Woman says work with horses has aided her cancer fight
Palm Beach Post - May 11, 2016 -
About thirty years ago, Stacey Small walked away from a design job in New York City to pursue a life around horses. That decision to work at a race track and her subsequent study of holistic treatments for racehorses altered the path of Small’s life. Her research led to the creation of her own company and magazine. Even more, her knowledge of alternative medicine helped when Small was diagnosed with cancer four years ago. Her work with the horses came full circle and all her research and knowledge is helping her.
“I realized that the horses were breaking down faster than we could put them back together at the track,” Small said. “They needed a lot of help. I wondered what I could do as a layperson. I decided that I would explore all kinds of alternative therapies. This was back in the late ’80s, when acupuncture and chiropractics weren’t very popular. I sought out some vets and they told me that about 80 percent of Chinese medicine is about the herbs. They didn’t have time to study the herbs, and they asked if I would. I fell in love with herbs. It made total sense to incorporate herbs into the horse’s life.”
Small, 59, developed a line of products for horses, the most famous being the herbal liniment Sore No-More. She sold her company a few years ago, but recently finished writing a book called “Equine Herbal and Energetics” with Andrea Baldwin. Her diagnosis put the book on hold.
“I started not feeling well about four years ago,” Small said. “I was in a lot of pain. I was told I had fibromyalgia, but something didn’t sit right. I knew something was going on. I broke my right femur and I found out I had multiple myeloma, which is cancer of the blood plasma. I had tumors and lesions on all my bones.”
The treatment involved chemotherapy, which was tough for someone who’s dedicated most of her life to natural medicine. The chemo essentially killed her entire immune system so Small underwent a stem cell transplant to get an infusion of healthy cells. The treatment involved trips from her home in Palm City to the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Myeloma Institute in Little Rock several times a year. Her illness kept her from working and the medical bills piled up. Luckily, a Wellington nonprofit stepped in to help.
“I found out about the Equestrian Aid Foundation at the end of last year,” Small said. “They have given me some financial aid in the form of a monthly stipend. They are a wonderful organization. They’re upbeat and positive and they really care about the recipients.”
The treatment has been difficult on both her body and her wallet.
“I’ve been trying to get my strength back,” she said. “I’m thankful for the knowledge I had. The doctors in Arkansas are very good, but they don’t have a consciousness about probiotics or digestive enzymes. I think I did better than some of the other people out there because of my knowledge of that. I had a lot of tools in my toolbox, which I learned from the horses. It’s all a circle.”