Saturday, October 21 Biscotti, Coffee, Flickr

Biscotti and Coffee
Judy came by today with soup, roast beef and fresh and delectable biscotti. Needless to say, the biscotti are almost all gone.
When she saw me she said, “You look mavalous. You look so good. What did you do?”
I mentioned, “ Well you are looking at what 4 days of radiation can do for you ;-)) “

Actually, the truth was that I had just completed an hour of Tai Chi and mediation and was feel relaxed and strong. In addition, my daughter bought some new clothes for me and I look neat and presentable for a change. See what exercise and attitude can do.
Later that afternoon, I joined the group and went downtown to Queen Street for a little shopping jaunt. I decided to take down my camera and wandered down the street. I also relished in the idea that I was about to have my first cup of coffee in a week.
I ended off the day by heading home and uploading my photos to Flickr.
Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/gardenation/
Please check the photos out if you have the time.

White Water Rafting (WWR) as Metaphor
As mentioned in Thursday’s entry I have been using WWR as a metaphor for my journey through treatment and health.
To me everything needs to be moving forward, as it is does when you are WWR. If you steer accurately and paddle vigorously you will reach your destination. When you are in trouble, not only do you have to paddle effectively but you also need to paddle even harder to get back on track.
Whether I have a setback, during my treatment, with at particular tooth or a medical procedure needs to be solved quickly and forgotten, in order to maintain focus and direction. Even if it is something metaphorically critical, e.g. a small puncture in the raft, a quick and effective solution is required in order that that the ultimate goal not be derailed.
This is how it has to be, for me, and why this metaphor is effective. In addition, this metaphor has the ability to be both inclusive and collaborative. My raft allows for everyone to be included whether it be a guide, a crewmember, a companion, or you.

From Geffin to Anderson, Metaphors and Models
The WWR metaphor has been an effective resource that allows me to connect any events easily. However, this metaphor is only beginning.
From my readings, I have also added a model that allows me to look at different aspects of living to promote wellness. One might think that treatment is the essential element to recovery, however there are other important aspects within a journey of this nature. Author Greg Anderson, after conducting over 500 interviews with cancer survivors, has determined that there are 8 basic strategies that cancer survivors have in common, in addition to Medical Treatment: Beliefs and Attitudes, Exercise, Purpose/Play Balance, Social Support, Diet and Nutrition, Creative Thinking and Spirituality.

#1: Medical Treatment Strategy
#2: Beliefs and Attitudes Strategy
#3: Exercise Strategy
#4: Purpose/Play Balance Strategy
#5: Social Support Strategy
#6: Diet and Nutrition Strategy
#7: Creative Thinking Strategy
#8: Spirituality Implementation Intelligence

Figure from Cancer, 50 Essential Things To Do, Greg Anderson, 1999, ISBN 0-452-28074-5

Each day I do a bit of an inventory using this ‘wheel’ always trying to optimize these behaviours and thinking. This wheel is an additional resource or ‘road map’ for my ongoing health.

What follows is a description of the 8 Strategies. If you are interested in knowing more about any of these then please read the previous posting Anderson's 8 Stages.

Saturday, October 21 Eight Strategies

This Posting Describes the 8 Strategies

Strategy #1: Medical Treatment
Strategy #2: Beliefs and Attitudes
Strategy #3: Exercise
Strategy #4: Purpose/Play Balance
Strategy #5: Social Support
Strategy #6: Diet and Nutrition
Strategy #7: Creative Thinking
Strategy #8: Spirituality
Implementation Intelligence


Strategy #1: Medical Treatment
“Over 96 percent of cancer survivors start and complete a treat­ment program grounded in conventional medical care. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy—often in combination—are the treatments of choice.
This much is clear: The overwhelming majority of cancer sur­vivors do undergo conventional medical treatment. This is a crit­ically important message.
I was both surprised and encouraged by this. I thought I might find survivors using nontraditional methods like exotic diets and "secret" potions. Yes, there were some who subscribed to such alternative approaches. But more than 96 out of 100 patients adopted a treatment plan based on recognized conventional Western medical protocols.”

