Category Archives: Visualization

Beating the Worry that Comes with Cancer

For a Stage IV cancer survivor I’ve got a lot going for me:
— Clean brain MRIs for more than a year; cancer free from the neck down for more than two.
— My older son is getting married in a few months. My younger son, who graduated last May, just got word he’ll be teaching in Austria next year on a Fulbright program.
— My wife and I support each other, and we’ve weathered the storm of a Stage IV cancer diagnosis, surgeries, radiation treatments, forced semi-retirement, and the uncertainty of a cancer diagnosis.
Despite my good fortune at being a complete responder, so far, in a clinical trial that I am fortunate to be part of, I can’t shake feelings of unease.

Continue reading Beating the Worry that Comes with Cancer

These Three Resources Are Helping Me Beat Cancer

This may seem like an strange mix to you, but a website for cancer patients, a guided imagery CD by a retired engineer from Texas, and audio books and CDs by a leading advocate for reducing stress through mindfulness meditation have greatly helped me cope with advanced stage cancer.

Here’s an overview of these valuable resources. Maybe they can help you, too.  Continue reading These Three Resources Are Helping Me Beat Cancer

Visualizing Your Fight Against Cancer

If you want to use guided imagery to fight cancer like I do, it helps to have something to visualize. Off and on over the past five years, I’ve used guided imagery exercises developed by Gerald Myers, a long-time kidney cancer survivor, to visualize the different kinds of white blood cells in my blood stream tracking down and killing cancer cells. It may sound flaky to you, but there is evidence that it works. And if nothing else, it’s helped me relax on those anxiety-filled evenings when sleep has been hard to come by. Continue reading Visualizing Your Fight Against Cancer