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“My left breast comes off and at the end of the day I put it in a pretty blue box that I keep on the top shelf of my closet”.

So, how is that for an opening line when you start to date someone?

When I was diagnosed with my first cancer in 1985, at the tender age of 28, my course of treatment was a modified radical mastectomy. The individual I was dating at that time was my ex-husband six years later.

Aside from the normal impact of a divorce such as loss of family, mutual friends, financial and housing considerations, was the deep fear and self-doubt of dating and establishing an intimate relationship again. I remember the tears and sharing with those closest to me “who is ever going to love me with one breast”?

As we know in our society, breasts are revered almost like a god and sex sells and nothing sells products more than ample cleavage. We define our sexual appeal by our physical attributes and this is not limited to females as we are all familiar with the line “size does not matter”. Well, let’s be honest, size does matter, however not for the right reasons. It is all about superficial judgment. We are judged not just by our body parts, but our physical appearance in general. I grew up with a “more than” body and was treated “less than” because of it. We are all guilty of making assumptions about someone’s character based on their physical appearance. How many times have we been wrong? How many times have we missed out on knowing someone because of our projected biases?

Since I rarely met society’s standards of a beautiful body, I now felt unexpected freedom in my thinking. I did not meet the standards of beauty with two breasts due to my size, now I would never meet those standards due to my “disfigured and mutilated body” (the words used to describe a woman after a mastectomy in a pamphlet that was given to me at the time of my surgery!) I now had the opportunity to define my own standard of physical beauty which actually has nothing to do with my body.

I no longer relied on other’s comments or media displays. What a waste to compare one’s self to next to impossible images or to hold true others opinions of oneself before your own. Trust me; this was not an overnight phenomenon. On some level, I was processing my experience, my life events and the stories I hear daily as an oncology social worker. What is truly important? Yes, we all want the healthiest bodies to carry us through our life journey, however, to focus on physical attributes versus the emotional endurance and spiritual life of a person is a waste.

The most unexpected event that leads me to realize that over time I had come to love me for me, and not judge myself for what others thought were deficits was when I chose to be a model for artists. I initially began as a portrait model because “you have such a beautiful face” and the artists stated they enjoyed my facial expressions and the emotions I was able to convey in those expressions.

I felt very comfortable under the scrutiny of the artists and decided to expand my role and chose to be a figure model. Interestingly, this group of women was aghast at the thought of drawing me “she had breast surgery”! (Horror!). I am not a person who is easily sidelined and I pursued until I found a group, actually several groups who wanted to draw me. Do you know what they said? They enjoyed drawing me because my body “has a story to tell” or as one artist stated, “I could just draw you for hours, you are deep”. People were amazed at my confidence; however, for me, confidence came from doing. I felt beautiful and confident in my first sitting.

So I no longer feel an obligation to let someone know up front that I have had cancer. I do not make that life experience any more significant than any other life experience. I am a culmination of all my life experiences—that is what makes me beautiful.

Articles

A cancer survivor discusses how she decides to discuss her mastectomy and the acceptance of her body after treatment for cancer. 

To Tell or Not to Tell About My Mastectomy

When facing serious medical difficulties, patients with cancer encounter a multitude of stressors that can take both a physical and emotional toll on the individual patient, as well as on members of their support system. Oftentimes, patients and caregivers must make difficult decisions with limited data, must reconcile conflicting medical opinions, and must filter out the “noise” of advice and anecdotal evidence from family and friends.

The experience can be isolating and frightening, with medical and mental health professionals often failing to recognize or properly address the psychosocial needs of the patient and caregiver. Although the growth of survivorship programs are encouraging, support services are still desperately needed and the widespread impact of COVID-19 provides more insight into what patients and families find helpful.

Since COVID-19, our entire world has experienced the paralyzing uncertainty and fear that comes with facing an unpredictable medical challenge. We have seen how it has crippled nations, overwhelmed healthcare systems, devastated educational practices and decimated economies across the globe. We have witnessed, as individuals and as a society, the complications of having incomplete information: the struggle to make decisions based on fluid, incomplete, or even biased data and the franticness of wanting to find answers to serious medical problems. People want reassurance that their symptoms are not COVID-19, even when mild to moderate cases were simply isolated at home. If people were to self-quarantine regardless of the test result being falsely negative, then they simply wanted to know for their own piece of mind.

