Friday, April 25, 2014

REGRESAR AL BIENESTAR (RETURN TO WELLNESS) IN DOWNTOWN L.A.

An Experience with Real Warriors



(Photos: L=Aerin Alexander, R=Regresar Group)
 
In 2013, CSC provided a program for Spanish-speaking women with breast cancer and their families in downtown L.A. at Mercado La Paloma.  CSC took its program of support, healthy lifestyle programs and education to this underserved population.  Thank you to Dignity Health for providing a grant for this program.

The following is a blog post from one of the instructors, Aerin Alexander. Aerin and Dr. Miles Reid run the Being Energy program and Aerin kindly donated her time to Regresar Al Bienestar to teach a class.  To learn more about Being Energy visit  http://beingenergy.com/
 
I was honored to be part of a remarkable event in support of women with breast cancer. It was the first of four monthly events in downtown Los Angeles organized by Cancer Support Community Benjamin Center specifically to offer friendship and support for Spanish-speaking women and their families. It was powerful. I am certain the remaining three events will be just as remarkable (the dates will be October 12, November 9 and December 14, 2013; for details, see http://www.cancersupportcommunitybenjamincenter.org).

It was a joy to participate on Saturday, and to speak my mother tongue (Spanish) and work with the local Los Angeles community. I’ve been invited to return to again present the work we do with Being Energy—the energy enhancing mind-body practices and educational information that are an integral part of our programs. I so look forward to returning to offer our work to these wonderful Latina women and their families.

As I entered the Mercado La Paloma (in downtown LA), I was greeted by a cheerful, colorfully decorated indoor market. Inside, a multitude of Mexican stores sell everything from tailoring services to food and clothing. It was 10 a.m. and the enticing aroma of tortillas and chocolate caliente filled the air. Many people were enjoying breakfast. I felt at home.

The Cancer Support Community meeting took place in a large room. I was the first presenter and I was a bit anxious. Around 40 people were just concluding their first group support session and were looking forward to getting out of their chairs and moving their bodies.

I started by explaining that Being Energy is a system of movements that help us to regain our vitality and energy. One of the well-received highlights of the presentation was when I spoke about our “spirit”—our intangible part—that is not touched by the cancer. I also talked about the ways that we can revitalize ourselves from the inside out so that the experience can be met as a challenge and not as a curse.

I talked about finding a new description for our bodies and minds, and about moving and positive thinking! We practiced the Gathering Energy form and counted the number of repetitions to help focus our minds on the present moment and connect mind and body with the purpose of joyful movement. In spite of the heat and through the sweat, everyone counted and enjoyed the moment, applauding vigorously at the end.

All participants received a printed copy of the PowerPoint portion of the presentation, and a copy of “Guided Visualizations of the Heart” that are part of Being Energy’s daily practices.

Quietly, connected to our hearts with hands held to our chests and eyes closed, we felt the heart beating and visualized the heart as a center for processing information—the heart as a brain connecting with our loved ones in a sincere and caring way.

“I can give all the love I have,” said one person.
“We felt both very connected and empowered,” said another.

One participant said, “I am usually very negative with my thoughts and attitude, I fear death. This exercise helped me to connect to life and to the love I have for my children. That keeps me alive.”

This is but a sampling of the experiences in the room. At the end, no longer strangers, we exchanged hugs. I was able to see once more the power of connecting from the heart and offering our best, and how it affects people in such beneficial ways.

Two years ago, my mother died of cancer and last Saturday in downtown LA I was somehow honoring her as well.

Hooray to all these brave warriors, and to all of us who are going through challenging times, finding as we face our challenges our true strength and spirit.

And for all of you Being Energy teachers and our community of practitioners, this is your call to jump up and share what you know. Your light will shine through to help others in ways that you can’t anticipate.

Much love to all,
Aerin


Yoga's Impact on Inflammation, Mood, and Fatigue in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Check out this study re: yoga and it's benefits for cancer patients.  Cancer Support Community has many yoga classes per week, free of charge for those affected by cancer. 

Authors
Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. Show all

Journal

J Clin Oncol. 2014 Apr 1;32(10):1040-9. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2013.51.8860. Epub 2014 Jan 27.

Affiliation

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate yoga's impact on inflammation, mood, and fatigue.
   
