My Hope & Focus Cancer Organizer: Planning for Survivorship

          

                My aunt recently successfully finished her breast cancer treatment and we couldn’t possibly be happier. She is now a survivor. Getting a cancer diagnosis is terrifying. It completely changes your life. However, hearing the news that you are cancer free is something that is also life changing. You beat one of the hardest experiences life has to offer. You would think that the journey ends there but there is still more to be done. In Puja Thomson’s “My Hope & Focus Cancer Organizer”, there is a section specifically about survivorship when treatment ends. In this section, Puja talks about how this new stage in a cancer survivor’s life can be scary. She lists out ways that your healthcare providers and doctors should help you during this time. I showed this part of the book to my aunt and interviewed her.

“I was so relieved that all of it was over,” my aunt told me. She was so nervous during her treatment that getting the news that her cancer was gone was something that she really needed to hear. However, she couldn’t erase all of her fears. Going through something like that is life altering and it is hard to go back to the way things were before the diagnosis. “I remember sitting there with my doctor and thinking…okay, now what? A part of me just wanted to get along with my life but I also wanted to make sure that everything was in order.”

After talking to her about how she was feeling, I showed her Puja Thomson’s cancer work book/ organizer. She looked through it and I could see her nodding along to the things she agreed with. “I can tell that she knows what she’s talking about,” she said after reading it. My aunt agreed that she did feel vulnerable now that she wasn’t able to see her doctors on a regular basis. She confirmed that her doctors have reviewed her past treatment with her and told her what she could do for an after-care survivorship plan. “I was lucky enough to have really nice providers during this time. They were extremely caring and made sure that I was feeling comfortable with everything.” Cancer physicians are now required to provide a post treatment care plan to discuss with you. This is something I had no idea about and I was curious if she knew that this was something she should have expected.

“I didn’t know this was something they had to do,” she admitted. “But I’m so grateful that they did. I would be so lost without them.” Puja lets her readers know that the survivorship plan is something that is extremely important and that it “will provide recommendations for your future care to guide your progress both to prevent a recurrence and to support you towards where you want to go to maintain good health.” This new section of the workbook is very informative and helps those who have never gone through cancer before and are coming to an end of their treatment.

“This book is really helpful. I didn’t know anything about aftercare and I could imagine that other people are probably in the same boat…I would definitely check out her other books.” After going through cancer, you deserve to feel at ease. This workbook will put you on track of achieving this.

               

 Written by Heather Salerno, SUNY New Paltz Intern 

Roots & Wings for strength and freedom

          

                Puja Thomson’s products all focus on ways to better your life. Whether it be through organization or through finding inner peace, she writes with the intent of helping others. In her CD, or downloadable track, and companion workbook “Roots & Wings for strength and freedom”, one section involves how we are all connected. To get an even more immersed in this process, listen to the CD first. The CD guides that book and is a must have if one wants the full experience.

                It is hard to not see bad news all around us recently. Wars and hate is running rampant as we go through our everyday lives. People are suffering and it seems like it might not end anytime soon. After all, as Puja reminds us “We are all children of Mother Earth, each a cell of the planet, affecting the health of the whole”. Even though we come from different areas with different languages, cultures, and religions, we are all part of the human race. We are in this together and when we accept ourselves we’ll be more able to accept others despite their differences.

                You might ask how one could do that. Sometimes, it seems hard due to how different we can be. Puja has pointed out that if you are happy with yourself, you are more likely able to accept others. “As you become more grounded, receiving nourishment from the best of your roots, you will develop the confidence and strength to fly in accordance with your own gifts and vision”. Once you realize your own gifts you can offer to the world, you’ll be able to do many things.

                Her companion workbook gives you plenty of space to think and consider what exactly you’re thankful for in life and how important it is to understand all the changes in your life. With her prompts and questions, you’ll have the opportunity to be able to think about these important issues in life and to make sense of them. This CD is designed to “support you in the inner work of transforming your life - so that you may carry forward the best of your roots, and fly according to your own truest vision.” This CD has Puja Thomson guiding you through the book and has Richard Shulman's music. This music can create a vibration that helps us calm our fears and find peace of mind by focusing what we wish for ourselves.

                This book has so much to offer. From figuring out your own self and your connection to the world to remembering things such as family and places, you’ll feel extremely enlightened by the end of it. It can help get your mind in order and with a peaceful mind comes a peaceful life. 

Written by Heather Salerno, SUNY New Paltz intern at Roots & Wings

Meditation Blog

There may be times when the stress may seem like too much. You may not know what to do to make that strong feeling any less intense. However, there are many ways to calm your mind. Different forms of meditation can help overcome stressful situations. The one that I use on an almost daily basis is a breathing meditation.