It was meaningless in terms of a treatment standpoint. People began to recognize the anxiety-reduction component of having 24/7 medical information, as around-the-clock virtual medicine exploded beyond simply a way to avoid exposure when seeking treatment. The desire and usefulness of being able to track symptoms and triage when it is important to call a provider or seek emergency treatment became evident.

Hospital systems and insurers have developed their own platforms and their own informational messages for consumers, and these platforms have not only provided medical success but anxiety reduction. COVID-19 has led to widespread social isolation as a societal preventative measure, and patients facing a COVID-19 diagnosis are either isolated within their household from other family members or isolated more completely within hospitals.

Those who have recovered from active infection often talk of feeling further isolated because of feeling ostracized from their communities and misunderstood because of lingering physical symptoms. People struggle with the open-endedness of the pandemic and the uncertainly about when “normal” life will resume and the likelihood that some aspects of “normal” life will be forever changed. People are examining their relationships, their marriages, their careers, their views on education, and other major areas as they struggle to find meaning.

These challenges highlight those encountered by people on a “health-related” precipice and might be easier for most to understand now that societally we have experienced a glimpse of these challenges. We can also reflect on how some of the COVID-19 changes may generalize to other medical stressors. Some suggestions for patients, caregivers and medical and mental health professionals are summarized below:

Lack of complete information: Expand patient access and centralize medical records; increase the role of a “Nurse Navigator” or medical “point person” to oversee complicated cases with multiple medical providers to increase the likelihood that treatment is unified

Access to timely medical information: Provide online tools to allow for symptom tracking and interaction with physicians’ offices, medical “point” person, or urgent care

Effective psychosocial support: Reducing isolation through individual or group support; mental health check-ins incorporating mindfulness, finding meaning, and sense of togetherness

With these lessons in mind, not only will cancer care find a way to come back stronger but all of healthcare as well.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the serious medical difficulties patients with cancer face has been brought to the forefront for healthcare as a whole. But we can learn lessons from these challenges and find a stronger path forward.

Lessons from COVID-19: How to Support those Facing Serious Health Challenges Like Cancer

Paige offered to help me carry packages into my car as I said goodbye. At six and a half, more adult than child, she slipped on her shoes and held the door open. Lane, her three-year-old sister, watched from the door as we walked outside. A normal, polite situation, but this isn’t the story. I can’t seem to get to the point as tears fog my glasses and the letters on the page blur. In lieu of an explanation, I offer you our conversation:

“Bubbie, will Jim be coming with us on the Christmas walk tomorrow?”

“I don’t think so, he gets tired easily and has to rest.”

“Hmm. I miss him. Can’t he just take a nap?”

“It’s not that simple. He has cancer.”

“What is cancer, is it the COVID-19 thing?”

I smile and shake my head no. Paige looks at me with her big blue eyes. She’s asking the million-dollar question.“Cancer is inside Jim, it’s not contagious to anyone else.It grows inside and multiples too fast for his body and makes him sick.”

Paige moves in closer, crosses her arms across her chest. “Tell me, has he seen the doctor?”

Her left eyebrow raises and the wheels of thought search for a solution.“When was the last time? Maybe the doctor can give him a shot.”

I smile following her logic.“Jim goes to the doctor every Monday and Tuesday to get shots.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh. Well, what is in the shots.”

I don’t want her to worry. Paige has her own fears of doctors and musters the courage to proceed even when she is afraid.Overtime she has gained faith in the shots and medicine. “His shots are different, not the quick prick that you get. His shots contain chemotherapy, a medicine in a bag. The liquid goes through a tube into a special spot on his chest called a port and the medicine drips in slowly over an hour. This makes it not hurt.”

Mara, my daughter, calls Paige back in the house. Paige ignores the calls. “Is it working?”

