MICHAEL SIEVERTS' TIPS/TRICKS TO RECOVER YOUR LIFE

Michael Sieverts is a brain cancer survivor since 2000. He is the instructor for Cancer Support Community’s qigong classes in the parks. Roxbury Park classes meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon and at Clover Park every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00a.m. Free to all those affected by cancer. Call 310-314-2555 for more information.

(Photo by Bill Aron)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nutrition Part 2 (adapted from “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman): Other rules:

● Don’t eat food that comes through your car window.

● Read labels-- avoid foods with sugar (or sugar equivalent) as one of the first 3 ingredients.

● Avoid food with more than 5 ingredients, or made with ingredients you wouldn’t plausibly have in your pantry.

● Junk food is fine if you make it yourself. If you had to clean up after every batch of French fries, you’d rarely make them.

● Get the best ingredients, from farmers if possible. If you shop in supermarkets, buy only on the perimeter—it’s where they put the freshest food.

● Eat until you are satisfied, not full.

● Don’t feel like you have to finish what’s on your plate.

● Don’t go back for seconds.

● Spend more on ingredients, but eat less.

● Transparency is important—don’t buy from vendors who are secretive about where their food comes from.

● Local non-organic is better than organic from long distances—foreign agricultural practices are unregulated.

● Eat food in season—it tastes better, has traveled less.

● Eat a rainbow of plant foods—the phytonutrients in the colors are very healthful.

● Spend at least as much time eating a meal as it took to prepare it.

● Try not to eat alone.

● Break the rules occasionally.

Reading List and Web Resources:
Anticancer, A New Way of Life, New Edition by David Servan-Schreiber MD PhD
What Color Is Your Diet? by David Heber
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman

Dr. Jeanne Wallace:

http://www.nutritional-solutions.net/

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT FROM MICHAEL: Attitude/Belief/Support

CSC’s Brain Tumor Group—for patients & family members—meets the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of each month from 7-9pm. No RSVP required. 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 100, LA, CA 90025. 310-314-2555. CSC validates parking. This blog originally from 'Your Brain After Chemo' http://www.yourbrainafterchemo.blogspot.com/

MICHAEL SIEVERTS' TIPS/TRICKS TO RECOVER YOUR LIFE

Exercise (adapted from “Brain Rules” by John Medina)

Michael Sieverts is a brain cancer survivor since 2000. He is the instructor for Cancer Support Community’s qigong classes in the parks. Roxbury Park classes meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon and at Clover Park every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00a.m. Free to all those affected by cancer. Call 310-314-2555 for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Properly done to avoid depletion and injury, exercise is one of the best things you can do for your cognition. Early human brains developed in almost continuous motion, hunting and gathering food, walking vast distances daily. Only recently have we become physically idle.

 

All exercise increases blood flow and oxygen levels. Increased oxygen to the brain is associated with improved cognitive function. Exercise rids the body of stress chemicals, and boosts brain power. It cuts the risk of dementia in half.

My observation is that the healthier you are, the easier it is to survive the treatments. If you have the “luxury” knowing that a treatment or procedure is imminent (as opposed to requiring an emergency surgery), prepare yourself by getting as strong as possible. Train as if you’re training for a triathalon, you’ll need all the strength you can muster.

Your regular exercise:

● Exercise daily, but not necessarily vigorously—at least 30 minutes, out in natural light and fresh air when feasible.

● Power walking, swinging light weights in your hands to involve your upper body, is a great way to get exercise. Human brains evolved as we walked great distances, and it remains the best all-round exercise.

● Gentle yoga, Feldenkrais, Qi Gong—explore to find the ones that work best for you.

● Any exercise that makes you feel light—that’s the right one for you.

● Avoid exercise that depletes you, which is bad for your immune system.

 

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT FROM MICHAEL: SLEEP (ADAPTED FROM"Brain Rules" by John Medina)

The Cancer Support Community-Benjamin Center offers many different exercise options for its members.   All classes are at no cost to participants. 1)'Core Strength' every Wednesday  from 6:15 - 7:00pm with Eileen Johnson, PT; 2) 'Feldenkrais Method' every Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30p.m. with Marci Spiegler, MS, GCFP; 3) 'Move to Heal Dance Class' every Monday from 6:00 to 7:00pm with Eva Wieland; and 4) 'Pilates: Return to Health' every Tuesday from 3:45 - 4:45pm with Sandy Shimoda; 5) 'Qigong' (see schedule at top of blog) with Michael Sieverts; 6) 'T'ai Chi' every Tuesday from 5 - 6pm with Marianne Lu; 7) 'Yoga' CSC has 7 yoga classes-please check website for dates and times; 8) 'Zumba' every Tuesday from 6:15 - 7pm with Alejandra Ortiz.  Always check calendar for holiday changes or call 310-314-2555 for more infomation.  CSC vallidates parking.

MICHAEL SIEVERTS' TIPS/TRICKS TO RECOVER YOUR LIFE

Part 5 of a 9-Part Series:  Driving

Michael Sieverts is a brain cancer survivor since 2000. He is the instructor for Cancer Support Community’s qigong classes in the parks. Roxbury Park classes meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon and at Clover Park every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00a.m. Free to all those affected by cancer. Call 310-314-2555.

 

● If you drive a car, be aware that cognitive deficits don’t make you a better driver, and that a car is a weapon to bicycles and pedestrians.

● Drive carefully, on familiar routes, being patient and generous with other drivers.

● Allow enough time or permit yourself to be slightly late—“caught in traffic” is a completely valid excuse in LA.

