How Loving Her Cancer (Not Fighting It) Made Dr. Neja Zupan Cancer-Free in 3 Months
What if the most powerful thing you could do when faced with a devastating diagnosis wasn't to fight — but to love? That's the radical, counterintuitive path Dr. Neja Zupan chose when she was diagnosed with aggressive, hormone-dependent ductal cancer in 2013, given only a 5% chance of survival. Today she is cancer-free, vibrant, and helping caregivers and change-makers worldwide reclaim their energy and vitality.
In a recent episode of the Caregiver Relief Podcast, host Diane Carbo, RN — a nurse with 54 years of experience — sat down with Dr. Zupan for a conversation that challenges everything we've been taught about healing. Whether you're a caregiver carrying the weight of someone else's illness, or you're navigating your own health journey, what Dr. Zupan shares is both deeply practical and profoundly transformative.
The Moment She Learned She Had Cancer — In Meditation
Dr. Zupan didn't learn about her cancer diagnosis from a doctor first. She was in deep meditation when she heard a voice: "You have cancer." Initially she tried to dismiss it. Then it came again: "Pay attention. You have cancer."
When the oncologist confirmed it — aggressive ductal cancer with a 5% survival rate — Dr. Zupan felt something unexpected: clarity. Having watched her mother, aunts, and female ancestors suffer through chemotherapy, radiation, and hormonal therapy before dying anyway, she had made a decision years earlier. If she ever got cancer, she would not go that route.
"Whether one day, five days, ten days, one month, one year, two years — I don't mind how much I still have in front of me. I just want to go my way," she told her oncologist.
She allowed surgeons to remove two tumor sites (2cm and 1cm), but declined all further conventional treatment. Then she turned inward.
Why "Battling" Disease Can Work Against You
For the first three months, Dr. Zupan did what most people do — she fought. She battled the cancer with everything she had. And she was losing.
Then came the insight that changed everything.
"I figured out that battling — the origin of battling — is anger and rage. I'm not good in rage. I'm not good in anger. This is the way I will lose this battle because I'm not good in this area."
So she made a radical shift. Instead of fighting the cancer, she decided to love it. Love everything inside her, around her, about her situation.
"From the moment that I decided that I am going to love cancer and everything inside me and around me — in three months, medical doctors said that I'm cancer-free."
Three months. Cancer-free.
Diane, who has spent decades watching patients in cancer centers, nodded in recognition: "I have seen women with a breast cancer diagnosis come back months later and it was gone. Western medicine says, 'We must have misdiagnosed.' But they had the X-rays, they had all the tests that showed it was there — and then it was gone, without intervention."
The 3 Pillars of Dr. Zupan's Healing Framework
After recovering, Dr. Zupan spent years distilling what she did into a framework that others can use — whether they're facing illness, caregiver burnout, or simply feeling stuck and exhausted. Here are the three pillars:
Pillar 1: Energy First
"Without energy, this body would be dead. No food, no electroshock, no injections, no water, no surgery — nothing happens. Why? Because energy is gone."
Dr. Zupan believes that health is a consequence of energy flow. When quality, high-frequency energy flows through the body, health follows. When that flow is disrupted — by unprocessed emotions, inherited traumas, or chronic stress — disease takes root.
For caregivers specifically, this is critical. 63% of caregivers become seriously ill or die before the person they're caring for, largely due to chronic stress. Replenishing your own energy isn't selfish — it's survival.
"I advised to do this energy practice — it's only 20 minutes in the morning — before you start to give care to somebody else. Take care of yourself first. If you are without energy, you cannot take care of anyone."
Pillar 2: Thinking Beyond Logic
We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, but Dr. Zupan points to a striking reality: we are consciously aware of only 3–7% of our thoughts. The remaining 93–97% operate in the unconscious — quietly shaping our health, our decisions, and our lives.
"With conscious mind thinking, we tap into only 3 to 7% of our thoughts. 95% of our thoughts are unconscious. And here comes beyond logic."
Through deep meditation, Dr. Zupan learned to access those unconscious patterns — including what she describes as karmic and generational traumas stretching back hundreds of years. She worked to identify and release the emotional origins of her disease, including grief held in the fascia, the body's connective tissue.
"If you would work with me, I would ask you where do you have pain. Certain parts of the body express what emotions and mind is stored there. By liberating tension from the fascia, you actually liberate your emotions."
Diane recognized this immediately from her nursing background: "In the 70s, we learned briefly that your emotions and thoughts can lead to many unhealthy conditions. The mind-body connection is very real — I've seen it in 54 years of nursing."
Pillar 3: Scaling Through Resonance
The third pillar is about alignment — connecting with what Dr. Zupan calls your soul's mission or highest purpose.
"When you are connected with your spiritual origin — whether you call it God, higher self, the universe, Brahma, Allah — you start to walk your mission. Energy and mindset work together to fulfill it."
This isn't abstract philosophy for her. After applying these principles to her healing, she applied them to her business — and watched it grow internationally, almost effortlessly. When your energy, mindset, and purpose are aligned, she says, life stops feeling like a struggle.
A Message for Caregivers Carrying "The Weight of the World"
Diane shared something deeply personal: her own chronic pain — years of spinal damage from four decades of nursing, lifting patients, never stopping. She described feeling like she's always carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, and not coincidentally, her worst pain is in her neck and spine.
Dr. Zupan nodded. That's not coincidence. The body keeps score.
For the millions of family caregivers who pour themselves out every day — often putting their own needs dead last — Dr. Zupan's message is both a gentle reminder and an urgent call:
You cannot give what you don't have.
As Diane says at the end of every podcast: "You are the most important part of the caregiving equation. Without you, it all falls apart. Please learn to be gentle with yourself and practice self-care every day — because you are worth it."
A Free Gift for Caregivers
Dr. Zupan has created a special resource for the Caregiver Relief community: "Seven Steps: Energetic Alignment in Action" — a 20-minute morning practice designed to help caregivers refill their own reserves before giving to others. The practices can be done for yourself or with the person you care for.
You can connect with Dr. Neja Zupan on Instagram at @Dr.Neja.Zupan.Institute, on Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. Her upcoming book, From Tumor to Humor, will share her complete healing journey.
This article is adapted from Episode 159 of the Caregiver Relief Podcast. The content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for medical decisions.
Listen to the full episode: Beyond Logic: Real Healing and Transformation with Dr. Neja Zupan
