Wednesday, February 28, 2018
What If We Could Make Negative Cancer Thoughts Disappear?
A professional magician with cancer shares some mindfulness magic.
PUBLISHED February 28, 2018
Khevin Barnes is a Male Breast Cancer survivor, magician and speaker. He is currently writing, composing and producing a comedy stage musical about Male Breast Cancer Awareness. He travels wherever he is invited to speak to (and do a little magic for) men and women about breast cancer. www.BreastCancerSpeaker.com www.MaleBreastCancerSurvivor.com
"Mindfulness" has become a bit of a hot topic lately as it applies to cancer survivors. There's no question that our thoughts influence how we behave. The bigger question is how influential are the thoughts that we conjure up on our health?
Can we think ourselves sick? Or well?
I knew that I wanted to spend my life as a working magician when I was 12 years old. I was drawn to the art in large part by the "science" of it, though I was not totally aware of that at the time. I loved the physics employed in the creation of stage illusions and the psychology used in sleight-of-hand tricks.
Over the 35 years of my performing career, whenever we visited schools with our shows, the elementary school students would often ask me, "Are you doing real magic? Is there real magic in the world?"
Can we think ourselves sick? Or well?
I knew that I wanted to spend my life as a working magician when I was 12 years old. I was drawn to the art in large part by the "science" of it, though I was not totally aware of that at the time. I loved the physics employed in the creation of stage illusions and the psychology used in sleight-of-hand tricks.
Over the 35 years of my performing career, whenever we visited schools with our shows, the elementary school students would often ask me, "Are you doing real magic? Is there real magic in the world?"
I Can’t Get Over it. I Have to Go Through.
I can’t get over it.
I can’t get over the fear that entered my heart when I first wondered if it was cancer. Or the way my mind raced through terrifying possibilities of what could happen next. Or the anxiousness of getting that phone call with the test results. Or how my spirits sunk as the doctor talked about tumors and oncology. I can’t get over the nightmare I lived when we heard the three dreaded words, “you have cancer.”
I can’t get over it.
I can’t get over the darkness that consumed my soul in those first few days. Or the stress of coordinating biopsies, scans, and appointments with specialists. Or the isolation I felt as I realized this disease only affected the most unlucky few. Or the concern as most of the names I found were from obituaries rather than survival. I can’t get over how my heart was ripped to shreds as I learned how elusive our future was.
The Struggle to Stay Present When Coping With Cancer
Is it possible to grieve for someone who is still alive?
BY Kim Johnson
PUBLISHED February 28, 2018
Kim is a nursing student who is hoping to find her place amongst the phenomenal oncology nurses and doctors who cared for her sister. She loves reading, volunteering and enjoying the outdoors of Colorado.
Most people associate grief with loss. When you have somebody you love going through cancer, sometimes that grief happens even when that person is still very much alive. When my sister was going through cancer, my grief came from thinking about what the future might look like without her in it.She was diagnosed on July 11, 2014. People ask if I still remember that day, and the answer is a resounding yes. I have filed it away in my brain, but that doesn't make it any less memorable. I can still see the different shades of white that filled the hospital. I can hear the sounds that, in the course of 3 years, became all too familiar. I can smell the unique mix of Clorox and perfume that is most clinical settings. And I can still feel what it was like to be breathless and heartbroken when we were told my 27-year-old sister was sick with stage 4 cancer.
Tip of the Day: Stretch Your Food Dollar!
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Stretch your food dollar!
There are many ways to stretch your food dollars. Look for coupons in
unexpected places-with your receipt, as peel-offs on packaging, and alongside
items on grocery aisle shelves.
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5 Integrative Therapies That Can Help Cope With Breast Cancer
Updated December 01, 2017
Alternative and complementary therapies have become the buzz word in cancer treatment, and many cancer centers now offer these treatments.
It’s important, however, to make a quick distinction when speaking of alternative therapies as used in cancer treatment. As offered, these therapies are considered “integrative” which means they are used alongside conventional treatments for cancer such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
At this time we don’t have any alternative therapies which are effective for treating cancer. Rather, these therapies may play an important role in helping you cope with the symptoms of cancer and cancer treatments, such as pain, fatigue, insomnia, and anxiety.
Ask your oncologist which of these therapies are available at your cancer center, and if she feels any of these could be particularly helpful for you. Let’s take a look at some of the treatments that have been studied for people with cancer.
Sometimes Doing The "Right" Thing Does Not Feel Good
Breast cancer survivor decides the "right" thing now, due to genetic testing results and family history, is a prophylactic double mastectomy with reconstructions
BY Barbara Tako
PUBLISHED February 27, 2018
Barbara Tako is a breast cancer survivor (2010), melanoma survivor (2014) and author of Cancer Survivorship Coping Tools–We'll Get You Through This. She is a cancer coping advocate, speaker and published writer for television, radio and other venues across the country. She lives, survives, and thrives in Minnesota with her husband, children and dog. See more at www.cancersurvivorshipcopingtools.com or www.clutterclearingchoices.com.
I remember dealing with cancer and a difficult family situation when a very dear friend gently reminded me, "Barb, sometimes doing the right thing does not feel good." I needed that reminder then and while I wait for my prophylactic double mastectomy with reconstruction, I feel like I need that reminder again. What is right "right" implies a correctness or moral choice.
