Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.
Barbara Kingsolver
When the mind is engaged in some activity, it gets tired. So any type of concentration, contemplation or any activity in the mind [...]

Some cancer survivors report that they still feel tired or worn out after treatment is over. In fact, fatigue is one of the most common complaints during the first year after treatment.
How long will fatigue last? There is no “normal” pattern. For some, fatigue gets better over time.
Some people feel very frustrated when fatigue lasts [...]

Every October the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland, California puts on a wonderful event to raise money for women with cancer. This organization offers services to women and their community free of charge, providing groups, psychotherapy, in-home support, meditation, yoga, classes in nutrition and a lot of love and care.
I am dedicating my 2014 [...]

“The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that.  And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like.  It’s called being human.    Elizabeth Edwards
Sometimes we can feel blown around in the medical tornado that comes with [...]

i’m too young for this!
Lately I’ve been noticing the number of you young women who have been diagnosed with cancer.
I see the photos of you with your children, some of you holding newborns.
Some of you are still in school. Most of you are just starting to spread your wings and fly.
My heart aches … [...]

1. Listen – It’s a basic human need to be seen and heard.
2. Listen – Give attention, be silent, suspend judgement
3. Listen – Listening comes from the heart and doesn’t need to defend, advise or react.
4. Listen – Listening to pain, we join one another. Our common experience grows into a deep empathy.
5. Listen [...]

Did you ever notice that there is a lot of advice given to people who have been diagnosed with cancer?  While well-meaning, these pieces of advice tend to annoy more than help.  Here’s a list of the top 5.  You may want to have some pithy answers at the ready to help this type of [...]

“I don’t think you’re dying,” I said. “I think you’ve just got a touch of cancer.”  –John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
I remember hearing the phrase, “the gift of cancer” before I had cancer. Being a person who believes in transformation, I thought it had a certain ethereal elegance to it.  I mean look [...]

“Someone once gave me a box of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.”  Mary Oliver
A big part of my story is the choice to stay in the world of cancer …a choice I didn’t make lightly because I knew it meant that I would stay in the treatment [...]

“Freedom is what we do with what is done to us.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre
While it is confusing and frightening, the experience of finishing treatment for cancer can become a powerful opportunity to release trauma and move into a new stage of life. There are also survivors who continue with some form of treatment as they [...]