Almost all of us know - or are - cancer survivors. Here you will find an abundance of useful information designed to improve quality of life for anyone facing cancer or other health challenges. Serious illness is a physical threat and, often, an emotional storm. Hear physicians and other experts-- including patients-- explain the powerful mind/body connection and how it can be used to promote well-being, reduce stress and manage pain. You will also learn about relaxation techniques, anti-cancer nutrition, the role of humor, personal faith and other healthy practices.
As heard on National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Radio International (PRI), there are 4 one-hour programs in this series.
Two striking facts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
• 42% of Americans are likely to get some form of cancer:
• 65% of patients now survive the disease!
This trend highlights the importance of enhancing quality of life for survivors, as illustrated in Walking through the Storm. To complement traditional treatment, survivors are now flocking to hospital-based relaxation classes and support groups where extraordinary friendships bloom and psychic wounds are soothed. Many people turn to personal practices such as spirituality, journaling, cognitive techniques -- to reduce the "worry cycle" -- and humor! This integration of high-tech care with natural healing (Integrative Medicine) represents one of the most fascinating movements in medicine today.
In this series an extra dimension comes across while listening to the human voice express this subject. These sound-rich documentaries present leading experts as well as moving first-person accounts by survivors that will uplift anyone facing serious illness. Walking through the Storm can educate friends and family, helping them to understand the experience of their loved one.
Journey for Recovery
A superb introduction to quality-of-life skills for cancer patients. Rather than regard their diagnosis as a death sentence, these patients practice self-care techniques that help them withstand the stresses of serious illness and build up their body's natural defenses. Hear top physicians explain the health benefits of relaxation exercises, breath work, use of healing imagery, writing down thoughts and feelings in a journal and other mind/body practices. These techniques can help reduce cancer pain -- and pain medication -- and can help to alleviate a patient's emotional burden during illness. With Drs. Martin Rossman, Ann Webster, Donald Abrams, James Gordon, Annette Stanton, Herbert Benson, Andrew Weil and others.
Will to Live
At the Wellness Community, a free program with centers located in more than twenty U.S. cities, cancer patients find a powerful connection in supportive dialogues with other patients who "understand." Identification with others who share your experience is profoundly liberating. We hear how people face -- and counter -- the natural fears associated with a diagnosis that is potentially life-threatening. The health dangers of allowing panic to go unchecked are considered as well. Also, a physician and best-selling author counsels cancer patients about the importance of maintaining a strong will to live. With Drs. Michael States, David Spiegel, Ann Webster, Malcolm Schultz, Rachel Naomi Remen and others.
Humor and Health
Because laughter is surely good medicine, we visit with professional comedians who are also cancer survivors, as well as a top surgeon at New York's renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to understand the role of humor and a positive attitude in surviving the disease. Listen to comics who have personally faced the gloom of cancer and yet who have found ways to laugh at it. We also journey to Los Angeles to hear the very human and humorous observations of playwrights who have had cancer and now present their personal journeys in the form of stage performances that are both deeply honest and filled with laughter. With Robert Schimmel, Dr. Patrick Borgen, Marion Grodin, Dr. Lee Berk, Loretta LaRoche, Jonna Tamases, Hal Ackerman and Dr. Jeffrey Gurian.
The Power of Belief
Cancer survivors and physicians specializing in mind/body medicine examine the "placebo effect" -- the powerful role of a patient's personal beliefs and hopes -- in coping with the challenges of a serious illness. What is the role of a patient's attitude in facing a serious illness? Are the benefits that many people derive from faith also available to cancer patients who feel uncomfortable with religion? What are the connections between a person's beliefs and their ability to attain physical healing? Also, we travel to a Detroit program for pediatric cancer patients founded by a Rabbi whose daughter died of cancer. A black belt, he teaches martial arts to children who need a way to access inner strength at a time when they feel powerless. With Drs. Margeret Stuber, James Gordon, Larry Dossey, Harold Koenig, Susan Gardin, Rev. Gwendolyn Collins, Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, Marion Grodin and others.
A Brief Relaxation Exercise with Dr. Lockewood Rush
This is a 15-minute guided meditation focusing on the breath to stimulate the relaxation response. You'll be guided step by step toward a relaxed, contemplative state which can be helpful in breaking the mental "worry cycle" that often accompanies serious illness. The relaxation response (first medically described by Harvard Medical School Prof. Herbert Benson, M.D.) has been scientifically established to produce significant health benefits. This stress reduction session asks you to find a peaceful place and become comfortable. Through a series of suggestions and visualizations you'll begin to shut off the turmoil of daily life and move towards calming thoughts. You'll become conscious of your breath and use it to release the negative and draw in the positive. Establish a place and a regular schedule and use this audio to revitalize your energy and re-center yourself daily.