● If you are feeling iffy about your cognition—we can often tell when we’re not 100%--either stay home or, if you’re out, drive slowly and carefully home.

● Drowsiness is a cause for red alert—pull over immediately.

● Learn the bus system, let professionals drive you where you need to go.

Reading List and Web Resources:

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT FROM MICHAEL: Meditation

CSC’s Brain Tumor Group—for patients & family members—meets the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of each month from 7-9pm. No RSVP required. 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 100, LA, CA 90025. 310-314-2555. CSC validates parking. This blog originally from 'Your Brain After Chemo' http://www.yourbrainafterchemo.blogspot.com/

MICHAEL SIEVERTS' TIPS/TRICKS TO RECOVER YOUR LIFE

Part 3 of a 9-Part Series:  Compensation Strategies (adapted from “Your Brain After Chemo” by Dan Silverman, MD, PhD and Idelle Davidson)
Michael Sieverts is a brain cancer survivor since 2000. He is the instructor for Cancer Support Community’s qigong classes in the parks. Roxbury Park classes meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon and at Clover Park every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00a.m. Free to all those affected by cancer. Call 310-314-2555.

● Stay present. Remind yourself to focus. Learn to meditate, and to pause before you take an action.

● Prioritize. Don’t think that you can multitask and perform. Do fewer things and do them well. What you decide not to do might be as important as what you actually decide to do.

● Develop routines. Keep the same daily schedule as much as possible. Prepare for the day the night before by reviewing your calendar. Exercise and eat at regular times, use a divided pillbox to remind you to take your medications properly.

● Rehearse. “Repeat to remember” to improve short-term memory, “remember to repeat” for longer term memory.

● Tell yourself stories about the person you just met. Say the name out loud, ask them to spell it, remark on the similarities to a celebrity’s name, or to someone else you know with the same name.

● Use word associations and rhyming. This increases the impact of a name or address on memory.

● Cue the senses.

● Break numbers into chunks.

● Don’t use scratch paper. Instead use a single notebook.

● Use a paper daily planner to write down all your activities, even movies and chores—and remember to look at it. You remember things better when you write them by hand than if you type them on a keyboard.

● Use your planner to keep track of your memory problems and other symptoms, so you can discuss changes in your condition with your doctor, who’s going to want to know what happened and when. Do not ignore symptoms, regard them as a blessing, if they lead you to solving a problem earlier than later.

 

● Everything in its place. Always put keys, checkbook, cell phone and wallet in exactly the same places. Start regarding your purse or backpack as a system.

● Chew gum, yawn—increases oxygen flow to the brain.

● Retain a sense of humor—it’s lighter than you think. Self-forgiveness is an important way to “get over it.”

● Sometimes something that seems terrible can be viewed from a different angle, and regarded as not only not so serious, but maybe as a benefit—and possibly as a great benefit.

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT FROM MICHAEL: MANAGE YOUR TECHNOLOGY

MICHAEL SIEVERTS' TIPS/TRICKS TO RECOVER YOUR LIFE

Part 2 of a 9-Part Series: Techniques to Build Cognition

Michael Sieverts is a brain cancer survivor since 2000. He is the instructor for Cancer Support Community’s qigong classes in the parks. Roxbury Park classes meet every Tuesday & Thursday from 10:30a.m. to 12 noon and at Clover Park every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11:00a.m. Free to all those affected by cancer. Call 310-314-2555.

 

 

 

 

“Ever try. Ever fail. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett

 ● Build your memory: challenge your brain by learning a new language or a musical instrument. Doing crosswords and Sudoku are fine, but the skills involved don’t seem to translate to tackling other kinds of tasks.

● Keep your mind active—keep a journal, read literature and poetry, go to concerts and museums and lectures.

● Be actively involved in your medical treatment. Research and understand your illness—become a partner in your recovery with your medical team, stay current on advances in the field, join the e-patient movement.

● Research which parts of your brain are not functioning well, because that will inform you about where to direct your recovery effort.

● Find the best doctors for your specific illness, and then make them look like geniuses by having the best recovery possible.

● Find gentle ways of challenging yourself, look for your true talents—your gifts will always be your gifts, in my experience.

● Practice—aim for continual improvement and develop good habits.

● Treat your attention as a valuable resource, spend it wisely.

Reading List and Web Resources:

Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting the Fog and Getting Back Your Focus by Dan Silverman, MD, PhD, and Idelle Davidson
www.YourBrainAfterChemo.blogspot.com

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina  http://www.brainrules.net/

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (Null) by Norman Doidge

The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy For Keeping Your Brain Young by Gary W. Small

http://www.semel.ucla.edu/longevity

The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee

The Better Brain Book by David Perlmutter and Carol Colman

http://www.powerupyourbrain.com/

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman

http://www.eagleman.com/

SAT Question of the Day:

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/

Word a Day:

http://wordsmith.org/awad/

Seek out intelligent discussions:
TED talks:
http://www.ted.com/talks

Google Talks:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AtGoogleTalks

Poptech Talks:

http://poptech.org/

e-patient movement:

http://e-patients.net/

Charlie Rose’s Brain Series:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/collection/10702

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT FROM MICHAEL:

Compensation Strategies (adapted from “Your Brain After Chemo” by Dan Silverman, MD, PhD and Idelle Davidson):

CSC’s Brain Tumor Group—for patients & family members—meets the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of each month from 7-9pm. No RSVP required. 1990 S. Bundy Drive, Suite 100, LA, CA 90025. 310-314-2555. CSC validates parking. This blog originally from 'Your Brain After Chemo' http://www.yourbrainafterchemo.blogspot.com/