Perk # 93: Cancer Introduced Me To Some New Saints
01 Jun 2012 1 Comment
in positive attitude cancer Tags: cancer, novena, Patron saint of cancer, prayer, St. Michael of the Saints, St. Peregrine, St. Theresa
Being raised Catholic, I kinda have a thing for the saints. From the time I said my first novena at 10 years old, me and St. Theresa have been BFF’s. I refer to her as my multi-purpose saint, as I can call on her for any reason. Sometimes however, it is necessary to pull out all the stops and throw in a prayer or two to the patron saint of your cause. When my sister, Lynette, was having trouble selling her house for example, we called upon St. Joseph, the patron saint of selling houses. Shortly thereafter, the house sold! (I’m not so sure if her Jewish husband is privy to this information.) Any time I am traveling and the road conditions are risky, I call upon St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers to accompany me on my journey. Even if I find myself in a situation which seems beyond hope, I can always call upon St. Jude, patron saint of hopeless causes.
It did not surprise me in the least when, following my diagnosis, fellow Catholics started lunging at me with prayer cards. It turns out that there is not just one, but actually two patron saints of cancer: St. Peregrine and St. Michael of the Saints (to distinguish him from just plain old St. Michael). Not wanting to pick favourites and offend anybody up there, I prayed to both of them.
A prayer is a powerful thing, sometimes so powerful that you can actually feel the energy of the words as you say it. I found that to be the case for this prayer in particular. Please pause for a moment and offer a prayer to St. Michael of the Saints:
We praise you, Most Holy Trinity, for having sent us St. Michael of the Saints to be our friend and intercessor in the fight against cancer.
Grant us, we pray, a humble faith that we may follow in his holy footsteps and believe without a doubt in your generous gift of healing.
With humble and childlike trust, we ask your Divine help through St. Michael of the Saints in this urgent necessity.
May this gift of bodily health bring us peace and joy which are but a foretaste of heaven, and may we be counted one day among your saints in glory.
Father, your world is ill with cancer and frightened. We pray you ease the suffering of those afflicted, give loving hands to those who care for them, and light the way for those who seek its cure.
Merciful Father, extend your healing hand so that we may cry out: A cure, at last!
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Tip: The most powerful prayer is a prayer of gratitude. Give thanks for all that you have.
Tribute to Shanna
31 May 2012 10 Comments
in positive attitude cancer Tags: Shanna Sandmoen
On April 23rd, my cbyer-friend and fellow cancer blogger, Shanna Sandmoen, left this world. Although I had only known her for a short time, she touched my life with her eternal optimism and fighting spirit.
On March 22nd, Shanna very bravely posted this picture of herself, depicting how cancer had ravished her body:
Despite her weakened state, she was excited about her latest health plan and looked forward to recovery. She wrote: “This July I’m going to Kripalu for Gabby Bernstein’s Loveatarian workshop and I plan on having a lovely head of hair, strong arms, a strong heart, and an much smaller tummy.” Shanna never lost hope. Cancer took her body, but her spirit remained strong to the end. Rest in peace, sweet girl.
Below I have re-posted the guest post which Shanna wrote for my blog on April 4th:
Cancer is not a Dirty Word
by Shanna Sandmoen
Cancer is not a curse or a punishment. It isn’t designed to hurt us, it’s designed to wake us up. We stopped listening to our bodies, we pushed our emotions down and where Spirit should be sitting, our Ego has taken the driver’s seat. Cancer is a wake up call; you either make some changes, or you die.
Prior to being diagnosed with cancer I was severely depressed, suicidal, a cutter, and just wanted out of this life. I begged the Universe to take me from this world. Two months later I was diagnosed with cancer. I celebrated! Who would blame me if I died from cancer? Suicides are selfish and leave an incredible hole, but cancer, that’s different.
It spread quickly after that, and if I had allowed it, it would have been only a matter of months before it took me. Then one day I talked to my Dad, and he just lost control and started crying uncontrollably, to the point where he had to hang up the phone. In 25 years I’d seen my Dad cry only once; and that was when we put the family dog down. The man doesn’t cry or show that kind of emotion, and it hit me hard. I realized that my intentions were selfish. In the grand scheme of things, had I given this life thing the benefit of the doubt?
So I decided to live. I went on a vegan raw food diet; visited many energy healers, including Ressonance Repatterning, EFT, Reiki, The Reconnection, and others. I found a Naturopath to work with; took a ton of supplements; did colonics and Vitamin C drips; you name it. Over the past eight years my body has done a lot of healing. Things go up and down sometimes, but that is really because of me. I would say that I am happy today. I have many things to enjoy: friendships, blogging, getting creative, going to the park, hugging my dog, yoga, etc. Currently, I recognize that it is Spirit that needs the work, and as my Spirit continues to heal, I believe that my body will as well.
