In 'Ageless,' Suzanne Somers takes her personal exploration of bioidentical hormones to the next level by introducing a scientifically substantiated approach to reversing certain aspects of the aging process, maintaining a state of lifelong vibrant health and building the body's natural defenses against age-related diseases. To substantiate her personal observations, Somers interviewed 16 physicians from different ideologies on aging.

These doctors are at the forefront in returning hormonal balance to their aging patients. Many of their practices are ignored by mainstream medicine, giving that much more weight to Somers' objective -- informing women and men of all ages about the power of knowing one's body and hormones.

This is an excerpt from 'Ageless: The Naked Truth about Bioidentical Hormones.'

Taking Charge of Your Own Health

"To remain oblivious to the hidden regenerative processes inside your body will cause you to die unnecessarily young." - Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, MD, Fantastic Voyage

Five years have passed, and as of this writing I have now been happily pronounced cancer-free. What a relief. No longer does each ache and pain trigger a fear in me of "Oh God, is that 'it' coming back again?"

Cancer does that to you. It's an inner nagging, a constant reminder that there could be something bigger than yourself lurking out there in the shadows, sitting back, like a predator, deciding when and if it cares to strike again. Now, finally, I can release that fear. The predator has been locked up, in prison, hopefully never to be let out again.

Along the way in this war I have been fighting have come the blessings. I am truly loved by those who mean the most to me. They showed me this over and over during this time. Through it all, I learned about my own strength and courage. I didn't know I had it in me to buck the system by choosing unconventional therapies and doing it my way. But you see, I was never able to wrap my arms around the "standard of care" set forth by Western medicine as the way to treat cancer.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I needed to be emotionally strong to fight the battle. To help with that, I needed to be hormonally in balance. It is hard to be in a fighting mood when you are hormonally depressed. Balanced hormones keep your emotions in check and I believe (based on my research) are the most effective way to prevent cell proliferation (cancer). Unfortunately, Western medicine's "standard of care" believes that taking away all hormones prevents disease. I believed differently, so I didn't want to go off my bioidentical hormones.

Nor did I want to undergo chemotherapy. You see, I do not believe in the "poison" theory of using chemotherapy. It is my belief that an environment of balanced hormones prevents disease. This is reinforced by many of the doctors interviewed in this book. For one thing, it ablates, or takes away, hormones. Chemotherapy does kill cancer cells, but it also kills the immune system. Without a strong immune system, cancer has a perfect opportunity to proliferate. We need a strong immune system, and balanced hormones to prevent disease. So it didn't make sense to me to "take away" hormones as a means to kill cancer.

As I now see it, there are two ways to fight cancer: build up or destroy. Western medicine's standard of care is to destroy. Well-meaning though it may be, the idea of chemicalizing myself, destroying everything, and hoping my health would come back, coupled with the instructions to give up my hormone therapy, was not appealing.


Reprinted from 'Ageless' by Suzanne Somers. Copyright © October 2006. Published by Crown, a division of Random House, Inc.