Elly, my youngest daughter, comes out of the house to check if Paige is okay.They can’t see her from the window or door. The cold air circles Paige’s question. I wave at Elly and her mom feeling a pressure to end the conversation. I look into Paige’s hope filled eyes.“Not really, the medicine is supposed to stop the cancer from growing. The effects make Jim more tired and sometimes sick.”

Paige’s reaction mimics my own. “If it isn’t working, they should try something else. How long has this been going on?”

The enormity of time causes Paige to pause. “Bubbie, that is more years than me. A long time.”

I flash back to the beginning when Jim was diagnosed and the two subsequent stem cell transplants that followed.Mara’s pregnancy and Paige’s birth brought sunshine into our lives.Jim’s journey with the highs and lows has reached a critical stage.We are waiting for another miracle—a trial using CAR-T immunotherapy.

I whisper, “The doctors tells us that time helps find new ways to help Jim heal. You better go in as your mom is worried about you. We can talk later.”

Paige gives me hug. “Tell Jim I love him.Remember to give him the picture I drew for him.”

She runs back into the house. I return home to find Jim resting in his big chair. He hasn’t slept much he can’t eat dinner. The chemotherapy is making him sicker; the cancer is alive and growing.

I relate Paige’s and conversation.We smile as the tears silently flow.

A caregiver discusses with her granddaughter the cancer diagnosis and treatment of a loved one.

A Granddaughter's Questions About Cancer

Aileen Holthaus writes about her first day of chemotherapy for follicular lymphoma, and the challenges it presented. 

One-Half Teaspoon

I was never told the actual stage of my cancer. I didn't stick around long enough to find out. However, please follow your doctor's full treatment plan. Use this only as a second approach to dealing with your cancer. This is for those who refuse to accept defeat. It might work, it might not. I designed it, used it and now I'm healthy as a horse! Read, decide if this approach resonates with you.

On December 3rd, 2018 I was diagnosed with cancer. A tumor in my colon with cancer spreading to my kidneys. I was told my tumor could break at any time. Even with chemo, this type of cancer returns every two years. They scheduled more tests, but I declined. I decided to fight this disease myself. As a hack energy scientist and natural healer, I had a good idea of what needed to be done.

Growing up I heard a story of a man who healed himself from a serious illness by watching hours of comedy in his hospital room. This story stuck with me. The whole idea of laughter as a potential medicine intrigued me. I shared this man's self-healing story many times in life.

In 2017 long before my cancer diagnosis, I was testing laughter as a manifestation tool. I love to experiment. I'm a scientist at heart, I spend a lot of time creating and developing effective manifestation tools. Using the power of sincere laughter to reach and secure physical goals proved successful.

Because the tool proved effective, I upped the ante. I'd long suffered from a serious addiction. I don't want to discuss it but trust me it was serious. On my hands and knees with my forehead touching the floor [The prayer position], I used prolonged bouts of deep sincere laughter [10 minutes at a time] laughing directly at everything to do with my addiction, its desires and my deep desire to heal it. I got on my hands and knees for 10 minutes, five times a day, six days a week. It took 23 days of sincere laughter to break this decades-old chemical addiction. 23 Days of deep belly laughter while in the prayer position.

In 2018 when I was diagnosed with cancer, I was really sick. I had ignored symptoms for months. Now I had severe pain in my gut, I was passing blood, and experiencing rapid weight loss. Extreme sweating would hit me nights, while waves of sickness hit me all day long. The cancer was spreading.

Because I refused treatment the medical community gave me only 6 to 8 months to live. I believed I could do better. I'd spent the last 16 years studying the human energy body. Me healing my own cancer was like asking a mechanic to fix his own engine. I felt I knew what I needed to know.

It would be my self-developed laughing system on which I'd pin my hopes for survival. In truth, I saw my cancer as a challenge. A challenge I could possibly beat. I believed cancer could be beaten but could I beat my cancer? One large glass of freshly juiced carrots daily, a healthy diet free of most unnatural sugars and deep honest belly laughter was my plan.

To be successful I knew I'd have to protect my attitude. I permanently shut off the television. I removed myself from anything and everyone negative and while on my hands and knees, I sincerely laughed at everything about my cancer for 10 minutes, 5 times daily, 6 days weekly. I laughed at me having cancer and my deep desire to heal it. I had experience with this Prayer Position laughing system. You're going to need faith to try it.

