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Dear Friends,

The healing stories at our Cancer as a Turning Point™ conferences were always a highlight for participants. It’s inspiring to hear how others have navigated their cancer experiences and thrived. If someone else can do it, maybe I can too.

I feel like CancerTalks is carrying this tradition onward through their podcasts. Every two weeks Cheryl Buck has been interviewing someone touched by cancer, and then hosting a Zoom TalkBack following the podcast. I was honored to be the first person she interviewed; there are directions to the podcast in the News section, below.

Her interviews so far have included two people diagnosed with cancer, and two caregivers. I loved the interview with Kristi Nelson, the other person with a cancer diagnosis. Kristi talked about how important gratitude became for her during her cancer experience. Kristi is currently the Executive Director of “A Network for Grateful Living.” Their website, at https://gratefulness.org, has often been referred to as a “sanctuary.”

Kristi said it is easy to be grateful for green lights. The more green lights we have, the more grateful we are. We can move unhindered on our path through life. Cancer helped her learn how to also be grateful for orange lights (also called yellow or amber) and red lights. Sometimes we need to slow down or stop, and we need those orange and red lights to guide us.

It reminds me of another profound idea I have learned to trust – Things that happen in our lives don’t happen to us; they happen for us. If I believe that and look for the gifts in any experience, I eventually find them. Sometimes it takes a while, but I believe they are always there. It helps to remember that we are spiritual beings on a human path and that spirit outlives matter.

If we were not spiritual beings, cancer could only be seen as a negative, even a curse. It’s only in the context of the whole person – spirit, mind, body, emotions – that we can find gifts in a cancer diagnosis, or in anything that happens to us that we didn’t choose.

I’m not saying that gratitude has ever been my first response to a cancer diagnosis, recurrence, or a progression of cancer. My first response is usually “Oh shit!” But I have learned over the past 30+ years that those orange or red lights usually lead me to learn something new I can do to improve my health, and ultimately my health is better because of the change.

I encourage you to listen to some of the CancerTalks podcasts. There are directions in the News section to interviews with Kristi and with me. You can find all of the interviews wherever you get your podcasts.

As always, I welcome your comments; to reply please click here.

In the Spirit of Healing,

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

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• To listen to the podcasts on CancerTalks, go to: www.cancertalks.com. Click on the Podcast tab, at the top, and then click Listen Now. The podcasts are listed in chronological order. Jan’s was March 26th; Kristi Nelson's was April 23rd. You can also let Cheryl know that you would like to tell your story by clicking on the Tell Your Story tab at the top.
  

• We are excited to offer our 6th online book group, reading The Story You Need to Tell: Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss, by Sandra Marinella. Jan will co-facilitate the group with Sandra. There will be 6 weekly sessions, starting August 4th at 3:00 p.m. PDT and running for 6 weeks. If you are interested in participating, please click here for more information.

• The Saturday after Labor Day was the date Healing Journeys traditionally offered the Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ conference. On that date this year, September 11th, we are offering a live webinar online with Sandra Marinella, author of The Story You Need to Tell, Writing to Heal from Trauma, Illness, or Loss. Save the date and watch for more information.

• Jan was interviewed on another podcast which will be aired on June 18th. Look for Empowering Chats with Susan Burrell wherever you get your podcasts.

• Big Day of Giving — Even though we did not officially participate in the May 6th "Big Day of Giving" this year, we appreciate the donations that were made on our website. Thank you for your support!

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