Geraldine Howard, Co-Founder and President, Aromatherapy Associates speaks of finding inner strength through her eponymous brand ‘Inner Strength’ created during her darkest hour, and how this bespoke aroma helped her give back
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It’s not very often that you hear first hand, inspirational stories of people who have withstood grave odds with courage. I was fortunate not only to hear her story, but also meet Geraldine Howard at the GSWS in New Delhi in September 2013, where she spoke of her battle with eye cancer and how it led to the formulation of one of Aromatherapy Associates’ most sought-after oils, ‘Inner Strength’. Here is the story of Geraldine Howard and ‘Inner Strength’.
“I’ve been lucky to work in this industry for about 40 years. And I was lucky enough to work with some of the real pioneers in natural therapy when I was in my 20s. Consequently, I believe I’ve led a pretty healthy life… a very good diet, regular exercise and meditation. And I always used natural therapies wherever possible rather than hard drugs and even energy medicine.
However, two years ago, I was diagnosed with a form of eye cancer. So you can imagine my question was… “What have I done wrong?” Because there are many different theories as to why we develop cancer. But the statistics are quite scary. One in three people will be affected by cancer… that’s the reality of life today!”
Geraldine Howard was faced with the choice of having radiotherapy or removing her eye, and she decided to go for eye removal. “I felt I could live quite happily with one eye and in fact, I’ve managed to. Although it is gets hard at times to pour wine into a glass! But the option (of radiotherapy) could have affected my brain and I certainly wouldn’t have retained my eyesight. So I thought eye removal was the better option as it would probably remove the cancer too.” She lived in that dream for about 6 weeks till the analysis of the tumour gave her further bad news – that she had a very aggressive form of cancer. And it was a not a case of whether it would spread, but when, within weeks or certainly months.
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- Geraldine at the GSWS New Delhi
And yet, Howard was given another option. She heard of a new treatment being tested in Holland. It was a cancer vaccine treatment called ‘Dendritic cell vaccination’ (Dendritic cells are part of our T cells – basically part of our defense system). And this treatment was designed to give the immune system a little bit of help… to fight cancer cells. Howard felt this was very in keeping with their philosophy and opted for the treatment.
The treatment involved extracting white blood cells from a patient, from which they find your Dendritic cells and manufacture more of your own Dendritic cells in a laboratory. Over a period of 18 months, these are pumped back into your system to help you fight and kill the cancer cells. No drugs involved at all. This relatively new research being trialled on aggressive forms of cancer because results are positive, far better than chemotherapy.
“You do suffer from slight fever, chronic fatigue, and nausea but thank goodness, not the dramatic hair loss and the sickness that you get with chemo. And given that it is the patient’s own immune system, the symptoms vary from patient to patient. While it is still being trialed, the fact that I am still here, is proof that it is working. Without it, I certainly wouldn’t be standing here today!” says Howard. “But in these kinds of cancer treatments, you go through some pretty low times. At times I felt as though ‘I was walking along the edge of the cliff’ and I was struggling to stay on this path, and if I fell into this great big black hole, I had a feeling I was never going to get out.”
This bottoming out had a phenomenally positive outcome. Falling back on her training as an aromatherapist, she one day asked herself, “What would I do if this was a client? I would go and make them an oil! I knew how powerful essential oils are and how they can really help to focus your mind and help you to stay positive.” So she opened her box of essential oils and let her instincts tell her which oils she needed. And interestingly, she made this very peculiar blend that her intellectual brain would never have made. She bathed in this oil every day, put it her pulse points and started wearing it around the office. Friends and work colleagues kept asking her, “What is that smell? We love it! Can’t we bottle it? Can’t we
make it? Can’t we sell it?” The potent formulation lifted Howard out of the deep black hole she was in, and she named it ‘Inner Strength’.
“ I chose vetivert, camomile and sandalwood to calm and reduce anxiety, frankincense to clear the mind and help focus. I also find it makes you breathe more deeply. Geranium which is emotionally balancing, rosemary and cardamom which I find physically strengthening and finally rose, because that to me is a hug in a bottle.”
“We decided that we would bottle it and sell it because I wanted to help other people going through the same problems that I had. And I really wanted to give back to all the researchers who were doing so much work. ” Howard believes that this type of research will change the face of cancer in the future. The results were interesting. For Aromatherapy Associates, it became the fastest-selling product ever. It’s also raising thousands of pounds every month for cancer research, because the company donates 10% of the proceeds from the sales of these oils back into the cancer research in Holland. A little sticker on the bottles names the research centre creating awareness. And they have had a really phenomenal press response and articles about this amazing cancer research.
Happy with the outcome, Geraldine Howard reflects, “What have I learnt from this? Firstly, it has helped me to accept having the cancer. And being able to do something…. to give back. From a financial and commercial interest, it has shown me that having a successful company truly can raise money and give back, without, damaging your own bottom line. You
can make a big difference by doing a small thing and the visible effect is absolutely phenomenal.
And I think that shows me what this industry can do – that by actually helping and giving people support, we really can work at the absolute core, fundamental meaning of wellness.I have been astounded by the response that I’ve had by just making this one oil. I have had some very moving emails from people who have found the oil helpful to find their inner strength to stay positive in difficult times.
“The research in Holland has given me life that was not expected following my diagnosis so I am so grateful to them. I wanted to give something back and help their research so we donate some of the proceeds from the sales of Inner Strength to the foundation. We are always trying to create awareness so
others too can help.”
“For me, the treatment has been a phenomenal marriage of the medical world and the spa world and I do believe they can work hand in hand.”
Geraldine Howard, Co-Founder and President, Aromatherapy Associates
Tags: aroma, aromatherapy, Aromatherapy Associates, bespoke aroma, cancer research, Cancer Survivor, couarge, essential oils, Geraldine Howard, giving back, GSWS, GSWS Speaker, Inner Strength, inspirational people, inspirational stories, inspiring, spa people, wellness trends