This is a relatively simple form of meditation. To begin, find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted. This could be your room or your garden or anywhere you find peaceful. Then, find a comfortable and relaxed way to sit because you don’t want any body pains to take away from this experience. The goal is to only focus on the present. close your eyes to make sure that nothing will distract you.  If your mind wanders, sit there and concentrate on breathing. Keep track of how you breathe and how your body moves while you breathe. It does not need to take too long. You could start by setting aside a few minutes out of your day to do this. Once you start, you will find that your stress levels have decreased.

Here’s an example of how I have used this technique. Living with five other people can add stress to any person, no matter how much you like your housemates. I’m a full time student and after hours of classes and homework, I’m already feeling a bit on edge. Coming home to even the simplest of inconveniences can set me off on some days. Recently, I had a very stressful day of school. I came home to a sink full of dishes even though we have a rule about cleaning dishes right away. After seeing this, I wanted to just scream. However, I know this wouldn’t solve anything. I went to my room and sat down on my bed. I closed my eyes and just concentrated on my own breathing. It took a few minutes but I did feel the stress leave my body. After this, I was able to calmly ask my housemates to clean up. When we’re in a bad mood, we can lash out at the people around us. This is something I want to avoid because having loved ones around me is extremely important.

               There are many different types of meditation. I haven’t had much experience with more advanced meditations but I’m able to enjoy the benefits of simpler ones. Thanks to the internet, it is relatively simple to find one that is right for you. The advantage of meditation, such as understanding your body, relaxation, and enlightenment can help anyone in their day to day life. 

Written by Heather Salerno, SUNY New Paltz intern at Roots & Wings

                                                                

                                           Follow Up Interview With Diane

Recently, I followed up my first interview with my friend Diane about her depression and anxiety which she had coped with for most of her life through medications and holistic healing. She managed to find ways to help keep all her emotions in check and was able to live a healthy life. At the end of that interview, I gave her advice from Puja Thomson’s book “After Shock”. She took this advice and decided to go even farther with it.

I discovered that Diane started to journal her life on a regular basis. “At first it was hard to get into the groove of it,” she explained to me. She had never really kept a journal before and the task seemed a little daunting at first. Her life can get busy with school work and maintaining a social life.  “I had to find some time in my day to just sit down and get writing…once I started it, I started to really enjoy it.” She started off with just doing it a few times a week but soon she found herself doing it almost every day. “Some days I would write pages about how my day went and other days I would just write a few sentences…but I really did start to see a difference with myself”.

“I would usually do my journaling before I went to sleep. It was just a good time to get everything I was feeling off of my chest”, she told me. She started to realize that she would be able to sleep easier when she did this. “When I had a bad day, it was good to just get it all out…by the end of journaling, I felt good enough to just to let go into sleep.” Since sleep also helps with reducing stress, Diane was feeling more refreshed as the days passed.

Life is bound to come with stress. From illnesses, to work, to fights with loved ones, stress is unavoidable. Being able to reduce this stress is something that everyone deserves. “Getting my feelings on paper was so therapeutic”, Diane said. “Some of the things I feel most people wouldn’t understand. Most people don’t get the feelings that come with anxiety and depression”. No one has to read her journal. She doesn’t have to filter what she has to say and worry about how anyone would react to it. “I’ve always been afraid about disappointing or upsetting the people I’m around…having this journal helps take that struggle off of my shoulders”.  

At the end of the interview, I lent my own copy of “After Shock” to Diane. She skimmed it and seemed interested. “I’ve never gone through cancer or any type of illness like that…but I can see how you could apply her suggestions to other things.” Not only would I recommend Puja Thomson’s books to others, so would Diane. Leading a healthy life is something we all should strive for, but sometimes it’s hard to start. Getting suggestions from this book is a good way to begin this journey. To see more of this book, you can find the revised version of “After Shock: From Cancer Diagnosis to Healing” on Amazon.   

Written by Heather Salerno, SUNY New Paltz intern for Roots & Wings

                                 How Suggestions From “After Shock” Changed my Daily Life

Recently, I’ve felt like I definitely need more organization in my life. With graduation coming up, the stress of finding jobs, moving back home, and saying goodbye to this stage of my life has left me in a state of disorganization. I used to take pride in being neat and orderly so, I want to get this back in my life. I’ve never had cancer, but Puja Thomson’s Book “After Shock” comes with plenty of tips to keep oneself organized through stressful situations. It also promotes different ways to help de-stress oneself through various activities. “Unnecessary distractions from disorganized record keeping will dissipate and drain your energy-the very energy you need for healing” I took tips from her book and did see a change by the end of the week.

