The 'Emily in Paris' actress opens up that she has believed in alternative medicine since she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 15.
- Jun 17, 2023
AceShowbiz - Ashley Park has begun to believe in holistic medicine since being diagnosed with cancer as a teenager. The 32-year-old actress was battling acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 15 and has now been free of the disease for a number of years but, because doctors told her that some pharmaceutical treatments at the time could leave her with fertility issues, she now believes in alternative medicine and prefers to prioritise her mental health.
"It's not that I'm skeptical of pharmaceuticals - I love an Advil - but because of the cancer experience, I've also realised how amazing holistic medicine can be. The doctors said, 'You might have fertility problems, you might have...' I was like, let's stop there," she told Women's Health.
"The mind is so powerful that as soon as we think something's a possibility, it manifests it. I've finally learned the power of a mental health break. In my 20s, I thought of vacations as, you can travel and do exciting things. It's shifted to vacation being alone time."
The "Emily in Paris" star previously admitted that she "doesn't mind" that discussing her cancer but does not want the illness to define her. She told Cosmopolitan, "Many times people bring up my cancer experience. I totally don't mind talking about it. I think it's very important to talk about, but I also appreciate when I'm not asked to talk about the experience, or about how it's informed how I've lived my life."
"I never wanted to be just the Asian girl, just the 'whatever' girl, and then I got to 16 and was the bald girl and the sick girl. I didn't want to know that I might be infertile or that my heart might stop working or any of that stuff because once you say it, you're thinking about it. Even though my body beat the disease, if I let it change anything, it's won."