Following this program wasn't always easy. I often had to push to get laughing sessions done. I cried at times not being sure this would work. It worked for addiction, but this was cancer. I prayed to Jesus while mentally preparing to say goodbye to my kids. Psychologically I was in the fight for my life.

I did this for 37 days before burning out. My goal was 40 days, but I just couldn't go any longer. In truth, I was feeling better by the 10th day. By day 37 I felt healthy. The sickness had gone. The pain in my gut completely disappeared. I had stopped passing blood and regained the weight I had lost. This without any medical treatment. A range of tests were done 3 months after my diagnosis in March 2019, and again in June 2019. They came back normal. My general practitioner said my kidneys were functioning fine. 

It's now been 24 months since diagnosis, and I've passed two medical exams. My general practitioner, I don't have a cancer doctor, says there's no sign of cancer but he can't be sure. Because I've refused treatment, he won't do decisive testing leaving it to me to pay for a private scan to discover if the tumor's gone. I was originally told my tumor could break at any time. It's been 2 years. I don't need the radiation to prove it. Except for an old blood pressure issue, my doctor considers me healthy. I'm healthy as a horse!

For those unable to kneel, you can still use the prayer position. Place your right hand over your left knee and place your left-hand dead center against your forehead. [Not as powerful, but it does the job.]

The way I understand it, laughter raises core vibration sparking the body's natural healing ability. The happy vibration is a healing vibration. With a higher core vibration, the body is better able to fight the invading disease. Just my opinion. This prayer position laughter system is not yet proven in the lab.

Don't be stupid! Please follow your doctor's full treatment plan. Use laughter as only a second approach. You may know within 3 weeks if this system will work for yo

. 5 bouts of laughter daily won't interfere with cancer treatments or medications, but first, ask your doctor for a professional's opinion.

"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.”- Mark Twain.

For one cancer survivor, laughter might have been the best medicine.

Laughter Is Sometimes The Best Medicine

When my editor contacted me about writing a picture book about a truly tough subject, childhood cancer, I was surprised.

In a way, it made sense. As an author of several children’s books, I had previously written about kids facing difficult situations, from dealing with lice to coping with war, but within that last year, I had also fought my own mostly private battle with cancer. Even my editor didn’t know.

I wondered. It would mean focusing on a disease that had caused me much fear and continued to impact my life. Thinking about children who faced cancer was heartbreaking. What would I have to offer them?

Still, it had not been so long ago that I had found myself in my local San Antonio public library, pulling thick books about breast cancer off the shelf and thinking, 

What is this thing – cancer – that is suddenly part of my life?

But the truth is - those library books helped. They let me know what was happening to me, what to expect, and that I wasn’t alone. They informed me about the actions I could take to support the best outcomes. And in a way, they revealed to me that there were people out there – including those authors – who cared about helping cancer fighters like myself navigate this difficult time.

So, I had to ask myself: If books helped me, didn’t a child with cancer deserve the same?

I agreed to submit a draft that became the book WHEN A KID LIKE ME FIGHTS CANCER, published by Albert Whitman & Co., 2019, in partnership with the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Some pretty amazing things happened after that. The book received positive reviews from the professional review journals, including 

which called it “indispensable” for families dealing with childhood cancer. Even the medical journal, the 

Then I was invited as a guest speaker at the 

 Book and Author Luncheon, an annual event that benefits cancer research. I was the last speaker and nervously approached the podium, but my little speech about my experience with lobular breast cancer and the writing of my children’s book was received warmly by the nearly one thousand in attendance. I was flattered to find that my name, along with the other guest authors, was even embossed on an elegant leather bookmark distributed as a memento of the day.

Most meaningful of all, though, was a small item I found listed in the event’s program. I learned that through a charitable endowment, a copy of WHEN A KID LIKE ME FIGHTS CANCER would be donated to all branches of the San Antonio library and every public elementary school library in San Antonio.

