The holiday season is fun …and …frantic! We need to pay attention to our self care during this season. Hope these tips from MD Anderson help. Scroll down for some good “stress busting” tools.
5-Minute Stress Relief
Focused on Health – November 2012
By Adelina Espat
Whatever your holiday woes, don’t turn what should be merriment into a season of discontent. After all, stress is no
holiday gift.
“The good news is that holiday stress is usually short-term, so don’t over-interpret it as a bad thing,” says Anil Sood, M.D., professor in MD Anderson’s Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology. “Instead, focus on curbing holiday stress before it turns into a long-term issue.”
If stress is a chronic problem for you, Sood suggests you visit your doctor.
“Prolonged stress weakens the immune system, affects tumor development and makes it harder for your body to remain healthy,” says Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., professor and director of integrative medicine at MD Anderson.
Try these quick tips to combat holiday stress. Within five minutes, you’ll re-energize your festive mood.
Highlights
Brief Relaxation
Even just a few minutes of meditation can help you de-stress.
- Sit with a straight, relaxed back.
- Focus your attention on your breath and let all other thoughts disappear.
- Do a few, slow, deep breathes (breathing with your lower belly instead of your chest).
- Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts.
- Focus your attention on each muscle in your body.
- Move your tension downward, from your face, down your neck, shoulders, stomach, legs and out of your feet.
- Imagine all your tension is now on the floor.
- Feel your muscles relax and soften.
- Concentrate on the center of your chest, imagining a deep calm and peace at your core.
- Spend a few minutes in this state of tranquility, focusing on your center and slow breathing.
Visual Imagery
Also known as guided imagery, this exercise is used widely for relaxation and stress management.
- Find a comfortable chair or bed.
- Close your eyes.
- Visualize a place, such as a garden or beach, where you feel safe and at peace.
- Look around this place slowly. Notice every detail.
- Use all your senses to make this place as real as possible.
- Think about what you see, feel, hear and smell.
- Repeat to yourself, “I’m relaxed. I’m safe here.”
- Spend a few minutes enjoying the feeling of deep relaxation.
- Open your eyes when you are ready.
Deep Breathing
Concentrating on your breathing can increase the flow of oxygen to your body and make you feel more relaxed.
- Sit with a straight, relaxed back.
- Place your feet on the floor if you are in a chair.
- Cross your legs if you are sitting on the floor.
- Breathe normally.
- Pay close attention to your breath as it exits and enters the body.
- Do a few, slow, deep breathes (breathing with your lower belly instead of your chest).
- Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts.
- Don’t try to control your thoughts.
- If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath.
- Spend a few minutes concentrating on each breath until you are completely relaxed.
Stretching
Relieve stress by doing simple stretch exercises. They get your blood flowing and improve circulation, while increasing flexibility and relieving muscle tension. Try this easy arm and back stretch from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
- Sit on a straight-backed chair.
- Hold a belt (or rolled up towel) in your right hand.
- Inhale and extend your right arm upwards, letting the belt dangle behind you.
- Exhale and bend your right arm at the elbow.
- Push your left shoulder back as you reach around to grasp the end of the belt with your left hand.
- Move your hands closer together while holding the strap and keeping your spine straight.
- Don’t bend your head and neck forward.
- Take five breaths.
- Switch arms and repeat on the other side.
Current Issue – December 2013
A reminder for all of us …especially the day after Thanksgiving!
I recently saw a post on Twitter regarding the 5 most common regrets people had as they were dying. They are as follows:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
Regrets are profound reminders of how we wish we had chosen differently. They give us the opportunity to learn what we want and how we may be more discerning as we move forward in our lives.
This Thanksgiving I feel gratitude for all the second chances I have had and the many lessons I have learned from looking at my regrets. As a cancer survivor, I am grateful to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family and friends.
How can you turn your regrets into second chances?
What are you grateful for?
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Chemo Brain: A Decade of Evidence
Jeffrey S. Wefel, PhD, Alice Goodman, MA
DisclosuresNovember 01, 2013
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813529?src=wnl_edit_specol&uac=118298PG
Continued research on the emotional and cognitive issues of cancer is growing and the attention to this important issue is being taken more seriously … at last!
I hope this article is helpful to you.
Friday, September 20, 2013
By Richard C. Frank, MD
Many cancer patients obtain a second opinion at some point in their cancer journey. A second opinion is not always necessary. If the diagnosis and treatment recommendations are straightforward and the oncologists and treatment center in your community are well-established and trusted, then you may not feel you need a second opinion.
