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Dear Friends,

In Kelly Turner's book, Radical Remission, she reports what she found when she interviewed over 100 people, and analyzed over a thousand cases, of people who experienced Radical Remissions from cancer. She lists nine things that almost every person mentioned doing in order to help heal their cancer. They are: Radically changing your diet; Taking control of your health; Following your intuition; Using herbs and supplements; Releasing suppressed emotions; Increasing positive emotions; Embracing social support; Deepening your spiritual connection; and Having strong reasons for living.

As I've been attempting to utilize these key factors in my life, I've been challenged with releasing suppressed emotions. I'm getting some support and insight from another book I'm reading called Edgework: Exploring the Psychology of disease: A Manual for Healing Beyond Diet and Fitness, by Ronald L. Peters, MD, MPH.

He agrees that we don't know what causes cancer. There are some things that are known risk factors, but they only predict the likelihood of someone becoming ill. They are not sole causes. For example, smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, but not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer. What is the difference? Our current understanding is that people become ill through a complex interaction of factors such as genes, lifestyle choices, environmental conditions, etc. Thoughts and emotions are rarely considered in this equation. Based on his twenty years of holistic family practice, Dr. Peters believes that thoughts and emotions may be the most underrated factor in the causation of disease, and may be that elusive factor that tips the balance.

He talks about a typical cancer personality profile, and says that based on what he has seen in his patients, the non-expression of emotions is a hallmark of the cancer personality. He believes that cancer demonstrates the unity of mind and body more consistently than any other disease. "The nature of the bodymind offers us a stark choice: express your feelings, or your body will."

I am again exploring what feelings I may have suppressed or repressed. I know that I was taught to suppress my feelings as a child. My mother was ill and I was told that if I got angry or had a temper tantrum, it would upset her and could kill her. I learned at an early age to keep quiet so I wouldn't disturb or hurt someone else. How do I uncover and express those feelings now? And if I can, will it really make a difference in my body's expression of cancer? There are exercises in the back of Edgework that I haven't done yet, and I'm eager to do them.

As I continue to employ the other eight factors that Kelly Turner mentioned, I need continual reinforcement and inspiration to maintain control of my health and maximize the health benefits of my diet. I know I will get what I need at the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishment for Life workshops in Macon, GA, on May 30th, and in Seattle on July 12th. Nutrition makes a big difference in my health and I learn something and feel more empowered every time I spend a day taking in the wisdom from Lise Alschuler and Laura Pole.

As always, I welcome your comments.

In the Spirit of Healing,

Jan Adrian, MSW
Founder and Executive Director
www.healingjourneys.org

P.S.   If you are interested in learning more about the books Jan is reading (from above), you can get more information by clicking the titles: Radical Remission and Edgework.

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• We are excited to announce that registration is open for our new enhanced version of the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishment for Life workshop, in Seattle, WA, on July 12th. More information for Seattle.

• Registration is also open for the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishment for Life workshop, in Macon, GA, on May30th. This workshop is being presented in celebration of National Cancer Survivors Day. More information for Macon.

• Registration for our Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ free conference will open on May 1st. Get more information here.

• We will open registration soon for our retreat with Jonathan Ellerby, PhD, Transformation from Within. Here is a flyer with more information about the retreat.

• If you are on our postal mailing list, you should have received our annual postal newsletter already. If you aren't on our postal mailing list, you can view it online here. It's full of news and information!

• We are sad to say that Ann Lovell, our past board member, passed away on April 23rd. Ann was well known and well loved in our Healing Journeys community, and she will be deeply missed.

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