I caught my breath, realizing how things had come full circle. So many libraries, including the very library where I had sought the solace and information offered in cancer books would now have 

 book available for the youngest fighters of this disease and their families. I hoped that like me, they’d find information, learn what to expect, and above all, come to know the most important thing, the vital thing that I myself had discovered earlier— that they aren’t fighting alone.

Catherine Stier, a breast cancer survivor, is the author of several honor-winning children’s book including the Kirkus-starred review A DOG’S DAY children’s chapter book series. She holds a master’s degree in reading and literacy and has served as a magazine writer, newspaper columnist and writing instructor. Visit her website at 

 and follow her on Twitter at @Catherine_Stier

Catherine Stier, a breast cancer survivor, discusses her new book "When A Kid Like Me Has Cancer" a story of how to talk about cancer with children.

Helping Others With Cancer By The Book

The holidays are in full swing, and while they can be a time of great joy and deep connection, they can also leave us feeling challenged and overwhelmed. 

For oncology patients and their caregivers specifically, the holidays may trigger stress that can cause feelings of frustration or resentment. When patients are actively in treatment or dealing with difficult side effects, these feelings can be compounded with fear or sadness.

According to experts at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, being mindful of just a few key elements may spare you unnecessary stress and keep the holidays enjoyable.

According to Corliss Ivy, Guest Chief Experience Officer at CTCA and psychotherapist at Coeur Mental Wellness, LLC, “The more intentional you are about building in self-care, the better you will feel throughout the holiday season. Taking care of yourself is not selfish. You can’t pour into someone else if you have nothing left to give.”

-Meeting basic health needs such as proper sleep and nutrition.

-Stressbusters like stretching, laughing or taking a walk.

As a caregiver, it is a good idea to spend time with your loved one to proactively discuss what is most important to you both this holiday season. What may have been a high priority before may not even be a consideration this year. Being on the same page regarding how you want to experience the holidays will not only alleviate stress but may also prevent hurt feelings.

Don’t feel awkward asking for or accepting help. Tammy James, Chaplain at CTCA Chicago and a two-time patient with cancer as well as a cancer caregiver, had this to say: “As the mother of four, I wanted life to be as normal as possible, but after having surgery, I couldn’t walk for months. I had to lean on others. I’m a private person, so accepting help wasn’t easy for me, but I was overwhelmed by the benevolence of my community.”

According to Ivy, “This is not only fair, but appropriate. Give yourself permission to say no! You can decline offers or invitations that will compromise feelings of peace and calm. Setting time limits for visits is ok. Having boundaries also applies to how you protect your time.”

For some caregivers, the thought of decorating an entire house or blocking out time for cleaning sounds overwhelming. If your budget allows, hire a cleaning service or accept your friends’ offers for help—most will be happy to lend a hand. Keep decorations simple and easy; James suggests one of her favorites, paper snowflakes. “They are easy, beautiful and even allow the cancer patient to contribute to the decorating.”

Giving gifts can be fun, or it can feel burdensome. From uncertainty about what’s appropriate to the rising costs of the latest products and gadgets, gift giving is a struggle for many of us. As a caregiver, you have great insight into the needs of your household. Giving feedback and guidance to others who want to gift you and/or the patient, is actually a relief. If you know that gadgets are not useful, be honest. Gift cards can also be extremely helpful. Many caregivers also welcome acts such as grocery pick-up or help with chores in lieu of a bought item.

According to James, “When it comes to gifts, think outside the box. A theme like ‘only homemade gifts’ can be fun and memorable.

Meals are almost always part of any gathering. “This can be incredibly frustrating for patients and caregivers,” shares Ivy. “Foods may not smell or taste the same, possibly provoking nausea. Plan meals around the needs of your family.” Consider options like a “smoothie bar” or “build your own salad,” or only offering dishes that the patient can tolerate, or no food at all.

The biggest take-away is to do what works best for you as a 

 and your loved one. It is perfectly acceptable to acknowledge limitations and adjust traditions. If you release yourself from the burden of expectation, you may find joy in new or unlikely places.

About Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) is a national network of five hospitals in the United States with expertise in treating patients who are fighting cancer. CTCA combines state-of-the-art technologies with an integrative approach to care in order to reduce side effects and maintain quality of life during cancer treatment. You can learn more about Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) at 

If you would like to start a cancer care ministry in your church to better support cancer patients and those who care for them, visit 

In this most stressful of seasons, these seven specific steps can bring the joy back to the Holidays for those patients going through cancer treatment this time of year.

Navigating the Holidays: 7 Tips for Cancer Caregivers

During Harry Small's journey as a caregiver for his husband Alan during his pancreatic cancer, he wrote his feelings through each step as a series of poems to share.

Being with him while he sleeps, while he’s up.

I never knew that I had all these tears in my system.

Seems like I lost many pounds, tearful pounds

The tears of joy just knowing him for thirty years of love.

My heart and eyes still converted the dread to love

He will always send it back to me no matter where he is.

Barely looking like the image in my mind of him

My love just manifests that this is the exact same man

Thirty years of love, covered up sometimes

It’s God’s acknowledgment that he is a very special,

More people to feel comfortable and welcome.

Space is needed to be created on earth first.

No matter who they are, not what they are.

Sometimes it’s difficult to do this, even for me.

This tender loving person has shown me the way.

As I sit here day in and day out just two feet away

And stare over at him and ask Why? No answer

While he is departing our world keeps me heart broken

But speaking to him every thirty minutes even without the smallest response

Our friends have called every day just to let him know that they love him

And the experience of having him in their lives.

I am sad that he is going through this, but he is pain free.

I am happy that I chose to bring him here, near me, in our home

I never experienced happiness and sadness at the same time.

My experience of loving him has blossomed and consumed me

My thoughts sneak back to some bad moments

But my love outweighs them, and love returns rapidly

Don’t wait to be near love all the time.

He looked peaceful, at rest, maybe even glad it’s over.

I kept looking at him thinking he would move

Forms to sign (print then write, print then write)

Stroking his head feels the same when…..

Holding his hand feels the same when he was…..

Do you want the top sheet, top one I’ll keep

They gave me the choice to stay in the room

I should have stayed to say goodbye again

Oxygenator out, people out, silence, stillness, peacefulness

After everyone left my sister came up to me

A caregiver uses poetry to work through their husband's cancer journey.

Writing As A Caregiver: Feelings and Thoughts During My Husband’s Cancer

Winter can be hard for many people, but for patients with 

, slippery streets and cold weather are more than a hazard—they can also be a health risk. Learn how cold weather affects cancer patients and how you can stay safe during the winter.

Patients with cancer are more susceptible to hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition where the human body begins to lose heat faster than it can produce it, causing the body temperature to become dangerously low. Side effects of cancer treatment, such as fatigue, dehydration and anemia, can make patients more susceptible to hypothermia as they may lose heat much faster.

Frostbite is a bigger risk for patients with cancer

Some treatments can cause peripheral neuropathy, which carries numbness in the extremities as a potential side effect. Patients who have peripheral neuropathy are more likely to get frostbite since they can't feel how cold their fingers and hands are in cold weather already.

Patients will have a higher risk of falling

Patients can have a higher risk of fracture if they are receiving treatments that affect bone density. Patients with cancer also need to be especially careful if they have thrombocytopenia, a condition associated with blood cancers that cause low platelet counts. Since platelets help blood clot, a low count can mean that bruising or serious bleeding can happen when injured. Patients who have numbness in their feet are also more prone to falls.

Having A Higher Risk for Complications with the flu

Cancer therapy may weaken patients’ immune systems. It is necessary that they get their flu shot since they don't have enough white blood cells to fight infections. This is why patients with cancer have a higher chance of having complications from the flu than a healthy person.

Follow these tips to protect your health or a loved one in winter and stay safe:

Stay inside as much as you can when temperatures are freezing or when low temperatures are accompanied by rain or high winds.

Make sure your walkways are always cleared of ice and snow.

If you need to go outside, make sure to bundle up in layers. Put on a hat that covers your ears, especially if therapy has caused you to lose your hair. Wear heavy gloves, thick socks and warm boots with good treads.

