Keeping Abreast with Dr. Jenn 136: Part 1 | Cancer Begins Before Anyone Finds It and Your Environment Plays a Bigger Role Than You Think with Dr. Nasha Winters
PART ONE - In this episode of Keeping Abreast, Dr. Jenn Simmons sits down with Dr. Nasha Winters, a renowned integrative oncology expert and metabolic health pioneer, for a deeply personal and eye-opening conversation about cancer, resilience, and why so many people are getting diagnosed younger than ever before.
Dr. Nasha shares the story of her own terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 19 and how being forced outside the conventional system led her to ask a different question, not just how to treat cancer, but why the body became vulnerable to it in the first place. What followed became the foundation of her life’s work.
Together, Dr. Jenn and Dr. Nasha explore the root causes driving modern cancer risk, from mitochondrial dysfunction and immune suppression to environmental toxins, vitamin D deficiency, chronic stress, trauma, and the cumulative burden of modern life.
This is part-one of a two-part conversation. If you have ever wondered why cancer is rising, why it is showing up earlier, or why true healing has to go beyond standard treatment, this episode is a must-listen.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why cancer is becoming more common in younger people
- The difference between chronological age and biological age
- How mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to cancer and accelerated aging
- Why immune suppression and vitamin D deficiency matter more than most people realize
- The role of environmental exposures, plastics, hormones, and EMFs in modern disease
- How trauma, chronic stress, and nervous system dysregulation affect healing
- Why looking inward may be one of the most important steps after a diagnosis
- What it means when someone says, “I did everything right and still got cancer”
- Why prevention has to start long before disease appears
Episode Timeline:
01:04 Meet Dr. Nasha Winters
05:15 Dr. Nasha’s cancer diagnosis at 19 and how it changed everything
11:22 Cancer, aging, and the mitochondria connection
18:22 Environmental overload and the rise of early-onset disease
23:28 Immune suppression, vitamin D, and cancer risk
26:03 The growing cancer burden and why prevention matters
30:49 Trauma, stress, and the psychoneuroimmunology of healing
34:40 Can someone heal if they are not ready to look inward?
38:26 Readiness, resistance, and the patient’s role in healing
40:36 Alcohol, lifestyle patterns, and difficult truths in cancer care
45:40 “I did everything right” — what that really means
48:47 Toxic exposures, hidden patterns, and what we normalize
49:25 Stress, uncertainty, and building the tools to adapt
51:21 Pets, pesticides, and what our environment is telling us
52:35 Why you won’t want to miss Part Two
Guest: Nasha Winters
To talk to a member of Dr. Jenn's team and learn more about working privately with Dr. Jenn visit: https://calendly.com/stephanie-1031/clarity-call
To get your copy of Dr. Jenn's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Breast Cancer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/SmartWomansBreastCancerGuide
To purchase the auria breast cancer screening test go here https://auria.care/ and use the code DRJENN20 for 20% Off.
Connect with Dr. Jenn:
Website: https://www.jennsimmonsmd.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennSimmons
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjennsimmons/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.jennsimmons