Surviving Cancerland

The author's award-winning account of how she learned to stand in her power and speak her truth during a life crisis by connecting with her physician-within through dreams, meditations, and prayer. Believing in her intuition, Kathleen used it to self-advocate a course of cancer treatment in her healing process; never forgetting that the patient must make the final decisions. She is also the author of Dreams that Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs of Cancer and Other Diseases--Publisher. Show Less

Shortly after Alysa Cummings was diagnosed with breast cancer, she sat down at her laptop computer and began keeping a journal. Over the two years of her cancer treatment, Alysa continued writing as she moved through the healthcare delivery system: I fantasized that I could somehow use my computer to craft a story with an upbeat next chapter or fairy tale happily-ever-after ending. Looking back, thats the only explanation I can come up with, why I felt so compelled to create a record of my day-to-day experiences as a cancer patient. The one thing I could control were these words that crowded each other as they quickly appeared on my computer screen; these stories that flowed through my fingertips in such a manic rush; these traumatic adventures that happened to me in a place I began to call CancerLand. CancerLand: its this parallel universe, I swear, separate and apart from the rest of life as I once knew it. How did I end up in this wacky Bizarro World filled with freaky language and even stranger rituals? Gradually her daily journal entries became vignettes and poems that were published on the OncoLink website. Greetings from CancerLand, a collection of Alysas writing from 2002-2012, charts one breast cancer survivors journey as she discovers the power of writing to move her recovery forward.

Journeys in Cancerland offers two object lessons in patient participation. For a long time, patients barely participated in their own care. Once diagnosed with a disease like cancer, they would enter an all-consuming acute care system that took over their lives until they went into remission or died. That this is no longer the case is due, for the most part, to patients and caregivers like John-Peter Bradford and Lisa Newman who have begun to take charge of their care. Their stories are not merely instructive about cancer -- they are lessons in how to live with life threatening illness and how to face death. John-Peter Bradford is CEO of Bradford Bachinski Limited and a member of the Cancer Care Advisory Committee of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Lisa Newman has over thirty years' experience in the Ontario healthcare system as a clinician, supervisor, and manager. Foreword by Sholom Glouberman, President of the Patients' Association of Canada

"Living with breast cancer can be absurd. Often, though, the absurdities are kept behind the curtain and shared only with other women living in Cancerland--the tactless comment from a co-worker about how attractive we used to be when we still had hair, breast implants that explode or prostheses that are left behind, accidentally, in the vacation house, and a new wig that makes a woman feel more like Tina Turner than herself. You'll never hear more raucous laughter than that coming from a room full of women sharing their breast cancer experiences. And, in a hot second, that room can turn into a puddle full of tears, given the agony of cancer--saying goodbye to parts of ourselves that are taken in the name of treatment, or to our sisters who do not survive this disease. In bringing these stories forward, we share the painful, the profound, and the ridiculous. We heal, too. And, through these stories, we hope to increase the understanding of the young patient and survivor experience, and to illuminate the dark spaces for those who will walk this path in the future."--Page [4] of cover.

Living with breast cancer can be absurd. Often, though, the absurdities are kept behind the curtain and shared only with other women living in Cancerland-the tactless comment from a co-worker about how attractive we used to be when we still had hair, breast implants that explode or prostheses that are left behind, accidentally, in the vacation house, and a new wig that makes a woman feel more like Tina Turner than herself. You'll never hear more raucous laughter than that coming from a room full of women sharing their breast cancer experiences. And, in a hot second, that room can turn into a puddle full of tears, given the agony of cancer-saying goodbye to parts of ourselves that are taken in the name of treatment, or to our sisters who do not survive this disease. In bringing these stories forward, we share the painful, the profound, and the ridiculous. We heal, too. And, through these stories, we hope to increase the understanding of the young patient and survivor experience, and to illuminate the dark spaces for those who will walk this path in the future.

Sitting pretty, or so she thought, Karen Loss prepared to celebrate 16 years of freedom from the ovarian and uterine tumors that had struck, unbidden and unwelcome. She had faced that challenge head-on and come out ahead.Now the cancer had returned--with a sucker punch. In 2012 Karen learned she had Stage IV lung cancer. Her resolve to stand strong, fight back, and inspire others was about to receive its real-life test.Here is the story of an ordinary person facing extraordinary odds and not only surviving, but thriving. It is a story of faith and courage--with some laughs along the way.Karen has written letters to hundreds of family and friends from the day she received her lung cancer diagnosis in November 2012. They describe the emotional ups and downs, frustrations and uncertainties, but also the humor and excitement over good results along the way. She offers plenty of educational information as well as inspiration, making clear that this is a battle that can be fought with an upbeat attitude and an assurance that life is to be lived fully, no matter the challenges in front of us.

This book surveys both the scientific and the spiritual terrain of altered states of consciousness, highlighting how extrasensory encounters can be soul-healing balm. It explores a wide range of cultural interpretations of out-of-body experiences, from shamanistic practices to the importance of dreams in ancient world cultures. A dozen or more interviews with health-related professionals present unique, holistic glimpses of our inner lives. Dreaming takes center stage, with the author presenting her most profound and insidious dreams. Part reference work and part guidebook, this book tells readers how to make the most of their dream experiences through a variety of techniques like incubation, talisman creation, tarot and more.

In the magical realm of dreams you can learn a topic of fascination, study at the feet of a master, converse with a departed loved one, find an answer to a perplexing question or, explore the larger story of your life. Popular dream analyst and media personality Kelly Sullivan Walden shows how to use your dreams to create the life you want in It's All in Your Dreams. Her 5-step process helps readers remember, connect, and use their dreams in their waking lives: D for declaration. State what you want, clearly and precisely. R for remembrance. Learn easy ways to remember exactly what you dream. E for embodiment. Feel the energy in your body; bring the change into your life. A for activation. Do something. Take an action to bring your dream into the waking world. M for mastermind. Tell the tale of your dream and discover the details. Learn to create a dream mastermind group, share and transfer, and group dream. Walden is a lover of life and languages and considers dreams to be the most important language in which to become fluent. Perhaps the dream you have tonight will be your breakthrough to heal your body, solve your problems, lead you to your very own gold mine, or contribute your unique gift to the world.