Hila Ariel: "When My Son Got Cancer, I Decided to Change Everything"

I met Hila Ariel through the Natural Nutrition Program newsletter for mothers, where she shares healthy recipes that children also enjoy. I immediately realized she had a story. When I approached her, I understood that she began focusing on healthy living after her son fell ill two years ago. Today, she aids families, especially mothers, in transitioning to healthy lifestyles and nutrition.

Hila recounts: "My eldest son, Dovi, now 17 and a half, was diagnosed with cancer at 14. He had just started a small Yeshiva, following a seemingly secure and familiar path. Initially, we didn't think it was cancer; it took quite a while before we got the final diagnosis, but suddenly our lives came to a halt. Before knowing what it was, we knew the first thing we needed to address was his nutrition."

With Proper Nutrition, You Can Achieve Great Things

Why was that so clear to you?

"Honestly, I have a bit of a 'touch' with this subject. As a child, I suffered terribly from asthma and allergies and took many medications and steroids. Around the age of 16, I decided I wanted to stop taking medications and switch to natural treatments. Together with my parents, I visited a natural practitioner who gave me a specific treatment, and *b'ezrat Hashem* (with Hashem's help), the asthma and allergies vanished completely, and are still gone to this day.

"I fondly remember that meeting, which gave me the understanding that we can achieve very significant results by fine-tuning our diet. Over the years, I didn't do much with this knowledge and lived the modern lifestyle like everyone else. A few years passed, during which I encountered these subjects several times but didn't give them top priority. I always knew I wanted to change my lifestyle, but felt it was 'too big' for me.

"When my son became ill, all these insights suddenly fit into place, and we realized that stop, we have to reconsider and make a change. By divine providence, my son himself spoke to his friend, who had also experienced a health issue, and whose entire family had changed their diet. It felt as though Hashem had prepared the ground for us. He approached me on his own and said, 'Mom, tell me what I need to eat,' following his conversation with his friend. I told him what I knew, but I didn't have enough knowledge to give him an exact diet plan. What I knew was right was to first eliminate 'the junk,' like snacks, bites, pastries, pizza, etc.

"That's how we started, with very limited knowledge. I arranged a meeting with someone I knew from the past, who gave me the basic diet plan. There's a law in the country that natural practitioners are not allowed to treat cancer, so she didn't directly treat him but simply gave dietary recommendations to accompany the chemotherapy he was supposed to receive. By the time we received the diagnosis, she was no longer involved.

"At the same time, I began to dig and research, collected books, scoured scientific websites to read studies about the disease. It was known to us that legally, we couldn’t give the child only natural treatment. Part of my personal challenge was coming to terms with the fact that he would receive chemotherapy treatment, which I really didn’t want. But it was an understanding that we do not control our lives; there is Someone above who decides our fate. I had a lot of personal work in finding where Hashem is within this situation."

Learning to Swim by Correspondence

Even before Dovi got sick, you were involved in teaching and training women in positive thinking. Did this help you cope?

"Not only did it help me, I felt that until now we learned this, dealt with it, taught it, but now Hashem put us in the water and said, 'Forward, begin to swim.' It’s like learning to swim by correspondence and then being thrown into the water."

How was it?

"First of all, I thank Hashem for having provided healing before the blow and for giving us these tools we were immersed in. It provided us the foundation for working with Hashem during these days. For example, facing an oncologist with a stern look and test result pages, trying to shake us to understand how dangerous the situation is and that it’s not a game. We sat there and had to tell ourselves and our son that we weren’t interested in statistics, we have a healthy child, and that's it. We *made a l'chaim* on it right from the start. To thank for the miracles before they happened has its sources in books. There is value in holding a thanksgiving meal before salvation; thus, we donated to the synagogue to make *kiddush* on Shabbat in his merit. We made a l'chaim and strove to dance and be joyful at home. We received the exact diagnosis during the month of Adar, and I felt it was a sign from Heaven to maintain our joy."

Adults know how to work on themselves. But how did the child take the news about the disease?

"Dovi took the news very hard, especially after the chemotherapy, which made him feel terrible afterwards. Within a few hours, Dovi transformed from a healthy, energetic child into such a weak and uninterested state.

"It wasn't easy, neither for us nor for him. In the beginning of the treatments, it was hard for him to stand on his feet, so he used a wheelchair for a short period. A 14-and-a-half-year-old with a sudden 'disabled' label, where his father had to bring him to the synagogue with the chair, lift him, etc., was very difficult for him. Even the physical weakness and all the medications given for side effects didn’t help. On the other hand, I understand this indicates the body's resilience that rejects this."