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled 3-month trial was conducted with two post-treatment assessments of 200 breast cancer survivors assigned to either 12 weeks of 90-minute twice per week hatha yoga classes or a wait-list control. The main outcome measures were lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and scores on the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF), the vitality scale from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form (SF-36), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale.
   
RESULTS: Immediately post-treatment, fatigue was not lower (P > .05) but vitality was higher (P = .01) in the yoga group compared with the control group. At 3 months post-treatment, fatigue was lower in the yoga group (P = .002), vitality was higher (P = .01), and IL-6 (P = .027), TNF-α (P = .027), and IL-1β (P = .037) were lower for yoga participants compared with the control group. Groups did not differ on depression at either time (P > .2). Planned secondary analyses showed that the frequency of yoga practice had stronger associations with fatigue at both post-treatment visits (P = .019; P < .001), as well as vitality (P = .016; P = .0045), but not depression (P > .05) than simple group assignment; more frequent practice produced larger changes. At 3 months post-treatment, increasing yoga practice also led to a decrease in IL-6 (P = .01) and IL-1β (P = .03) production but not in TNF-α production (P > .05).
   
CONCLUSION: Chronic inflammation may fuel declines in physical function leading to frailty and disability. If yoga dampens or limits both fatigue and inflammation, then regular practice could have substantial health benefits.
 
 
 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

THE VALERIE HARPER CANCER CONFUSION EXPLAINED





(Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic)
 
By 21 hours ago Yahoo Celebrity

Fans of "Rhoda" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" rejoiced Wednesday when Valerie Harper announced that she was "cancer-free" in Closer magazine.

Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived. Harper, 74, soon after released a statement clarifying her comments as to how she's really doing since being diagnosed with cancer early last year.
"In response to a recent erroneous quote concerning my health, I am not 'absolutely cancer-free,'" Harper said. “I wish I were. Right now what I am is cautiously optimistic about my present condition and I have hope for the future."
The actress further described her condition during a new interview with Howard Stern on Wednesday to promote her guest arc on the Hallmark series, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," which premieres this Saturday.
"In a nutshell, each eight weeks I have a brain scan — a non-invasive MRI — and consistently, in a straight line, it's gotten better and better," she told Stern. "Less cancer."Harper continues to take what she called a "pulse dose" of medication once a week (rather than every day).
Otherwise, she told Stern, she feels no physical symptoms.
Although Harper stopped short of saying she was free of the disease, the considerable improvement in her health has caused some confusion. How can a woman told she has three months to live by a doctor suddenly appear to be all better?
Malcolm Schultz, a psychotherapist with the L.A.-based Cancer Support Community-Benjamin Center, told Yahoo the cancer patients he's worked with in support groups over the past 31 years know that it’s not so simple in any case of the disease.
"Doctors are using the 'cure' word and the 'remission' word much less and are using the words 'no evidence of disease' much more, that seems to be the trend,” Schultz noted. "They're not necessarily saying that there's no disease there. It’s just that they can’t see it or test for it at this point.”
Harper explained her situation in much the same way on Stern's Sirius XM radio show: "They say it's terminal and this is incurable, because they don't have proof that it's curable."The former "Valerie" star, who had lung cancer in 2009, revealed in March 2013 that she had been diagnosed in January with a rare cancer, leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. The sad news followed an incident while Harper was rehearsing and thought she was having a stroke, because she couldn't remember her lines and she had numbness in her jaw and dizziness.
When Stern asked Harper whether she had brain cancer (as was widely reported), she quickly said no. "Imagine two pieces of saran wrap with spinal fluid in between," Harper said. "That's around the brain and up and down the spine and around the genitals to protect… [so] bacteria and infection don't get in there..."

Harper added that she only went public with her diagnosis because there were false reports going around.
The actress credited "great care and wonderfully researched new medicine" with keeping her alive.
Though she admitted her diagnosis was a tough period in her life, she said that now cancer does not keep her from working at all.
"In the beginning I cried a lot, I was mourning," Harper revealed. The news also prompted her to finalize her will and to feel more grateful.
One year later, her philosophy is simple: "Don't go to a funeral before the day of the funeral. We're all terminal.”
To view story in original site go to: