Chris Beat Cancer: Food, Faith, And The Will To Live
The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee
Physicians Committee
4.9 • 3.5K Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2026
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Chris Wark was just 26 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.
What happened next changed his life forever.
In this deeply personal conversation, Chris joins Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast to share the story behind Chris Beat Cancer, the decisions he made after surgery, and why he believes food, faith, mindset, purpose, and self-advocacy all became part of his healing journey.
You'll hear the emotional story of how Chris went from fear and uncertainty to feeling empowered again and why he says healing happens at home.
🧠 In this episode, you'll learn:
- What Chris wishes every cancer patient would ask their oncologist
- Why he believes nutrition became a turning point in his journey
- The hospital meal that shocked him after colon surgery
- How he built his "overdosing on nutrition" approach
- Why purpose and family became central to his will to live
- What "healing happens at home" means to him
- How a whole food plant-based diet fits into the cancer conversation
Colorectal cancer is rising among younger adults, making conversations like this more important than ever. The American Cancer Society reports that colorectal cancer rates have been increasing in adults under 50 in recent years, while rates have declined among many older adults.
Exam Roomies of the Week
- Harriet Leveen
- Robert Callahan
🙏 Support The Exam Room Podcast & PCRM
👉 https://bit.ly/SupportExamRoom
📗 Chris Beat Cancer Book
👉 https://amzn.to/4nbVsFY
💪 Chris Beat Cancer Website
👉 https://www.chrisbeatcancer.com
🎉 Las Vegas Plant Powered Party
👉 https://bit.ly/ChefAJParty
This episode is not medical advice. Always speak with your doctor about cancer screening, treatment, and any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
- About Us -
The Physicians Committee is dedicated to saving lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research. We combine the clout and expertise of more than 17,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 30 seconds of thanks begin right now. |
| 0:03.9 | Harriet Levine and Robert Callahan are the exam roomies of the week. |
| 0:08.3 | Thank you both so much for supporting the Physicians Committee and this podcast. |
| 0:12.8 | And right now, thanks to a very generous donor, all gifts made by July 10th will be matched to help boost our critical work, including this podcast. |
| 0:20.8 | Plus, gifts of $100 or more receive an exclusive exam room toot. will be matched to help boost our critical work, including this podcast. |
| 0:27.2 | Plus, gifts of $100 or more receive an exclusive exam room tote, and all donations of $20 or more, |
| 0:29.1 | get a shout out right here on the show. So give what you can and support our mission at pcrm.org slash support exam room. |
| 0:36.3 | Today on the exam room. |
| 0:41.2 | It's so important that if you're diagnosed with cancer, that you ask yourself, do I want to live? |
| 0:46.5 | And if the answer is no, that's okay. |
| 0:49.0 | But you need to communicate that to your loved ones and say, you know what? |
| 0:51.5 | I'm okay with dying. |
| 0:52.5 | I don't need to fight to live. |
| 0:54.2 | I'm satisfied with my life. I just want to enjoy the time I have left. If the answer is yes, and you want to live and you're like, I'm going to fight to live. I'm going to do everything in my power to live. You need to be very clear about what you have to live for, right? What do I have to live for? And for me at that time, I had three people to live for. |
| 1:14.7 | I had my wife, my mom, and my dad. |
| 1:18.0 | I remember thinking, like, I cannot bear the thought |
| 1:22.6 | of the three of them. |
| 1:24.4 | I get emotional, even now, the three of them |
| 1:26.8 | putting me in the ground. |
| 1:31.8 | Welcome to the exam room podcast, brought to you by the Physicians Committee. Hi, I'm Chuck |
| 1:37.2 | Carroll, raising health IQs coast to coast and around the world. Hi, to the exam room. He's listening |
| 1:43.4 | in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Montpelier, Vermont, and Prague the world. Hi to the exam room is listening in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, |
... |
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