In this issue:  Dear Friends,A heartfelt thank you to all of you who voted for my picture in the Pretty in Pink photo contest. Although our picture didn’t win the contest, I feel like a winner because I experienced so much love and support. The story about my cancer scare last month elicited comments of understanding and appreciation from many of you. I loved hearing from you and wished there was a way you could all read what others wrote to me. So this month we’re trying something new. You can comment at the end of my Director’s Reflections, and you will all be able to read what others write. This feels like a year of paradoxes for Healing Journeys. I’m curious to see what develops. There have been several occurrences that made me think it might be time to wrap up Healing Journeys. Our usual resources of sponsorships and grants to pay for our free conference weren’t available this year. I would have given up, but then an anonymous donor made a significant contribution as a challenge grant and many of you stepped up to the challenge, so we’re within $20k of having the money to meet our budget. I hope to close that gap through our raffle and donations at the conference. Because I have worked harder to keep Healing Journeys financially viable this year, and I’ve been doing it for 16 years, I’m tired. Another indication it might be time to give it up. And then another generous donor gave us the funding to hire a new Executive Director to share the load. Working with the right person, I would be delighted to continue. You can see the job description here. We hope to start interviewing after the October 9th & 10th conference. If you know someone that might fit what we are looking for, please encourage her/him to attend the San Mateo conference. That’s how she will discover if she has a passion for continuing this work. So, on the one hand the signs from the Universe have pointed to the possibility that the upcoming San Mateo conference could be our last one. On the other hand, there are indications that the support, the need, and the passion are there to continue our mission to support healing, activate hope, and promote thriving. When we started offering the Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ conference in 1994, there wasn’t much available to people touched by cancer that would fulfill that mission. Since then, the Integrative Medicine movement has blossomed. Many cancer centers offer programs focusing on healing the whole person. I wonder if Healing Journeys has fulfilled its mission and our conference isn’t needed anymore. Judging by the excitement and registrations for the San Mateo conference, I don’t think that’s true. I’d love to hear your comments on this question. The program planned for the October conference is awesome. It will truly be a Broadway show for the soul and I think you will be sorry if you miss it, especially if it turns out to be the very last one. As of this writing, we don’t have another one planned. Please share your comments below on whether you feel there is a need for the unique role our conference plays in the world of healing.
In the spirit of healing,
P.S. We still need volunteers for the San Mateo conference, so please let us know if you can help.
 Note: When Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer, a friend told her about the Cancer As a Turning Point conference at the University of Washington. She attended and was so moved, that when she returned home, an hour west of Seattle, she co-founded a cancer support group at her church, Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The next year the whole group returned to the conference.
Ann retired from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation and volunteers her time on several boards and committees. She lives with her partner, Jan Williams, and Tucker, their special Bichon, in Bremerton, WA.
Nine Years of Healing
by A. Ann Lovell
I remember 2001 not only because all of our lives changed on September 11, but because two months prior, my life had already taken a major shift: I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Until my mammogram and subsequent biopsy that year, I had assumed that cancer was what happened to other people. All of the words associated with the disease—lumpectomy, DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), radiation, chemotherapy—were not in my personal vocabulary. They were scary words even for someone who had experienced gall bladder and hysterectomy surgeries. From these previous experiences, I thought I knew how to take one day at a time. But cancer was a bigger word than I had ever encountered and I realized I would have to write my own definition. . . . Read Full Story
She laid back on
her pillow. A few words
and the fact she was dying
mended a relationship
with holes in it. She desired
freedom. She intended to die
with no regrets. One more
colleague to go then
she’d have only
herself to deal with. . . . Read Full Poem
My Own Country
by Abraham Verghese, MDReviewed by Sally Blumenthal-McGannon
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Please make a tax deductible donation today to support Healing Journeys and those who need the services we offer. *** UPCOMING EVENTS ***  1 more FREE Conference in 2010! Continuing Education Available
October 9 & 10
Register Online Now! Last day to register online is October 5th.  The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen New Live Workshop
with
Rebecca Katz
and Jeanne Wallace November 5, 2010 Napa, CA
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen recorded March 19, 2010
at Santa Cruz, CA Workshop.
Featured Product of the Month
New DVD!
with Jeanne Wallace
& Rebecca Katz
Watch Sample - Important tests for cancer patients.  
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Abraham Verghese, author of 