Strategy #2: Beliefs and Attitudes
“Do beliefs and attitudes heal? Survivors believe so. Cancer survivors choose beliefs and attitudes about their illness, as well as their potential for wellness, that empower. The most funda­mental and empowering belief is that cancer does not equate with death. It is sad but true that much of the world still considers cancer and death to be synonymous, but that is not so among survivors.”

Strategy #3: Exercise
“Cancer survivors believe strongly in the importance of exer­cise, and they act on that belief. Nearly nine out of every ten people I interviewed emphasized the need for regular physical activity. There were swimmers, bikers, and lots of walkers. Most surprising were those patients who started exercise programs yen while they were confined to hospital beds or in wheelchairs were otherwise physically limited. They would do full-body retches in bed, lift weights from chairs, and do everything possible to honor their physical needs. It was inspiring to hear the stories.”

Strategy #4: Purpose/Play Balance
“Purpose involves survivors perceiving that they are needed, that their life has special and unique meaning. Many are ener­gized by an inner, even transcendent, life mission. Survivors bal­ance this profound idea of life purpose with a lighter, more playful attitude of fun for fun's sake, an outlook that creates joy. These seemingly contradictory positions are major recurring themes among the community of cancer survivors.”

Strategy #5: Social Support
“Cancer survivors invest more time and emotional energy in re­lationships that nurture them and invest less in those that are toxic. While this may seem like a benign practice, it has some surprising health implications that survivors believe are central to their success.
Loving relationships with friends, relatives, lovers, spouses, children, employers, coworkers, and employees—or the lack of these relationships—build us up or tear us down. Survivors be­come "relationship sensitive," examining, perhaps for the first time in their lives, how they get along with other people. It is common for survivors to put difficult relationships "on hold," es­pecially during the medical treatment process.”

Strategy #6: Diet and Nutrition
“The majority of cancer survivors report making significant di­etary changes. There is wide recognition of the important contribution diet makes to recovery and to ongoing health. However, there is anything but universal agreement on exactly what those specific changes should be.
One thing we can say with certainty, "Survivors eat with awareness." They raise their nutritional IQ and develop a greater understanding of the nutrients contained in their food selections. Survivors also feed themselves less for emotional and psycholog­ical reasons, concentrating instead on delivering premium nutri­ents to the body.”

Strategy #7: Creative Thinking
“Survivors mobilize the mind to heal. Affirmations, meditation, and imagery are widely employed within the context of a com­prehensive treatment program. Survivors use meditative tech­niques to reduce the symptoms of illness, manage the side effects of treatment, and improve emotional well-being.
Our culture tells us that positive feelings are desirable and negative feelings are not. Survivors have a more realistic way of viewing emotions. They tend to accept whatever emotions they have, be they positive or negative. Survivors are typically realists.”

Strategy #8: Spirituality
“Survivors embrace a more spiritual perspective. They view life differently than prior to their brush with death. While some can­cer patients focus on a body that may be riddled with disease or mourn over dreams that are hopelessly derailed, survivors tend to see the high value of what is simple and readily available in spite of their cancer. To call spirituality a "strategy" is inadequate; "spiritual trans­formation" is a more accurate description. Thousands of sur­vivors demonstrate entirely new spirit; they become new people.”

Implementation Intelligence
“Each of the eight strategies is important, but they are not al­ways equal. For example, the timing varies: At initial diagnosis, nearly all the emphasis may be placed on medical treatment. This is appropriate. After the treatment program is in place, sur­vivors may then place more emphasis on beliefs and attitudes or diet and nutrition. Only later may they begin the work of social support or focus on another principle.
In the final analysis, most survivors feel they earn their return to health. But this is not viewed as some extraordinary event. Survivors speak more about aligning themselves with the body's immense natural power to heal itself. Indeed, survivors come to recognize that health and healing spring from within. They sim­ply had to release them.”

Cancer, 50 Essential Things To Do, Greg Anderson, 1999,
ISBN 0-452-28074-5