Brandon from Vancouver, British Columbia, arrived with a golf ball sized tumor on his neck, but three weeks later he is standing in front of us pointing to his neck and describing how the tumor has shrunk to the size of a marble.

"When my doctor in Vancouver told me I needed immediate surgery, I told him no, I was going to Florida and check into Hippocrates for their raw foods diet treatment. He shook his head and said, 'if they can do anything for you, it would be a miracle.'

Brandon proudly points to the miracle happening on his neck and fights back the tears. He brought along his entire family --wife, son and daughter-in-law-- to stay with him during the three weeks and experience the daily wheatgrass juice, raw vegetables, fasting, colonics, and other aspects of the Hippocrates program.

They don't claim to cure anyone here, they only provide the tools that enable people with illness and disease to heal themselves with their own immune systems. The detox regimen everyone goes through here is what unburdens their immune system from toxic overload and enables it to regenerate itself.

I am here this Friday on a research project and every time I have sat through one of these Friday graduations, I never fail to be emotionally moved by the heartfelt stories and dramatic steps toward health many of these guest have taken. (Hippocrates calls its clients 'guests' rather than patients to emphasize the important role that each person plays in their own healing process.)

Next up was a man in his forties from Ireland, diagnosed with cancer, who also came with his entire family-- a wife, a son, and four daughters ranging in age from three to twelve. Normally a talkative fellow, he choked up with emotion and was unable to speak beyond expressing his appreciation for Hippocrates having saved his life.

After all 22 graduates have had an opportunity to describe their experiences with the program, Hippocrates Director Brian Clement speaks: "We are each the only ones who can guide ourselves on our healing journeys. It sounds burdensome to be taking responsibility for your own health. But it you respect yourself, you will find healthy food to eat and positive people to be around."

During my weeklong stay here I have met many wonderful people from all over the world, which was true for me as well last year, when I spent three weeks here doing a detox for the Afterword of The Hundred Year Lie. This time Ted and Simmi Brodie from New York made a special impression.

Ted suffers from type 2 diabetes and heart problems. He is retired from the clothing apparel business. He and Simmi have a daughter named Lisa, who is a physician in Florida specializing in rheumatoid arthritis. Her husband is a cardiologist. Both came to visit the Brodies and we all had a conversation together about the Hippocrates program.

I was rather surprised when the two physicians told me that they not only sent some of their patients to Hippocrates, but they had personally changed their own diets until they are now vegans. "We both read The China Study and we even looked up Professor Campbell's medical references to verify his sources. It was so convincing that we made a choice to become vegans."

The effectiveness of the Hippocrates program has so impressed these two physicians that they have opened a wellness clinic in Florida and operate it parallel with their private practices. This wellness clinic focusses on the role that nutrition plays in healing and in maintaining immune system health.

These are all hopeful if only small signs of the healthcare awakening that is happening in this country and throughout the industrialized world.