#81 Emma Haigh on Rare Diseases, Cancer and more#81 Emma Haigh on Rare Diseases, Cancer and more
Recovery and Transformation
Book your free call: 👉 https://www.sameerdossani.net/BookNow In this deeply insightful episode, gut health expert Sameer Dossani sits down with Emma Haigh — a rare disease survivor whose medical journey challenged conventional treatment approaches and...
53:15•29 Mar 2026
Rare Diseases, Thyroid Cancer and Taking Charge of Your Health
Episode Overview
- Rare diseases are often poorly understood, so patients may need to research, ask questions and advocate strongly for themselves.
- Standard treatments like PPIs or high-dose calcium can ease symptoms but may worsen other issues, so interactions between conditions matter.
- Mindset strategies such as focusing on what can be controlled, step by step, can help during frightening diagnoses and repeated surgeries.
- Targeted lifestyle changes – fasting, lowering visceral fat and improving diet quality – can support better surgical outcomes and recovery.
- Health changes are easier when partners are on board, making couples coaching useful where shared habits and home routines shape results.
“"Doctors say you don’t have a low calcium, you’ve got a lack of PTH – but they still treat you by just flooding the body with calcium and vitamin D."”
What can we learn from those who have battled rare diseases and come out the other side still asking questions, still pushing for better care? This conversation between host Sameer Dossani and health coach Emma Haigh is packed with medical curveballs and stubborn resilience. Emma walks through being diagnosed with thyroid cancer at around 21, juggling final exams with surgery, and then facing a recurrence while five months pregnant.
She describes how a supposedly "good" cancer turned into something far more complex once surgeons damaged her parathyroid glands, leaving her with lifelong hypoparathyroidism. As she explains, doctors say, "you don't have a low calcium, you've got a lack of PTH"—yet the standard treatment still just floods the body with calcium and active vitamin D. From there, things escalate: a massive silent kidney stone, a rare XGP kidney infection, and an autoimmune oesophagus condition where food can painfully get stuck.
Emma shares how misdiagnoses of “burnout” and “depression” forced her to become her own expert, reading scan reports, joining specialist support groups and pushing doctors to consider rare conditions they might never see again. Sameer and Emma talk in plain language about hormones, electrolytes, PPIs, fasting, gut health and why stomach acid actually matters.
You’ll hear how they worked together before Emma’s major kidney surgery, using targeted fasting and a low‑carb, high‑protein diet to reduce visceral fat and boost her odds of a smooth recovery. Today, Emma coaches stressed professionals and couples on sustainable health changes, and campaigns to bring parathyroid hormone replacement into South Africa.
Her story speaks directly to anyone living with chronic illness, mysterious symptoms or medical fatigue: you can ask better questions, build a stronger mindset, and become an active partner in your care. Where might your own health journey change if you stopped assuming the doctor always has all the answers?
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