Foodie Fridays: Watermelon Salad

Posted August 27th, 2021

If there is one fruit the screams summer to me, it’s watermelon. I have fond memories of summer picnics, seed spitting contests and fancy fruit baskets carved out of watermelons. Grab one today at the store (now seedless varieties are available!) and whip up this tasty watermelon salad. This is a very refreshing and great […]

Self-care Isn’t Selfish

Posted August 25th, 2021

What is self-care? The term “self-care” is a buzzword in certain circles, but what does it actually mean, and how does one start doing it? Authors Lee and Miller defined self-care as, “a process of purposeful engagement in practices that promote holistic health and well-being of the self.” If that seems a little vague, it’s in part […]

What is Mindfulness?

Posted August 18th, 2021

We begin each week with a mindfulness thought, focus, meditation….something to help us we each begin the week. Every one reading, who is part of this online community, is in some way impacted by cancer. The stress of that influences how we cope. Each of us is also living in a time when our larger […]

Fostering Growth and Creativity Through Journaling

Posted August 11th, 2021

There are so many ways to handle the wide variety of feelings that living with cancer triggers. Often people who are living with a serious illness as a patient (or their family members) find it difficult to express their feelings to others. Some aren’t used to revealing their emotions. Others feel a need to be strong […]

Can’t Sleep? Tips for Coping with Insomnia

Posted August 4th, 2021

Insomnia* is common for cancer patients**, as well as for the general population. We frequently hear from our patients and their caregivers that sleeping through the night is just tough. It can take a toll on our physical and emotional selves! Sleep is important for all of us. Here are a few thoughts that may be helpful to […]

What’s Your Mantra?

Posted July 28th, 2021

A mantra is an instrument of the mind—a powerful sound or vibration that you can use to enter a deep state of meditation.  In mantra meditation, you repeat a particular sound or short phrase.  The mantra can then be used as a tool when you are not meditating.  You can repeat your chosen mantra in […]

“Scars are Tattoos with Better Stories”

Posted July 21st, 2021

I actually saw this on a bumper sticker the other day:  “Scars are tattoos with better stories.”  Isn’t that great?!  Think about your own scars.  They do come with stories. We all bear scars from our life experiences. This includes our cancer experience.  They mean things to us.  We also bear emotional scars that are […]

Learning From Being Lost

Posted July 14th, 2021

by Lucretia Hurley-Browning I keep notes on lots of things…..notes and lists.  Lists of what needs to be done….notes on what I am experiencing.  Over the weekend as I was ‘purging’ my computer of all kinds of lists and some notes, I came across a several-year-old note from a precious visit with a woman, two years […]

Reflections

Posted May 26th, 2021

Life can be challenging: Unexpected trials, upended plans, suspended dreams, bodies we suddenly can’t trust, needs that seem engulfing, skills that just come up short. Do you relate? Mindboggling as it is, somehow it just helps to know that others can feel the same. Equally as staggering a thought is that somehow, during our times […]

Peace

Posted May 19th, 2021

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”  Buddha We are living in conflictual times. Health concerns, political and societal unrest, perhaps financial uncertainty all impact the conflict that so many of us are struggling with. Last fall as I was standing in line to cast my absentee ballot, people around me began talking […]