Happiness is a choice. It’s all in how we perceive things. I chose to perceive life as a gift and cancer as my teacher. When things go wrong, I figure out how I’m sabotaging myself, and then do some Spiritual healing. I have my mentors: Gabby Bernstein, Danielle La Porte, Gala Darling, Goddess Leone, Marci Shimoff, etc. who really help me get through the tough times. I smile at myself in the mirror every morning, and if the going gets tough, I take a deep breath, do some gratitudes, and realize that everything will be okay.
My goal is to heal myself holistically and prove that the health of the mind/body/spirit is essential to a joyous life. I choose to be an inspiration to myself and to others who might be struggling with the “perks of cancer”. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my story, and I look forward to being completely healed. It took cancer to make me appreciate life.
Perk # 92: Cancer Forced Me To Forgive
30 May 2012 19 Comments
in positive attitude cancer Tags: cancer, forgiveness, Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life
Long before my diagnosis, I read a book which changed my life: You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay. She believes that all dis-ease/disease in the body has an underlying emotional cause. In the case of cancer, the underlying cause is holding on to resentment, which eats away at the spirit as cancer eats away at the body. In order to free oneself of resentment, it is necessary to forgive.
I believe in a holistic view of healing. I took a firm hand to healing my body, through my treatments, diet, exercise and supplements. I realized however, that true healing would not happen unless I also addressed the needs of mind and my spirit. I had some forgiving to do!
Every day for more than a month, I would visualize the people who have hurt me, and I would say in my mind, “I forgive you and I wish you well.” Sometimes a little voice in my head would jump in and say, “I forgive you and I wish you well……you bitch!” But eventually I came to feel the truth of my words, and I was able to truly forgive. It does not matter that these people do not know they are forgiven. Some of them may not even know that they have hurt me. This exercise was not about freeing them, but freeing myself, since the only person I was hurting by holding on to resentment was me. Once I was able to release that, I opened a space in my spirit for true healing.
Although I was diligent in practicing this exercise, I still had a nagging feeling that I was forgetting to forgive someone. Hmmmmmm……my exes? Check. Friends? Check. Family members? Check. People at work? Check. Then, one day, while waiting for a radiation treatment, I was practicing my affirmation: “ I love and approve of myself just as I am”, when that little voice in my head spoke up once again. It said, “How can you possibly approve of yourself just as you are? You are far from perfect. You are bossy, stubborn and you expect perfection in your relationships with others.” I then realized that the person I was forgetting to forgive was myself. I had never really forgiven myself for a failed marriage, and I harboured guilt for having hurt other people. I was also having trouble forgiving myself for Ben’s autism. Deep inside I wondered if I had done something wrong to cause this disorder. So I was then forced to forgive the one person most in need of my forgiveness: Me. Now when I say my affirmation, “I love and approve of myself just as I am,” I really mean it, warts and all.
Tip: Repeat after me: I love and approve of myself just as I am.
Perk # 91: A Great Save On The Heat
25 May 2012 1 Comment
in humor cancer Tags: heating bill, perks of cancer, tamoxifen
I was recently pleasantly surprised by a decrease in my heating bill. As I pondered the reason for this stroke of good fortune, my daughter said, “It’s no wonder, mom, this house is like an ice box since you started taking that new pill.” Ahhhh, Tamoxifen. While chemo-pause causes “tropical moments” Tamoxifen can bring on what I can only describe as “oven hours”; prolonged periods of intense body heat. I will not kid you, this can cause discomfort at times, but just consider the money I am saving in heating bills! (So kids, go put on a sweater.)
Tip: Don’t try to resist your hot flashes. Recognize when they are coming, and focus on deep breathing until they pass.
Photo Challenge
22 May 2012 8 Comments
I just found an interesting blogging challenge started by Jen at “Keep The Calm.” The challenge is to post a picture of myself which depicts who I have been in the last six months.
For me, the past six months included my cancer treatments, and a lot of time to go within and do some soul searching. So here it is:
Solitude
Perk # 90: …….And To Adopt Some Good Habits
22 May 2012 5 Comments
in breast cancer Tags: cancer healthy habits, healthy eating, wheatgrass, wheatgrass juice
My son, Donovan, walked into the kitchen one morning and asked, “Mom, why does it smell like someone just mowed the lawn in here?”
“Well, son, that’s my breakfast,” I replied.
Yes, my friends, I am doing grass; wheatgrass, that is. In case you are wondering, it tastes every bit as good as it sounds. However, along with kicking some old bad habits, cancer motivated me to adopt some new, healthy ones. Juicing wheatgrass is one of them.
I have read a lot of good things about wheatgrass juice. I am no medical expert, but taking living grass, squeezing the green “blood” from it, and then drinking it, has to be good for you. The fact that it ranks right up there with broccoli and raw cabbage in taste tests, is further proof to me that it is healthy. Therefore, while it takes a lot of work just to produce just one ounce of the juice, I plan to continue with this healthy habit.
Tip: Be open to trying new foods for their health benefits.