Every day, cancer survivors make the best decisions they can with their treatments and their lives. The outcomes of those choices are not always "happy." Sometimes I think our society seeks "happy" too often and too much. What about self-control and responsibilities? We are adults, after all.
The pursuit of happy does not always or immediately take us in the direction of happy. In addition, the choice for instant gratification does not always really make someone happy. I know my reconstruction will not be instant. It will be a process. There will be times for healing. There may be pitfalls or setbacks. There may be multiple surgeries and what we politely call "procedures." What a word. By all means, proceed. Yikes. And, yes, I am putting my family through "this" again. Again? No, this is not cancer, not this time. This is my personal choice. This is what I think is "right" for me at this moment in time with the limited knowledge available.
Every day, cancer survivors make the best decisions they can with their treatments and their lives. The outcomes of those choices are not always "happy." Sometimes I think our society seeks "happy" too often and too much. What about self-control and responsibilities? We are adults, after all.
The pursuit of happy does not always or immediately take us in the direction of happy. In addition, the choice for instant gratification does not always really make someone happy. I know my reconstruction will not be instant. It will be a process. There will be times for healing. There may be pitfalls or setbacks. There may be multiple surgeries and what we politely call "procedures." What a word. By all means, proceed. Yikes. And, yes, I am putting my family through "this" again. Again? No, this is not cancer, not this time. This is my personal choice. This is what I think is "right" for me at this moment in time with the limited knowledge available.
Read More:
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Cancer Just Keeps on Surprising Me
Now I have constant back pain. What's next?
BY Laura Yeager
PUBLISHED February 27, 2018
As well as being a cancer blogger, Laura Yeager is a religious essayist and a mental health blogger. A graduate of The Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa, she teaches writing at Kent State University and Gotham Writers’ Workshop. Laura survived cancer twice.
One of the results of my breast cancer surgery in 2016 is chronic back pain. Two years ago, my doctors discovered that I had an angiosarcoma on my right breast. My plastic surgeon performed a latissimus dorsi procedure, where he took a muscle from my back and moved it around to my chest area, replacing the breast tissue he had removed. This procedure is also commonly known as a "flap."
I had little pain from the operation for about two years, but recently, within the last few months, I've experienced chronic pain. I'm not sure why this discomfort has flared up (it might be because I slammed into my mom's parked car in our driveway and the force of the blow traumatized my incision area), but I am finding ways to relieve the aching sensation.
I had little pain from the operation for about two years, but recently, within the last few months, I've experienced chronic pain. I'm not sure why this discomfort has flared up (it might be because I slammed into my mom's parked car in our driveway and the force of the blow traumatized my incision area), but I am finding ways to relieve the aching sensation.
Congo Square Rhythms Fest: March 3-4, 2018
We always like to highlight interesting (and low cost) events in the metro area.
Mother and Daughter Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Their Story
Some cancer patients hoping to join clinical trials encounter roadblocks. Patients with a prior cancer, for instance, are commonly excluded from enrolling.
A study published in November 2017 in JAMA Oncology found that more than 25 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients ages 65 and older and 11 percent of those ages 20 to 64 are facing cancer for at least the second time.
A study published in November 2017 in JAMA Oncology found that more than 25 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients ages 65 and older and 11 percent of those ages 20 to 64 are facing cancer for at least the second time.
The results indicate there could be “an enormous group of patients who are not afforded the opportunity to be able to participate” in trials, says Caitlin Murphy, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a study author.
The study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries on 740,990 Americans newly diagnosed with cancer between 2009 and 2013. The SEER registries contain information on cancer cases in regions of the U.S. and provide insight into cancer statistics in the country as a whole. Patients were defined as having had a prior cancer if they had a separate primary cancer in their history. Recurrence of a previously diagnosed cancer was not considered to be a second cancer.
When Cancer Survivors Get Another Cancer | Cancer Today
Some cancer patients hoping to join clinical trials encounter roadblocks. Patients with a prior cancer, for instance, are commonly excluded from enrolling.
A study published in November 2017 in JAMA Oncology found that more than 25 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients ages 65 and older and 11 percent of those ages 20 to 64 are facing cancer for at least the second time.
A study published in November 2017 in JAMA Oncology found that more than 25 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients ages 65 and older and 11 percent of those ages 20 to 64 are facing cancer for at least the second time.
The results indicate there could be “an enormous group of patients who are not afforded the opportunity to be able to participate” in trials, says Caitlin Murphy, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a study author.
The study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries on 740,990 Americans newly diagnosed with cancer between 2009 and 2013. The SEER registries contain information on cancer cases in regions of the U.S. and provide insight into cancer statistics in the country as a whole. Patients were defined as having had a prior cancer if they had a separate primary cancer in their history. Recurrence of a previously diagnosed cancer was not considered to be a second cancer.
Tip of the Day: Give Your Water Some Persanality
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Give your water some personality!
Water is a refreshing choice. Jazz it up by adding slices of fruit or fresh herbs like mint, rosemary
or basil.
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It is time for the 2018 Sista Strut
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