ONE SPARK FOR PATIENTS WITH CANCER AND SURVIVORS

A cancer survivor tells us how we can warm people up with a small spark even when we do not feel well. I have written before about how sad I feel, because after my cancer diagnosis, I don’t have the energy to do what I did before. Part of it is because......

CANCER AND METAMORPHOSIS

I like to skim through some women’s magazines occasionally. I am more of a book reader, but am amazed at what I can learn from a few short articles. I was reading the print magazine Oprah, which is available online at OPRAH.MAG.COM and was intrigued by an article titled “Shifting Tides” by......

HOW DO YOU REALLY FEEL? A QUESTION TO ASK CANCER SURVIVORS

I learned a long time ago whenever someone had a tragedy happen – such as a loss of a loved one – to say less rather than more. A platitude like “This is God’s will,” or “There is a reason for everything that happens,” is just not what the person needs to......

PARTIAL CANCER REMISSION: TAKING IT ONE DAY AT A TIME

When I have my “what if”moments I remember this: Try to take things one day at a time I am in a curious, coveted, yet uncertain period of my cancer journey. “Remission” or what my doctor calls “partial remission” is here! A blood cancer such as mine is not curable. I have......

CANCER CAN FEEL LIKE A TICKING TIME BOMB

How do we cope with the feeling that our body has somehow betrayed us and we have a ticking time bomb inside of us? When a person is first diagnosed with cancer, he or she is numb. We all know people who have this awful disease, but can’t believe it is actually......

CANCER SURVIVORS : DO IT NOW!!

We will all eventually run out of time to do things. But for cancer survivors this sense of urgency is even greater. Almost every single cancer survivor I have met says that the one gift from a terrible disease like cancer is we learn to appreciate every single day. It is sad......

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS WITH CANCER

Cancer survivors become experts at counting their blessings! One of the words I read constantly in the articles published by Cure is “blessings.” I also hear it frequently during church services and from friends and family. Samuel Johnson said, “Of the blessings set before you; make your choice and be content.” WOW!......

ONE OF MY ARTICLES IS PUBLISHED IN HEAL MAGAZINE!

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LIVING ON BORROWED TIME WITH CANCER

One of the greatest things about being a writer is that I have the opportunity to correspond with people with cancer from all over the world. Unfortunately, cancer is a universal disease. I have learned so much and am grateful for that. I spoke with a woman named Georgia, who was initially......

“NEVER GIVE UP”AFTER A CANCER DIAGNOSIS

“Never give up for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” Author and social activist Harriet Beecher Stowe spoke these famous words that can certainly have meaning for us cancer survivors. I’m sure I am not alone when I say I felt like throwing in the towel......

DERAIL THE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS!

Every cancer survivor has those days when the negative thoughts take over. Why not use visualization of video games to get rid of those self defeating ideas! As a former counselor, I used a lot of cognitive therapy with my clients. We know that the brain cannot handle two thoughts at the......

WHAT DOES CANCER RELATED FATIGUE FEEL LIKE?

How do we describe the type of fatigue cancer survivors feel? Here is one explanation. I have been battling a rare blood cancer for almost ten years now. Since it is incurable, I have also been battling fatigue for the same amount of time. Presently, I am on weekly shots just to......