Did natural nutrition help cope with side effects?

"Not all side effects can be eliminated, because they involve very strong substances. The child really worked on himself. We needed to understand that each of us had their work with themselves in this situation; I had my work, my husband had his, and our son had his own work."

Everyone Has Their Work

What do you mean when you say everyone has their work? In what sense?

"The meaning is that when Hashem sends a test, you simply need to deal with it; there’s no one else who can deal with it for you. He also gave you the strength to do so. By facing challenges, you discover these strengths. He is a hero; my son, he did it. Sometimes I think about what I was at 15; I was so childish and young. He truly inspires me."

Where does nutrition fit into this whole process?

Hila explains: "Natural nutrition entered first and foremost before chemotherapy. Everything was in precise divine providence, and only today do I see it.

"When nutrition is healthy and the body is clean, not only does the immune system strengthen, the chemotherapy also works better and targets the tumor more effectively. Long-term side effects decrease significantly, even disappearing completely, provided that healthy nutrition begins about two months before chemotherapy.

(Photo illustration: shutterstock)

"We had exactly two months of natural nutrition before Dovi started chemotherapy, and those particular months saved him from so much suffering.

"In recent months, I've read studies on this topic showing that flooding the body with fruits and vegetables and their antioxidants significantly strengthens the immune system, enabling it to tackle and eliminate tumors more easily."

Is your son completely healthy today?

"Yes, b'ezrat Hashem. We underwent very intensive treatments for close to a year and then maintenance treatments, which are light weekly treatments for a few more months. After the holidays, we did a test that came out, b'ezrat Hashem, very well. You could say he returned to routine about a year ago."

Does he continue maintaining the healthy diet?

"Yes. He also continues to take some of the medicinal herbs he was taking and feels major improvement. There are herbs that actively fight the disease and others that boost the immune system."

Can you give an example of a plant that helps with this?

"You have to write this; there are Japanese medicinal mushrooms - shiitake, reishi, and a few other types. They strengthen the immune system, target malignant cells, and maintain high white blood cell counts, which is one of the things frequently monitored because chemotherapy affects white blood cells.

"The mushrooms assist the immune system so it doesn't completely collapse, which usually happens after chemotherapy, leaving the person vulnerable to infections and viruses. They provide some protection for the immune system during weak days, enabling one to leave the house even then.

"For instance, in Japan, they give the mushrooms in oncology departments. Additionally, they also give patients energy, so instead of lying in bed, they can stand and do things. There is immense value in that. We came across these mushrooms through the organization 'Zichron Menachem' and the amazing volunteers who helped us greatly, distributing them free to sick children. They work wonders. For a year and a half, the child took the mushrooms every day. He took other things too, among them curcumin and vitamin D, which also greatly helps the immune system. But it’s not just about nutrition," adds Hila, "it also encompasses a healthy lifestyle in every sense. For instance, we also removed all the chemicals from the house because they soak into our skin, we breathe them, and they are carcinogenic."

Our Lives Are More Precious

What do you mean by chemicals?

"That means laundry detergent, bath soap, dish soap, air fresheners, all these things are made from toxic chemicals to our bodies, creating a burden on the immune system."

So what are the alternatives?

"So here's how: regarding dish soap, there is an environmentally friendly soap. I call it 'human friendly' because it doesn’t contain toxic substances. Also, bath soaps based on natural oils, like olive oil, for example, are excellent.

(Photo illustration: shutterstock)

"Air fresheners, for example, are very carcinogenic, and I recommend avoiding them entirely. You can use fragrant natural oil.

"We wash the floor with water with a little bit of fragrant natural oil. Think about it, dish soap contains very toxic chemicals that break down fat, and we use it to wash our dishes. It doesn’t always rinse off completely, and then we consume it. Is it worth it?"

All these natural products are very expensive.

Hila agrees: "They are indeed expensive, but our lives are even more precious. A child who had such an immune system failure suggests that something in the body's detoxing wasn't effective, because our body is always detoxing, and when there's an overload of toxins, it fails to cope, thus requiring greater efforts.

"One cannot know if they are in that risk group where the immune system isn’t detoxifying effectively, so everyone should be cautious to minimize the toxins they introduce to their body."

So today, b'ezrat Hashem, your son is healthy, and you've committed to helping families be healthier?

Hila: "Yes. After witnessing the suffering people endure, especially sick children, I decided to step up and teach mothers how to instill a healthy lifestyle and nutrition at home. I believe diseases can be prevented from the outset, and it’s better this way. My desire is to see healthy families and children growing here and for no one else to experience what we went through."