A Mindful Approach to Cancer

As time goes by, and it has been 5 years since my diagnosis, it becomes clear that not enough attention is given to the emotional trauma that a cancer diagnosis brings about.

Everyone expresses concern, your team of doctors are doing everything they can, there are support groups - but there is still something missing.  You are still lost in a confusion of emotions.  You still feel lost.

I am sorry that I did not discover this book when I was going through treatment.  I'm sorry that I did not discover this book when I was just getting back on my feet after cancer treatment.  But I am glad that I found it now.  Five years after my diagnosis and treatment, I am still struggling with the same emotions.  I am struggling to move beyond the cancer.  I still have emotional healing to do, and the perspective given in Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery: A Step-by-Step MBSR Approach to Help You Cope with Treatment and Reclaim Your Liferegardless of where you are in your cancer journey, helps you to become whole again.



I hope in the future, all cancer treatment is provided alongside mindfulness coaching.  I think more patients will recover with better results, rather than just surviving the battlefield of chemotherapy and radiation, they can begin to embrace their lives and move away from fear and toward happiness and greater fulfillment.

Computer ‘Pathologist’ Could Help Assess Breast Cancer Survival | StrongerThanCancer

Computer ‘Pathologist’ Could Help Assess Breast Cancer Survival | StrongerThanCancer

An interesting development, but I worry that too much emphasis is put on computers, and treatments will be prescribed - maybe even dictated - to the patient based on statistics and numbers. There is a lot that goes into surviving cancer. Information is important, but it needs to be kept in context as a tool for the patient to decide what is best for him/her (yes, some men get breast cancer).

My triple negative diagnosis put me in the category that would require the most aggressive treatment - it took a lot to decide to take a less toxic path. With computer data added to the doctors opinion... it may not be long before they don't allow you the choice to determine your own path to survival.

Maybe I'm stretching here, but we need to be careful. As it is insurance companies can deny us coverage if we have a pre-existing condition and a lapse in our coverage. The more people rely on computers to make decisions for them, the less personal our healthcare will be.

....all of that said, it IS a pretty cool tool though :)

Cancer: Don't Just Sit There and Take It

Further to yesterday's news: Is Sitting Too Long a Cancer Risk, the conclusion seemed to be that regular, even if only a minute, breaks during the day may reduce your risk of getting cancer.

Later in the day, I was observing how wonderful my body felt after doing yoga.  It was as if every cell in my body was alive.  That feeling lingers for most of the day; I'm in a great mood, I feel healthy, the everyday challenges seem more manageable.  To me, this was a big part of truly feeling like I could move beyond my cancer.  I am now building a resource list for yoga centers that have programs for cancer patients: Stronger Than Cancer: Yoga (if you have a center to recommend, please send it to me).

Yes, yoga is longer than the one minute break, and it is one break not several.  But the energy that the yoga created in my body, made me WANT to move throughout the day.   It was as if the yoga encourages the type of daily breaks/movement that reduces the risk of cancer.

The yoga that I have been doing lately is easy to fit into my schedule because it's on video: Brian Kest Power Yoga - this one may be too challenging for someone just recovering from treatment (click to image to see the description):

But there are wonderful yoga videos that help you go through and recover from treatment : Yoga for Breast Cancer:

Yoga has worked for me.  It is gentle, but leaves you feeling strong and healthy.  There may be other physical outlets that energize you - find what works for you.

Keep moving - stay energized - take lots of 'active' breaks.

Whatever activity makes you feel good, is also fighting cancer.

Getting Advice on Treatment

If you are recently diagnosed with cancer, it can be very confusing to understand your options when it comes to treatment.  Find out where you can learn about what your options are and who you can turn to for professional advice from those who know how to get you the best possible chance of survival.

Getting Advice on Treatment | StrongerThanCancer

The Cancer Risk of... Sitting?

We all know that regular exercise can help prevent cancer, and improve your survival.  But this week, Nevill Owen, PhD, of Australia's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute presented research at the American Institute for Cancer Research conference showing a link between a sedentary lifestyle and cancer risk.

The findings encourage "break time".  Instead of just thinking of getting to the gym, which is difficult for many people, thinking of ways to get moving throughout the day will have an impact.

"We found that even breaks as short as one minute can lower these biomarkers."  The biomarkers they refer to are: waist circumference, inflammation, and other indicators of cancer risk.

The  risk effects seemed greater for colon and breast cancer.  The evidence was weaker for lung, prostate, and ovarian cancers.

But even without a specific link to other cancers, why not take breaks?  We often think more clearly when we get up and move around, and if it is also helping in the fight against cancer, it's a simple thing to do - and supports the plan to fit cancer fighting strategies into every part of daily life.

Fighting Cancer and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

A year after my diagnosis, I remember a conversation when I was explaining how I mentally I felt like someone who had returned from war.  I felt disconnected.  I had flashbacks.  I remember thinking it was like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A few years later, a number of articles are published linking the diagnosis of cancer to PTSD - for me it was a revelation - it made sense.  see: Many cancer survivors suffer from PTSD.

My symptoms seemed slightly different, particularly the avoidance part of it.  There are definitely many parts of my memory that I have blocked, and some things I avoid - but others, particularly those people who stood by me, are so connected - that I have difficulty trusting anyone but them.

I thought the study was interesting when it suggested that it can worsen over time.

I don't think it's the majority of cancer patients, but it's important to consider.  Cancer patients should seek help if they are struggling with depression years after diagnosis.  Treatment for PTSD can help them move toward healing, and it doesn't seem to go away on its own if it's not treated...

BRCA and Cancer Risk

Today, they released new findings regarding BRCA and cancer risk, see No Higher Risk of Breast Cancer for Women Who Don't Have BRCA Mutation but Have Relatives Who Do

In a flash, I remembered the pressure from my surgeon to get the testing done, with all sorts of scary stories and the implications it had for my daughter, and handing me the phone because maybe I should call my husband, oncologist, anyone who might convince me to do it.

I love that testing gives us information, but it seems to me, that too often (especially in my case) testing only led to more tests, and justification to pressure me into preventative (surgical) actions.  This same surgeon was already suggesting that I have my ovaries removed to reduce the chances of ovarian cancer.

They are my ovaries.  I want to keep them.

Not long after this, I found a different surgeon, and she will forever be remembered as Frankenstein.

But the article also hinted at how eager the medical community was to find some greater risk associated with the gene existing in the family.

All of that said, having a family member with breast cancer does put you at greater risk.  But with the risk of getting some cancer in your lifetime very high :Cancer Strikes 1 in 2 Men and 1 in 3 Women, it makes sense that everyone, I mean EVERYONE should assume that they are 'at risk' of getting cancer, and should work toward preventing it!!!

Let's not rely on tests.  Tests and screens to find cancer make sense.  Tests to see if you are "AT-RISK" perhaps aren't necessary.  Living in our modern world puts us at risk.  We are all at risk.

With everything we know about what fights cancer, there's no reason not to begin the fight today and reduce our chances of getting cancer.  Let's not be a part of that statistic.