Tara Coyote is the bestselling author of ‘Grace, Grit & Gratitude: A Cancer Thriver’s Journey from Hospice to Full Recovery with the Healing Power of Horses’, the children’s picture book & mustang advocacy book collaboration with the illustrator Nica Ware, ‘Comanche the Wild Mustang’ and the coloring book version of the kids book.

Tara is a life coach, Equine Facilitated Learning instructor, grief facilitator, dancer & lover of life. Tara has been sharing her journey with cancer for 6 years, through her various social media pages. On her journey with cancer, she has had many interviews, which you can see on her interview page. She aims to find joy in adversity, even with her dance with cancer. She lives in Kaua’i, Hawaii at Wind Horse Sanctuary, in an off the grid yurt with her beloved animals.

IN MY OWN WORDS: I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer in September 2016. After much consideration and soul searching, I decided to take my health into my own hands & heal with my own unique path using alternative & natural methods.

My life journey for the past 20+ years has been a deep dive into my own health and wellness as I have an autoimmune thyroid condition that compromises my immune system. As a result, I eat a very clean and healthy organic diet. I live a lifestyle that supports my body, mind, and spirit, surrounded by nature with my horses and blessed beasts. In short, I know my body very well.  

Listening to my deeper wisdom, I chose a different route.

In 2014-2015, I witnessed my gorgeous, vibrant friend at the age of 44 be diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, endure chemotherapy and treatment and die 22 months later. I was by her side throughout her whole journey as one of her main caretakers. I saw her go from an 110 lb. energetic force of nature to a 65 lb. shell of her former self at her death. It was the most heartbreaking, horrifying and yet beautifully powerful experiences of my life. All the endless days spent at the hospital with her have left their mark upon me and so I chose what was right for me at the time.

While I was grateful for many aspects of western medicine and certainly value the medical advances it has made in certain modalities, I chose a path that was best in alignment with my values and my sense of self. I pushed back back against the western perspective on healing cancer believing that there was another way.  

Choosing Life - A Dramatic Twist in the Path

A 100% natural healing regime was my sole focus …. until my life got turned upside down. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to sell my beloved Wind Horse Sanctuary, the beautiful 10-acre retreat center that I ran in Northern California. The cancer that originally started as breast cancer had metastasized and spread to multiple parts of my body. After months of treatment and a roller coaster journey that included relocating from Northern California to my ancestral roots of Kauai Hawaii, my kind oncologist (whom I adore) and another doctor told me honestly that if I did not do chemo I had maybe six months. Usually I would laugh at that, but due to the cancer in my lungs (being unable to breath quite frequently) and in my left hip, the cancer was killing me. And so I chose to do the thing I never said I would do: chemo. It was a choice of seeing my death and actively CHOOSING to LIVE!

I found extreme resistance when faced with the thought of choosing chemotherapy. I was, after all, the ‘all natural girl’, the one who was curing her Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis 100% naturally. I had stood upon a mountaintop and proclaimed my truth far and wide to all who could hear it, “Chemotherapy kills people more than cancer does!.” I was featured on podcasts, interviewed by various famous people in the holistic cancer community, made videos and wrote articles with this simple truth.

How could I do a 180 degree turn upon my basic principle for healing to embrace chemotherapy to save my life? Could it save my life? What if it killed me like I preached it would?

At the beginning of my health journey two and a half years ago I know I ruffled some feathers with my dogmatic viewpoint of the ‘right’ way to heal cancer. I deeply apologize to anyone I might have offended with the fervor of my message. I see now that I was affected by a very traumatic dose of fear after seeing my best friend of 19 years, Deb, undergo allopathic treatment. After spending countless months at the hospital with her, I was afraid to follow in her footsteps and undergo the suffering she experienced. I associated her death with allopathic treatment and ultimately chemotherapy. I now see that her path was hers alone and I can create whatever story I desire!

I am now rewriting the script.

I understand now that there are many paths to healing and this path is damn hard enough without placing judgement on another for their choice of treatment. Besides, cancer is such a complicated dis-ease that one thing might work for one person that might not work for another. My apologies to anyone who was brazed by my fiery mission to convince the world of something that I now see is absolutely not true. Chemotherapy can indeed heal and I intend for this to be my story now! Fortunately I have a wide community of very aware people to assist me through my challenging moments.

Despite the odds I’m choosing to believe I am HEALING!

I believe this cancer experience came to me to grow my soul to a place of unimaginable depth. I am choosing to be thankful for the pain, the struggle, and my fears of what this path might bring. I know if I accept it, I will transcend it! Each challenge is an experience to embrace it and grow or not.....it’s a moment to moment choice. This cancer/chemo dance is working me like nothing else. In all honestly I have NEVER felt so challenged in my life. Each day there is a new symptom, pain or ailment to work through. And as I face my darkest demons I once again turn to the fierce love for these creatures, my adoration of the Earth, the sacred lineage of family and ancestral roots I’m blessed to have here in Kauai and the loyal presence of my dear friends. I pray to have the strength to face each challenging moment. May we all have the courage to transcend our fears and rise above our mental limitations!

This is my heroine’s journey,  I have the power at hand to choose what will indeed heal me. I choose life. My body created this opportunity for me to choose a life of balance for myself and I am grateful for the lessons I am learning. In many ways this is the greatest gift I have been given, to realize how precious life is. I can either choose to embrace each moment and live it to the fullest or whittle away in the illusions of my mind. 

If you were told you had a year to live, what would you do?

How would you live your life?

How would you embrace the sacred gift you’ve been given?

Take a moment to truly swim in these questions; you might gain some new insights that could change your life!

Why do I use the term Cancer Warrioress?

Well, frankly the courage it’s taking to navigate this diagnosis is immense. I am not choosing to be at war with my body and the cancer cells. I am choosing to love the cancer, see it as a gift and bring myself to healing through making peace with the cancer cells within my body.

This term ‘WARRIORESS’ originates from the place of empowerment it is necessary to hold through having a cancer diagnosis. This is the most demanding experience I have ever had. It requires me to stand strong in my own decisions and to follow my truth, no matter how the healing journey unfolds.

sharing my wisdom & insights with others

Throughout this journey, I have learned so much and given the incredible progress I've made, I want to share my wisdom and support with others. I've explored my cancer from all different angles. I'm sifting through past wounds and learning to honor and care for myself on a deeper level and have stepped back from the hamster wheel of society and my mind. I've walked through the storm of emotions and feelings that this journey is offering as a gift for my healing and I am coming out on the other side. Stronger. Braver. Wiser. 

This is not an easy road to embark on. By sharing my story and my wisdom, I hope to provide the encouragement for others to explore the wide possibilities of healing available to them. I want others to know that they are not alone. Cancer can be a challenging journey and we need all the support, love and encouragement we can get. I invite all of you on this journey to keep courageously speaking up and being in your truth as you will inspire others to do the same!

Healing with horses:

I am also trained in Equine Facilitated Learning through Linda Kohanov’s organization Eponaquest. I offer in person and online coaching with the horses on Kaua’i, Hawaii. To find out more about the transformational horse work I offer, please visit my Wind Horse Sanctuary page!

Honor the Earth film:

I am very proud of the award winning environmental 10-minute short film I created about climate change and equating it with my health journey in my film Honor the Earth