Coping with Cancer

#Creative ideas & inspiration for those with current #cancer diagnosis or those close to someone with cancer, from a hopeful #survivor.

[Organic Live Food @OrganicLiveFood]

#Coke is TOXIC. Replace coke with coconut water, #Coconutwater is the perfect beverage for restoring hydration & replenishing #electrolytes lost during exercise. Electrolytes are minerals that play several important roles in your body, including maintaining proper fluid balance

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Possible source of some cancers? Fertilizer sludge laced with dangerous chemicals known collectively as PFAS have been found in some organic foods, including Stonyfield milk. A scary, but necessary read: https://t.co/83k5ILcEAv

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

It's a sad #fact: #cancer scares people off, sometimes when I need them most. I have a #choice: to #forgive and move on in a healthy way, or hold a #resentment & get dragged backwards. Not easy to let go, but it's a sign of respect for both myself and for others to do so.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Those facing #cancer have a #choice: gather resources or become a #victim. W/ the help of my amazing doctors from @MSKCancerCenter, I have a mindset to win. I look for those, such as Olivia Newton-John, who choose to thrive, as she discusses on Today. https://t.co/cCZY9u3PdH

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

What is the relationship between #cancer --specifically #myloma--and #diet #nutrition? Here's a video from @MSKCancerCenter that gives great info and answers many questions.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Sometimes all that makes sense is #Springsteen. If #Spirit can be seen, his appears when he sings, esp. at this concert, the best ever. Incredible versions of "Racing in the Street" (at 47:50) and "Thunder Road" (56:05). May we all let go and SING!
https://t.co/LKUbhizTaE

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

In case you need to laugh: here you go! "Talkin' at the Same Time" by Lou and Peter Berryman (thanks to @folkplusradio on @WJFFRadio @radiocatskillthanks 90.5FM for making me laugh!) https://t.co/sV6il6o6Ao

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

The happy pre-cancer days are not separate from my state of #mind during my current #diagnosis. They are inside today's circumstance, ready to help give me fortitude if I reach out and remember. London, for example, with my best friend Steve, 2013.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Turns out I'm a double-winner! In addition to having been treated for a single plasmacytoma #Cancer tumor (along with the #osteoporosis that resulted from #radiation), I now have the opportunity to develop my #spirit further: #prostatecancer It's all in my relationship to #spirit

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Reminding myself that since cancer hates humor, I need to laugh every day. Here's a song that made me laugh (thanks to @folkplusradioon @WJFFRadio @radiocatskillthanks 90.5FM!)
"Coffee Song" by Ellis Delaney = HUGE LOVE https://t.co/7phMuXANXo

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Joy became even more vital in my life after I was diagnosed. Finding something--video of @springsteen's Tempe 1980 concert! Mary Oliver's "The Summer Day"! swim with the dogz! @amyschumer's hilarious Trainwreck!--is more important now than ever. https://t.co/ioEH8zJAxX

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Excellent video, recommended by my doctors @MSKCancerCenter, concerning diet and cancer. https://t.co/T5xFu3eShg

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

I read this in spring '23, a little over a year after spine surgery for a cancerous tumor of the spine. Been reading@jorie_graham's poems since Erosion in the 80s, but this was different. Way more personal. Super happy to learn of it being longlisted for the Griffin.

[Carcanet Press @Carcanet]

Many congratulations to @jorie_graham whose collection To 2040 is longlisted for the @griffinpoetry Prize! https://t.co/LfvmaYSgfh

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

@jorie_graham @griffinpoetry @Carcanet I read this in spring '23, a little over a year after spine surgery for a cancerous tumor of the spine. Been reading @jorie_graham's poems since Erosion in the 80s, but this was different. Way more personal. Super happy to learn of it being longlisted for the Griffin.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Meditation takes many forms. I used to get caught up in the go-nowhere thought that I was doing it wrong. As long as I'm quiet and closing my eyes, I got it. & it gets better and better, 10 minutes at a time. Immediate benefits. Here's where I started: https://t.co/EVY3G3bO18

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

@kariecupcake Positive vibes for you, even though I don't know you. I had surgery, also for cancer (but of the spine), two years ago. Brought me back to life again. Hope yours goes well. Keep us posted.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

Meanwhile: the subject of chemo. Biggest mistake I made was experiencing nausea lying down. That only exacerbates the symptoms. To move, go down to the river, up the clearing, into the street--no matter how I felt--always improved the condition. Walking w/ dogs = the BEST thing.

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

In my experience & the experiences of people I've spoken w/, coping with cancer--at any stage--means confronting feeling like a victim. To do that I need to lift my spirits off the ground. Nothing does this more than movement & color, as in this lovely watercolour by Roy Lilley.

[Roy Lilley 💙 @RoyLilley]

Flowers in a vase
Watercolour and pen on paper

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

@RoyLilley Gorgeous! Can I have your permission to post a photo of it in one of my X posts concerning Coping with Cancer? I'm looking for uplifting visuals. . . . In any case, BRAVO!

[Coping with Cancer @CopingwCancer]

If I fall into the trap of obsessing over who I was before #cancer, I'll never be fully alive in today's present. So I think of who I used to be as a great memory (which, if I pause a minute, is the reality for everyone).