Her protein-rich nut butters are helping millions of people heal

While battling cancer, Lea Hurley developed tasty, nutrient-rich nut butters to add protein to her diet and boost her energy levels. Now she's helping other women feel strong and healthy too!

- —Deborah Evans Price

"I feel amazing! Everything is a gift from God, and I am so thankful," says Lea

Everything I eat hurts my stomach, Lea Hurley despaired. Why do I still feel sick all the time? Working as an ultrasound technician, nutritionist and personal trainer, the then-34-year-old knew certain foods could trigger intestinal issues, so she began cutting out dairy and wheat.

I'm eating nothing but turkey, rice and nut butter I make for myself, she thought. Is this really even helping?

At her wit's end, Lea went in for medical testing in 2018, and soon received a call that changed her life forever. She was told that she had stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer, which starts in hormone-producing cells in the lungs, stomach, intestines and pancreas. Terrified, Lea began researching and quickly realized the survival rate for this type of cancer was very low due to how it masquerades as other issues.

So this is why my stomach always hurts, she realized. Lea's cancer was in an area of the body known as the porta hepatis, where the pancreas, stomach and liver meet. Her case perplexed her doctors because after investigating, they believe it originated in her appendix, which she'd had removed 10 years earlier.

But her doctor determined surgery was still necessary to remove the cancerous mass and part of her liver.