Protect your skin. Therapy can make your skin itchy, dry and cracked, especially when the humidity level drops. Use lip balm and moisturizers regularly and avoid long, hot showers and baths. Consider getting a humidifier.

Stay hydrated and drink plenty of non-caffeinated liquids regularly.

If you’d rather avoid winter and the risks it carries for cancer patients, you can always consider health tourism. It’s the practice of traveling to a popular tourist destination with the purpose of receiving therapeutic treatment. For example, Florida has mild, pleasant winters, which make it an ideal location for “health tourism!” Winter won't last forever, even if you sometimes feel that way, so celebrate each sunny day!

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to

More than a thousand men and women diagnosed with cancer each year turn to our trusted 

call us, ask us a question, or consult with us

 to get a second opinion so you, too, can experience the difference.

Winter brings added challenges for patients with cancer. Here's what you need to know to take into consideration as the weather gets colder.

How Cold Weather Affects Patients with Cancer

It felt like the most ironic turn of events of all time when I found out I had stage 3a breast cancer.

As a medical oncologist, who had specialized in the treatment of breast cancer for more than 10 years, I knew that breast cancer could affect anyone, but somehow, I thought in some cosmic way that it wouldn’t affect me. I mean, I had dedicated so much of my life to helping women fight this disease, I couldn’t possibly also 

 the disease, right? Wrong. At age 40, after having retired early from my practice, I discovered a large tumor in my breast that spread to local lymph nodes, aggressive chemotherapy, surgery and radiation ensued.

I had been an active yoga practitioner for 7-8 years before breast cancer and had known that it helped me with many things (chronic back pain resolved, I felt more energy, stress eased, muscles toned). And I had always thought yoga would be helpful to my patients who had complaints about weight gain or anxiety, which commonly accompany breast cancer treatment. But I had no idea the depth, or the breadth, of the benefit that yoga could have for a breast cancer patient until I went through it myself. 

I truly believe that yoga got me through my cancer treatment and helped me recover to a place where I feel much stronger, healthier and happier than I was before I had cancer. It is easy to think that cancer will change us for the worse, like we will have physical limitations, lost vitality or vulnerabilities as a result of the disease and the treatment, but yoga has taught me that with the proper perspective and approach, a breast cancer diagnosis can actually turn into a wonderful opportunity for growth and optimization of health in body, mind and spirit. Your “new normal” can still be the best version of you yet!

Study of the yamas and the niyamas of yoga philosophy helped me get my mind right, in the way that I thought about my situation during and after my cancer treatment. For example, focusing on santosha helped me find contentment instead of frustration with feeling sick during chemo or when the result of my breast reconstruction wasn’t perfect. Svadhyaya, or self-study, helped me to think about what I was learning through this experience, like patience or humility or how to ask for help. Asana practice was huge in restoring my range of motion after bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction and radiation left my chest wall and shoulders very stiff and sore. Losing my yoga practice was one of my biggest fears, and a slow and steady return to asana allowed me to prove to myself that I could get back to full strength and activity, which was so empowering. 

Pranayama, or breath practice, calmed my mind when I felt fear about the potential long-term outcome of my cancer, or when I was going crazy anxiously awaiting test results. I have since learned more about the underlying mechanisms by which yoga achieves some of these things, now coming to light through scientific research. There is fascinating research showing that yoga has anti-inflammatory effects in the body and does things like shift the balance of our nervous system toward rest and healing, and away from conditions of chronic stress. Finally, there is a growing literature of well-designed research documenting yoga’s benefits in cancer survivors in different areas, such as cancer-related fatigue, sleep, overall quality of life, and mood. Ongoing studies are investigating yoga’s benefits on other things like neuropathy, lymphedema, cognitive function, immune function, etc.

In these ways and more, yoga can support us through all aspects of the breast cancer experience, helping us connect to our true selves, to a place of peace, resilience, and overall well-being that can fill our days, both the good ones and the bad ones, with joy and ease. If you haven’t tried yoga yet, ask your doctor to recommend a yoga program with a teacher experienced with cancer survivors and give it a try. You won’t regret it!

A former oncologist discusses how yoga became a vital part of her recovery after a surprise breast cancer diagnosis.