The following are the most common reasons for second opinions that I see cancer patients going for:
- Peace of Mind: After cancer is diagnosed, the first oncologist will complete the staging work, that is, order any scans or additional testing needed to evaluate the full extent and prognosis of the cancer. Once a patient has a full picture of the cancer and its treatment, it is common to obtain a second opinion from another oncologist at another center. This is mainly done to confirm all of the initial findings and recommendations which will provide peace of mind. For example, a woman with breast cancer who has had surgery followed by consultation with a medical oncologist at their local cancer center may have the pathology and treatment recommendations reviewed with a second opinion medical oncologist at another cancer center.
- More Options: Once a patient learns that the treatment involves either surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or some combination of these, he or she may seek another option for treatment. For example, in dealing with prostate cancer, if the first stop is to a urologist who recommends surgery, a second opinion with a radiation oncologist may provide the option of radiation therapy to treat the cancer.
- More Specialized Care: If a person is diagnosed with a rare cancer, it is common to seek a second opinion at a center that specializes in that type of cancer. For example, a patient with a sarcoma (cancer derived from the supporting structures of the body, affecting 1% of all cancer patients) may receive the diagnosis in their community but seek a second opinion at the Sarcoma and Bone Cancer Treatment Center at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The doctors there have expertise in treating a large number of sarcoma patients and have access to the latest clinical research studies. It is common for the initial oncologist to make this kind of referral for the patient.
- Treatment Site Preference: Many cancer patients prefer to receive cancer treatments close to home if those treatments will be the same as those delivered elsewhere (for example, the same chemotherapy regimen). Community cancer care is excellent and patients can be reassured that all oncologists adhere to similar treatment standards and guidelines. On the other hand, some patients need the psychological comfort of a large cancer hospital and are willing to travel out of their communities in order to be treated there.
- Research Studies: For cancers that are not easily cured with standard therapies, patients may seek a research study (clinical trial) in order to participate in an experimental therapy or approach that may (or may not) be superior to the present standard (trials can be found at clinicaltrials.gov). For cancers that have progressed after all standard approaches, it is common for the treating oncologist to help their patient find a suitable trial. For example, the cancer center in which I work is participating in a clinical trial of the drug Ibrutinib, for refractory leukemia/lymphoma. Because the results thus far with this drug have been so promising, doctors in my region have been referring their patients to our center because they believe that Ibrutinib is the best treatment option for their patients.
When planning for a second opinion, you cannot merely ask the first oncology office to “send all the records” and expect things to be in order.
Once you are committed to a second opinion, you must make three calls:
- To the office of the oncologist you have already seen, asking for your records to be faxed to the doctor providing the second opinion (you will need to sign a record release).
- To the pathology department or laboratory that processed your biopsies or tumor specimen, asking them to send the pathology slides and a tissue block (if requested) to the referral doctor or his/her pathology department. Or you may pick these up and carry them to the second opinion.
- To the radiology department or office where you had your imaging tests performed, requesting that they make CD-ROM copies of your X-Rays CT, MRI, or PET scans. Carry these CDs to your appointment for the referral doctor to review.
You can find more information on second opinions in the 2013 edition of my book,Fighting Cancer with Knowledge and Hope.
Finishing treatment for cancer is like falling off of a mountain after your climbing rope has been cut. Well meaning folks are cheering wildly, encouraging the celebration of such a monumental event. As you plummet toward what some call “returning to normal” or “the new normal” you realize that you are free falling into some primal place of uncertainty without a sense of where you are. You look up at the top of the cliff and see your doctors, nurses and all the caregivers who have served you waving kindly as they turn from you to face the next newly diagnosed patient. You’re on your own; you hope you land in a soft spot. You think, “Hey where’s my parachute?”
It only takes a few seconds to receive the news that you have been diagnosed with cancer. Yet, from that point on your world has been changed forever. You enter a vast terrain of uncertainty, isolation and insecurity when you finish treatment for cancer. What is it like to face daily life now that you are finished with treatment? Fear of recurrence, anxiety and depression related to uncertainty, along with loss and financial difficulties, as well as concerns around sexuality are all a part of this new territory. You may feel alone and distressed. You have all the knowledge within you to understand and create your own healing but sometimes you need guidance to help you find where you are and support you in discovering where you want to go.
From Surviving the Storm:Finding Your Way Through the Wreckage of Cancer by Cheryl Krauter
This may not be for everyone but I think this guy is pretty cool and offers a wonderful service to women.
Check it out.
http://community.breastcancer.org/blog/vinnie-myers-3-d-nipple-tattoo-artist-frequently-asked-questions/
Someone I loved once gave me
a box of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.
from The Uses of Sorrow by Mary Oliver
Follow this link to view a moving short film of a year in the life of a woman fighting breast cancer.
http://www.today,com/health/year-breast-cancer-one-minute-woman-films-fight-against-disease-8C11332194
