Cinco Vidas

Morag Currin, author of Oncology Esthetics, A Practitioner’s Guide.

If you’re going through cancer treatments, you’re probably craving a massage, a light facial, or some other restoring spa treatment. Something to help you relax and de-stress, right? But you know you need to find a therapist experienced with cancer patients, and sometimes that’s easier said than done.

One woman has set out to change that.

“It’s very important to have specific training in oncology esthetics if you’re going to work with cancer fighters and survivors,” says Morag Currin, La, CMLT, and pioneer of the Clinical Oncology Esthetics (COE) certification for licensed estheticians. “Why would you work on someone if you don’t know what the disease is about? Even if you’re intent is good, you may touch them or massage them in the wrong way. You might not know what a port is, or how to respond to hair loss. You must know what you’re doing from a safety perspective.” (more…)

Natural science writer and anthropologist Loren Eisley once said, “If there is magic in the planet, it is contained in the water.” Landscape contractor Nathan Heinert knows this well, but not because of any official study on the matter. He doesn’t have a Ph.D. in H2O. He has, however, spent many hours watching water and nature transform the lives of cancer patients and their families.

“We would finish a landscape project for someone,” Nathan says, “and we’d be cleaning up when they would come home and see the pond or the fountain or whatever we had done for them, and nine times out of ten they’d drop everything to focus on this new space and just be with their families and with nature. Instantly, all their cares were gone.” (more…)

There’s a new book out that a lot of people are talking about, called Slow Death by Rubber Duck. Next Tuesday, April 6th, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is hosting a virtual book club webinar on the title (5:00 p.m. Pacific, 8:00 p.m. Eastern). If you’ve ever been curious about toxins in your personal care products, or even if you’d just like to hear more from the author of this book, you owe it to yourself to sign up for this webinar today!

Written by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, two environmental advocates from Canada, the book chronicles the authors’ experiences when they took matters into their own hands and exposed themselves to products we all use on a daily basis. Choosing themselves for guinea pigs, they spent a week in a condo, surrounded with typical sources of contaminants like personal-care products, canned foods, and stain-resistant clothing and furniture. Then they conducted blood and urine tests to find out the effects on their bodies. (more…)

Have you heard about this film? It’s a new documentary, sponsored by the Foundation for the Advancement in Cancer Therapy (F.A.C.T.). It follows the lives of five men and women who used biological therapies to overcome serious illness. Definitely caught our attention!

According to the F.A.C.T. website, four of these people had been diagnosed with cancer, and the fifth with a severe case of Lyme disease. All have outlived their diseases, between 15 and nearly 40 years so far. They are part of a group of survivors who sought guidance from Ruth Sackman, past-president of F.A.C.T., and her book, Rethinking Cancer, published in 2003. (more…)

We love stories of triumph over tragedy, so here’s another one for you. What would you do if you were told you were going to die of cervical cancer? If somehow you skirted that diagnosis, what would you do after years of harrowing treatment that included chemotherapy, radiation, and the removal of one of your kidneys?

For Meaghan Edelstein, the answers are “keep fighting” and “reach out to help others.” Diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer in February 2007, she wasn’t given much hope for survival. For two months prior, doctors insisted her symptoms were caused by stress. When they finally realized what was going on, they thought it was too late. (more…)

Heidi Floyd, breast-cancer survivor, and her son, Noah.

Breast cancer was in her family. Her mother had passed away when she was only in her 40s. So she knew she was at risk—but she never expected to be diagnosed while she was pregnant.

Her name is Heidi Floyd, and today she serves as Breast Cancer Development Ambassador for the Very Bradley Foundation, traveling the nation raising money for breast cancer research. But when she was diagnosed, she was working in IT sales, and didn’t know where to turn. “The first oncologist I spoke to didn’t know how to treat a pregnant patient,” she says. “He told me my options were to terminate the pregnancy, or carry the baby to term while not addressing the cancer.” (more…)

No one likes spending time in a hospital. Fortunately, most people are in and out within a few days—a week at the most. But many cancer patients find themselves walking the white hallways for several weeks at a time, even months. After so much watching television and playing board games, boredom sets in, and boredom leads one to think too much—usually worrisome and anxious thoughts.

“There’s a lot of time with nothing to do,” said Yolanda Toth, adult recreation center director at Sloan Kettering. “After you’ve counted all the holes in the ceiling of your room…and watched enough television, you’re pretty bored. And then you start thinking—what’s going to happen to me?” (more…)

As we become more aware of the dangerous chemicals plaguing many of our favorite skin-care products, we find ourselves looking around for alternatives. Where are the more conscientious companies that use organic ingredients, avoid potential cancer-causing chemicals, give back to charity, think green, and shun animal testing?

In addition to some of the other brands we’ve mentioned in this post (including Burt’s Bees, Jason Natural Products, and Avalon Organics), we’ve come upon a new player in the game with a healthy hand of good sense. (more…)

As you’re pondering what to wear for a costume this Halloween (if you’re into dressing up), why not add a dash of pink to the outfit? The NFL is doing it. Seriously. You need to check out all those muscled men in pink! October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that even with all the research and improvements in treatment, there is still a new breast cancer diagnosis in this country every 2 minutes? And that every 14 minutes, a woman loses her life to the disease?

In addition to our beloved football players, we found some great companies and organizations willing to donate to this important cause—all they need is your help. You can treat yourself to some great products and help promote breast-cancer research at the same time. (more…)

How does a 98–100% survival rate at the three-year mark for prostate cancer sound to you? How about radiation treatment that—compared to today’s commonly used methods—produces few radiation burns, little if any tissue damage, and drastically reduced side effects? What about a cancer treatment for breast, lung, brain and pancreatic cancers that would be minimally invasive on the body, yet maximally effective against tumors? How would you feel about something that could treat recurring cancers without forcing the patient to repeat chemotherapy? (more…)