Man's tumor shrinks when he alters environment, shuns cancer treatments in favor of acts of kindness

While most people are focused on paying their own bills, sorting through their own finances and seeking to generate more income, unemployed Brice Royer has made it his mission to pay others’ rent. Such generosity is just one example of the many ways he helps others. Of course, the burning question exists: Why does he do it?

“Why do I pay others [sic] rent and not my own? It’s simple. Buying and selling isn’t love. It’s trade. Giving and receiving is love,” said Royer. “I believe trade disconnects us and caused my cancer.” (1)
 

The link between money and illness
Thirty-year-old Royer developed a rare stomach cancer two years ago. After hearing the common reasons that likely led to his illness such as exposure to chemicals and other environmental factors, it wasn’t until he spoke with an economist who said that money was at the root of its cause that Royer developed this pay-it-forward mindset. (2) In a nutshell, he has embraced a lifestyle in which he focuses on shifting away from a cash-driven society toward one that allows people to meet their needs in a system of giving and receiving instead. Rather than turning to cancer treatments or surgeries, Royer has chosen to change his environment, and it’s done wonders for his health.

Since adopting this lifestyle, he’s maintained a healthy life that’s allowed him to manage his illness. In fact, he’s even added weight to his once sickly-looking body, something he was unable to do before making this change. Plus, he encourages and inspires others to embrace a gift economy lifestyle through the Facebook page he created, Gift Economy Vancouver BC. (2) Royer even moved from a very busy area to a significantly quieter town in North Vancouver, Canada.

Why an approach that shifts away from money, towards community heals
The thinking behind his approach of treating cancer by engaging in a pay-it-forward system is twofold. First, after research and much thought, he says he feels that money and people’s collective quest for it, can lead to unhealthy bodies. For example, in parts of China where some chemical factories thrive economically, its residents are developing cancers left and right. (3) In areas where the economy is booming, in many instances, the health of its surrounding population is waning. Therein comes the notion that society’s ongoing desire for money, to the point of unnecessary excess, is literally costing people their lives.

Secondly, Royer is on board with research which shows that sharing and a sense of community leads to longevity. In a society where people give and receive, rather than engage in monetary exchanges, people tend to live happy and healthier lives. For example, on the Greek island of Ikaria, men are about four times as likely as Americans to reach 90, and their health is typically better to boot. (4) There, children return home to live with their parents even after college, there is no concept of time and the sense of urgency that tends to surround it in other cultures, and people pool their money to celebrate holidays with food and drink.

“For me, at least, it’s a matter of survival,” Royer said of his gift economy way of living. “Giving and receiving for me is about health and healing.” (2)

The latest medical scan shows there to be improvement in Royer’s tumor. (2)