Puja’s book does focus on how to keep one’s medical papers organized, but I decided that I could use her advice for my own personal needs. I started off with just getting my school work in a more organized place. I bought different binders for each class and it did keep everything in one place. I threw out all old papers that I didn’t need, which was a little hard for me since I’m a slight hoarder. However, once all the clutter was gone, I could already tell that I would be able to find all my important papers much easier.

The Yellow Page step, which suggests writing down contact information of your “most important cancer –related contacts and frequently used resources”, I just wrote down the names and numbers of all the people I am in regular contact with. I’m not good with memorizing numbers so, this should be a huge help if my phone ever breaks and I need to get in contact with someone. I would recommend that everyone should do this and keep this sheet of paper with them at all times. It’s always good to have in an emergency.

                I also decided that I should take the advice (from a different section in this book) to write down any major events that happened in my day or just write down my feelings. According to “After Shock”, “when you take time to write to yourself with honesty and innocence from your heart, you are extending a similar gesture of openness and love towards yourself”. From a person who is not good with expressing emotions, I saw a huge improvement when it came to my stress levels. Keeping everything bottled in doesn’t help anyone and being able to just write down how I was feeling that day made life easier. “After Shock” recommended to keep this journal private and that’s exactly what I did. It’s liberating to be able to express yourself without anyone else judging you.

Reading how relaxing can help the mind and body, I tried to follow everything this book suggested. I’ve always had a hard time sleeping and actually staying asleep. Before I go to sleep now, I try and do the breathing exercises. Just concentrating on that does put me more at ease and I’ve noticed that I can fall asleep a lot faster. I’ve also started to release physical tension. I’ve never realized how tense I am before. Just giving myself a quick massage makes me feel less stressed and more relaxed.

                By the end of the week, I realized how more relaxed I felt. Since I knew where all my important notes were, I was able to study more efficiently. I also was able to concentrate longer because I wasn’t so tired. Puja’s books are meant to help with the health of the reader. I would recommend that anyone that needs a way to get their life in order to read her books. 

Written by Heather Salerno, SUNY New Paltz Intern for Roots & Wings 

How Modern Science and Holistic Healing are Working Together

                My name is Heather Salerno and I am an intern from SUNY, New Paltz, interning at Roots & Wings. This is giving me insights into more forms of natural healing. I started to think of how people could combine both natural and scientific medicines. I interviewed my friend, Diane*, who has both anxiety and depression to see if mixing both forms of healing could be helpful. She is in her twenties and is a college student.

                There are many challenges one faces when dealing with a disease. Whether it be physical or mental, the strain it causes on a person can be damaging. Luckily, with the advanced science that is available, medications are out there that can help with these diseases. However, there is also natural forms of healing that can also benefit those who are in need.

                Diane was given medications to help her deal with the symptoms but came to realize that a holistic approach could also benefit her. She was diagnosed when she was in middle school but she knew she had it for longer than that. “I had trouble getting motivated and was constantly anxious,” she told me.  “People don’t realize how this can seriously drive a person crazy…I don’t have the motivation to get out of bed but then I feel anxious knowing that I should be out doing things.” It was hard for her to find balance in her life. However, after she was diagnosed, people started to understand her better. “…people, like my family, started to understand why I acted the way I did,” she explained. They realized Diane wasn’t just being ‘lazy’ but had a legitimate disease that held her back from doing things.

As time went on, Diane came to realize that certain things helped her to overcome these challenges. She pointed out that the medication she’s on does help but she does other things to get her through the day. “I usually try to just get outside as much as I can. Just getting some sunlight helps,” she explained. Diane also came to realize that yoga and meditation could also calm her down when she was feeling stressed. She never had any real formal teaching when it came to yoga but just going through the motions helped her body release stress and clear her mind. She does a form of meditation that involves full focus on her breathing. “I go into my room and make sure everything is quiet,” she said.  “I sit on my bed and close my eyes and just listen to myself breathe…It was kind of hard at first because my mind would start to wander. After a while, I got kind of good at it. It just helps me relax and concentrate on the present”. Doing this also enables her to regulate her emotions. This also helps her avoid trying to escape her room and she can now be comfortable being alone with herself.

Diane believes that these things help her just as much as her medications. Without the yoga or the meditation, she would have a harder time to keep her emotions balanced. As long as she keeps moving throughout the day, she tends to feel much better. Even just social interactions will put her in a better mood.

At the end of this interview, I brought up a self-care example from “After Shock: From Cancer Diagnosis to Healing”, that of keeping a personal journal which can be suitable for anyone. This   involves writing down one’s thoughts, feelings, and events that happen throughout the day. In doing so, one has the time to reflect on one’s experience. Diane admitted to never keeping a journal before but decided that she would try it out. “It’s always great to see what I did throughout the day,” she said, “and I can see how writing down my thoughts and feelings could be therapeutic.”

* For confidentiality, Diane is a pseudonym.