The wife of well-known psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson recently discussed on “Fox & Friends” about how she found healing and faith after a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2019. The “pressure” of her health crisis motivated Tammy Peterson to start living life through “spirit” versus “self-will,” and she officially became a Catholic on Easter Sunday. She was first diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, an easy form of cancer that she said “wasn’t going to kill me.”
After her first operation, doctors found a Bellini tumor, a rare, malignant metastasis. These are usually only diagnosed after someone passes away, she said, and doctors gave her 10 months to live. She told host Will Cain, “[It was] a much more aggressive cancer in my kidney that pretty much kills everyone. It grows so fast. They don’t diagnose this and they, and they don’t have any treatment for it.” She previously told The Catholic News Agency that seeing her son’s grief at the news made her realize that she “was worthy” of fighting for her life. She decided that only “God will decide when I am going to die.”
She said, “I would just pray. And I continue to do that now. I don’t let myself worry.” After two surgeries, Peterson experienced further complications, and doctors could not find the source. She told the Detroit Catholic that prayer “sustained” her during this five-week-long hospitalization. Prayer would “alleviate some of the pain.” Peterson said she prayed the novena to St. Josemaria Escriva, a nine-day prayer to a specific saint. On the fifth day, doctors discovered Peterson’s body began to heal on its own. Her subsequent surgery was canceled, and she left the hospital, crediting her recovery to God and dietary changes.
She told Cain that her husband’s book “12 Rules for Life” discusses how to lead a life in the “right direction” in the “spirit of truth” and gratitude. She said the weight of her diagnosis helped her find the pillars her husband outlines to lead a good life. At 63, Peterson said her years of marriage with Dr. Peterson has thrived in the spirit of “living in truth.” Every choice they make, she said, must be guided by truth versus self-will. Living in spirit, she said, is the way to “make it right.”
In her good health, Peterson has continued her mission of faith and carries her great-grandmother’s rosary with her. She hosts a YouTube podcast called ‘The Tammy Peterson Podcast’ and speaks at events with her husband.