It didn’t take me long into my tour of the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL to say out loud to my husband, “UGH! I wish we would have known about this place when I was diagnosed!”

I was born and grew up just down the street from Hippocrates but didn’t learn of it until months after my cancer diagnosis in 2008. I am tossing it up to one of those “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be” kind of things, but if you are looking for a place to retreat to after a cancer diagnosis, this would definitely be a peaceful and helpful place to consider.

Was it a sign that the first question our tour guide asked was “would anyone like to try some Green Drink?”

Our tour group at HHI was made up of about 15 people, one of whom fought his Stage IV colon cancer with raw foods and wheatgrass therapy at Hippocrates. Three years later he said he is about 80% raw but still completely vegan and CANCER FREE! He was there bringing a few other people on a tour of HHI, the place that “saved his life.”

After a brief orientation in the dining hall we journeyed off to the wheatgrass juicing room. If you have ever experienced the overwhelming smell of juiced wheatgrass, you will agree with me that it is a mix of fresh grass clippings and some sort of sweetener that makes you squish your face up and wriggle your nose.

Wheatgrass therapy was the main therapeutic component in Hippocrates Diet founder, Ann Wigmore‘s, treatment protocol. It is extremely alkalizing and LOADED with vitamins and minerals among many other benefits. I consumed it 2-3 times daily while going through the detoxification period during my own cancer “treatment.”

After our wheatgrass adventures, we viewed several brand-new villas students call home during their stay at HHI. Housing rates for a stay at HHI have 7 different pricing tiers, varying from moderately affordable to pretty expensive. There are places to stay on campus and some just off campus but within walking distance. You can also attend as a “commuter” student if you live in or are staying with friends in the West Palm Beach area.

HHI is equipped with eight non-chlorinated pools including dead sea salt pools, jacuzzis, cold pools, and swimming pools. They also have infrared saunas and a steam room (as if south Florida in the summer isn’t the world’s largest steam room!)

At times HHI felt way more like an upscale resort than a place that people come to heal their cancer. It is quite a huge paradox from the traditional hospital setting of conventional treatment. The sad part of it all is that a 3 week stay with the most luxurious package and accommodations at HHI would STILL be thousands less than ONE chemotherapy treatment in a hospital. If only insurance companies would get with it…but that’s a whole other messy conversation.

I was very impressed with HHI’s therapy rooms and overall serenity of the grounds and facilities. The list of therapy options was impressive: hyperbaric therapy, cranial stimulation, hydrocolon therapy, IV Vitamin C and other IV therapies, complete blood analysis upon arrival, hormone therapy, and thermography.

There were several other therapies that I was not familiar with that are also included in your stay with HHI such as Ceregam-RH, H-Wave Therapy, Lymphatic Drainage Bed, Migun, MRS 2000, Ondamed Biofeedback Treatment, Q1000 Laser, Soft Laser, Theragem, Turbosonic Therapy, and Viofor.

You could spend a RIDICULOUS amount of money in the therapy center during your visit at HHI, but the good news is that ONE of each of these therapies are included with your tuition. You can add extra services a la carte upon registration or during your stay.

In addition to the therapies, HHI has a fitness center with gym equipment and group classes in yoga and pilates. They also have therapists specializing in many varieties of massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, and reflexology. HHI’s location within miles of the Atlantic Ocean also allows for weekly beach trips.

As our tour continued, I learned what fills a typical day at HHI. There is ample time for exercise and meditation including Tai Chi, yoga, and pool exercise. There are several breaks for wheatgrass juice and other green juices each day. The “meat and potatoes” (HA! that is seriously the first phrase that came to my mind) of the program are the lectures by Drs. Brian and Anna Maria Clement. They are experts in the Living Foods Lifestyle and lecture all around the world. Many of the other therapists and emotional experts at HHI speak throughout the week in their areas of expertise.

Maybe ya’ll can help me figure out all of these people on the wall that have visited Hippocrates? So far I can identify Ellen Page on the right, AKA “Juno.” Then there’s legendary actor Anthony Hopkins and Fleetwood Mack’s Mick Fleetwood. And of course Atlanta’s own Coretta Scott King.

Good to know that Jesus isn’t completely left out of the equation at HHI. (:

The main dining room at HHI appeared brand new, super clean and serves daily lunch and dinner buffet of LOTS of sprouts and living foods, all included with tuition. Visitors can have unlimited lunch for $10 if you take the tour. $20 if just stopping in. AND one of the coolest little touches are the BIKES! Unlimited bike borrowing is included with your stay at Hippocrates.

If I would have know of Hippocrates when diagnosed I would have taken 2 weeks off work for detoxing and focusing on myself at HHI, loaded up on colonics and reflexology appointments a la carte at their Therapy Center and stayed with my parents at their home just south of West Palm Beach. This would have brought me to a grand total of just under $5,000. For another $500 I could have stayed for 3 weeks.

Pricing:

For the most affordable on-campus accommodations with a private room, prices range from $2,860 for a one week stay to $5,940 for 3 weeks (2012 prices.) The most expensive package with a private room ranges from $8,470 to just over $17,000. There is also the option to share a room with another HHI student for a lower rate.

Tuition includes all food and juices, blood work and health consultations, emotional healing classes, food prep classes and other lectures, fitness center, unlimited warm and cold pool usage, lodging (unless opting for the commuter package), and ONE of each therapy from their Therapy Center.

In researching for this post, I ran across a few negative reviews of HHI. As with anytime you are dealing with a BUSINESS, you need to stand firm in what you are willing to dish out financially. I think that the primary benefit of HHI is what is offered in their tuition- the food, the classes, and the facilities and treatments that are included in the tuition costs. The lush, tropical paradise is ideal for healing to take place.

Unless you WANT to spend extra on additional therapies or products, DON’T. Stand your ground. This is a HOLISTIC healing center, not a quick fix, so don’t go there expecting that. Your attitude will make the biggest difference of all.***

If you are interested in more information about the Hippocrates Health Institute, contact Kristin Berbusse at kberbusse@hippocratesinst.org, (561) 530-5895 or Jolene Jackson at jjackson@hippocratesinst.org, 561-471-8876 ext. 2207. You can also visit their website: HippocratesInst.org.

*** I would not consider time at Hippocrates as “treatment” and wouldn’t expect to go there with cancer and emerge with complete healing. It is a place that will empower you to take care of yourself- eating foods from the earth and learning healthy thought processes after a time of detox that you can continue once you get home from the institute. With those skills and change in mindset, continuing healing can take place overtime. ***

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