), to Ocean City.

I rode well but I fell in my second run and messed up my bike. (I had to borrow a bike, Morgan Wade’s bike for my third run and I was stoked to do a Superman whip on his bike. Morgan does that trick better than anyone and he’s the reason I learned that trick.) I was just stoked to be riding and have walked away from the contest on my own two feet this time.

I ended the year with a very grateful and hard earned 2nd place at Mirra’s Animal House Goodbye Jam.

Daniel Dher’s had taken over the warehouse for a bit once Dave stopped riding. He would then go on to open up DDASC in Holly Springs, NC but first, he wanted to throw a contest/jam in Dave’s honor. I am so thankful for Dave allowing me to ride his facility all these years. I wouldn’t be the rider I am today if it wasn’t for that opportunity along with him and Mike Laird pushing me on a regular basis.

Now that I look back on 2013, there is so much more I can add in here. Good and bad.

That’ll have to wait until next time.

I am sharing my story to hopefully inspire you to have faith in yourself and have the courage to face any challenge that presents itself. A support group is crucial but at the end of the day, you posses the power to set your mind to accomplishing anything your heart desires.

The way I see it, you have two choices when bad times arise. You can either do the hard thing and face it head on, full of optimism, positivity, and courage. Or, you can take the easy way out and loose hope or give up.

I know some of you out there may have had worse things happen to you, and maybe not so much for others. The same principal still holds true.

Keep your head up. Be strong. Don’t give up! Stay positive and have faith in yourself to beat whatever demon is in your way.

If I can do it, surely you can too!

-Josh P.