“And don’t think the garden
looses its ecstasy in winter.
It’s quiet, but the roots
are down there riotous.” –Rumi
The Winter Solstice arrives on December 21st at 23:03 UTC.
In the midst of winter’s darkness, the light returns. The longest night of the year heralds the return of the sun.  And so it has always been that even [...]

“[If you hear a] story about how eating sausage leads to anal cancer, you will be skeptical, because it has never happened to anyone you know, and sausage, after all, is delicious.”
― David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other [...]

I was fortunate to be able to continue with my psychotherapy practice when I was in treatment for cancer.  I was also supervising at a university counseling center and I did miss a number of the supervisor’s meetings during that time.  I’ll always remember when I walked into the first meeting without hair, eyebrows and [...]

Giving Thanks
My name is _______________________________________________________
The date is _______________________________________________________
These are the people who are important in my life:
1. ________________________ because ___________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. ________________________ because ___________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. ________________________ because ___________________________
____________________________________________________________
This year I am most thankful for _______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
When I think of Thanksgiving, I think about ______________________________
________________________________________________________________
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My best Thanksgiving memory is All the we behold is full of blessings.  William Wordsworth

It’s [...]

Recently I wrote about the loneliness that can happen in cancer survivorship. More people looked at that topic than any other I have ever posted.  This confirms my belief that there is a great need for people who have survived cancer to tell their stories and to be offered services and support throughout the rest [...]

Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering – and it’s all over much too soon.
Woody Allen

I think Woody Allen speaks to the essential dilemma of being human and being alive. Things can be really difficult, we can feel as though it’s not worth it to keep plugging on.  And then again, the whole crazy [...]

“One day, right after my mastectomy, I went for a walk in Central Park, and there was this mob of people blocking the road. I thought, ‘Oh, great, now I’m stuck!’ but then I realized that it was a breast cancer walk.”  Hoda Kotb
Seven years ago today I finished treatment for breast cancer. It seems [...]

Sometimes we all need something to hold onto during those tough times …
1. Notice what is beautiful around you – the fall leaves, the excited face of a child, the colors of a sunrise
2. Talk to someone who can be with you no matter what you are feeling
3. Watch something funny on television or online. [...]

Several years ago I was part of a clinical trail at a renowned cancer center. The clinical trails were located on a top floor, far away from the colorful lobby and the lively movement of people.No plants, no flowers, no photos or art work.  I sat in a waiting room looking at  gray walls, all [...]

“At such moments, you realize that you and the other are, in fact, one.It’s a big realization. Survival is the second law of life. The firstis that we are all one.” –Joseph Campbell
On October 31 I will mark seven years since I finished treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer.  During these years I have become involved [...]