Healing from Cancer, Wild Water Swimming, and the Power of Purpose with Dean Hall

Shownotes For Podcast Episode 19: Healing from Cancer, Wild Water Swimming, and the Power of Purpose with Dean Hall  

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of the Health and Wellness Coach Journal Podcast, Dr. Jessica Singh sits down with Dean Hall, a licensed therapist and success coach with over 35 years of experience. A two-time cancer survivor and two-time world record-setting extreme distance swimmer, he is the first person in history to swim the entire 187-mile length of Oregon’s longest river, the Willamette River, which he completed as an active cancer patient, and Ireland’s longest river, the River Shannon, measuring 180 miles. These swims were not only physical feats but also marked spiritual and emotional turning points that led to an unexpected remission and ignited a powerful new calling.

Dean shares the extraordinary story of how the death of his beloved wife Mary and his own repeated brushes with mortality catalyzed a profound transformation in his understanding of healing. Instead of following the conventional advice to "fight cancer," Dean began to question the cultural conditioning around illness and realized that staying in a chronic state of fight-or-flight was preventing true healing. Inspired by a shift in perspective—from battling disease to loving life—Dean embraced the healing power of nature and purpose, leading to an unexpected remission and the founding of his initiative, Wild Cure Way, to help individuals leave behind the confines of concrete jungles and digital distractions to rediscover the transformative healing power of nature through his nature-based approach.

Dean's Healing Journey

Dean survivor recounts two transformative turning points that reshaped his life. Facing a terminal diagnosis and overwhelming despair from the loss of his beloved wife, Mary, he remembered Viktor Frankl’s philosophy that purpose is essential to survival. This led him to rediscover a childhood journal where he once dreamed of swimming the English Channel. Inspired by that youthful vision, he set a new goal—to complete a groundbreaking swim as an active cancer patient to show others that diagnosis doesn’t define destiny. His epic 22-day, 187-mile swim of Oregon’s Willamette River became both a physical and spiritual journey, unexpectedly aiding in his healing. The cold water immersion, connection to nature, and renewed sense of purpose not only boosted his immune system but also restored his will to live. Guided by Einstein’s quote about living life as a miracle, he found that meaning, movement, and mindset can be more powerful than medicine alone.

His approach now known as The Wild Cure Way includes not only nature immersion and forest bathing (shinrin-yoku), but also what he calls “radical honesty” and self-trust. His personalized wellness assessment tool, Natura, helps clients map their own journey of reconnection.

Be Your Own Best Advocate

Dean shares the profound importance of becoming your own advocate in health and in life. He emphasizes how being in control of one's journey opens up space for bold decisions, such as his own extraordinary choice to fully live with purpose after facing a terminal diagnosis. Rather than passively chasing a cure, he encourages embracing life fully, noting how doing so may even extend one’s time. Dr. Singh and Dean discuss the importance of this especially in a medical culture still dominated by reactive treatments and pharmaceutical influence, underscoring the missed opportunity of lifestyle and nature interventions.

Takeways

This episode reminds us that healing is not just physical or based on logic; it’s deeply emotional and spiritual. Dean Hall’s journey underscores the importance of becoming your own best advocate in the face of serious illness, listening to your body, and aligning with your inner wisdom. He emphasizes the role of nature and movement in recovery, revealing how immersive outdoor experiences and mindset shifts can be transformative.

Coaching creates the space for people to rediscover their wholeness, trust their intuition, and redefine what it means to truly heal. Healing is possible, and it often begins with radical self-honesty and embracing the natural world.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

1. Turner, Kelly A. Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds. HarperOne, 2014.

2. Turner, Kelly A. Radical Hope: 10 Key Healing Factors from Exceptional Survivors of Cancer and Other Diseases. Hay House, 2020.

3. Hall, Dean. The Wild Cure Way. 2023.

4. Radical Remission Project. Radical Remission Project. https://radicalremission.com

5. Li, Qing. Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness. Viking, 2018.

Website: https://www.thewildcureway.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanhallofficial/ 

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Introduction
• 3:23 - Dean's Healing Journey
• 15:14 - Turning Points
• 33:05 - Swimming Toward Legacy: How Deans' Dream Led to Unexpected Healing and Remission
• 39:46 - Trading Fighting Cancer for Loving Life
• 42:36 - Be Your Own Best Advocate
• 48:40 - Takeaways