The Five Pillars of Purposeful Living | Dawn Mussallem

Dr. Dawn Mussallem, an integrative oncologist at Mayo Clinic, joins David to share her extraordinary journey—surviving Stage IV lymphoma, enduring a near-death flat line, and later undergoing a heart transplant—guided by her joy, faith, and steadfast commitment to a lifestyle-centered healing approach. Traveling to Dharamsala to meet the Dalai Lama reinforced Dawn’s belief in love, compassion, and unity as essential complements to medical science. She unpacks metrics for heart and cancer prevention (like Apo-B, lipoproteins, calcium scoring, early detection tests), debunks extremes, and champions five daily pillars—connection, movement, nutritious eating, sleep, and reducing toxins—as foundational to vibrant, purposeful living.

At the end of the episode, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon joins David to highlight the most actionable biomarkers and tools for heart and cancer prevention. Gabrielle underscores a shift toward individualized care and warns against outdated generalizations—like past assumptions linking testosterone to prostate cancer—underscoring the evolving nature of medical understanding.

This episode blends profound personal experience, spiritual enlightenment, and evidence-based lifestyle guidance. Whether you're fighting illness or striving for vitality, Dawn's infectious joy and practical wisdom illuminate a path that uplifts body, mind, and spirit.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Meeting the Dalai Lama: love, compassion & time standing still

03:48 Cancer diagnosis: facing Stage IV lymphoma in medical school

06:55 Cardiac aftermath: near-death flat-line & living with 8% ejection fraction

10:33 Integrative medicine at Mayo: holistic care & lifestyle optimization

15:08 Heart health metrics: Apo‑B, lipoproteins & imaging insights

19:20 Cancer prevention through lifestyle: nutrition, movement & sleep

24:59 Environmental factors: navigating risks without fear

27:12 Five daily habits: connection, movement, food, sleep & toxin awareness

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David Nurse is an NBA/elite performance optimization coach, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Do It: The Life-Changing Power of Taking Action, and an internationally-acclaimed motivational keynote speaker.

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