100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (49 page)

experience was hearing my doctor say, “The scan shows something on your

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liver.” At forty-four, I was relatively young, fit, and otherwise healthy. I knew

that I had a good chance of beating breast cancer. However, if it had spread

to my liver, I would be facing a much tougher battle.

It took six long weeks to hear the results of the tests on my liver. During

that time, there was no shortage of messages from my angels. The blue but-

terflies were everywhere! They appeared on get-well cards, my computer

monitor, and on other people’s clothing and jewelry. Blue butterflies are not

native to Newfoundland, and the chances of seeing one in real life ranked

right up there with the chances of seeing a zebra walk out of the woods. So

you can just imagine my surprise when I caught sight of one in my very

own garden! (A blue butterfly, that is, not a zebra.) I was mesmerized by

how it not only fluttered around my flowers but also seemed to dance

around my body. I ran into the house to get Ronnie to witness this small

miracle. As she and I talked quietly, the butterfly continued to dance around

me for several minutes. It then landed on my left breast, the one with cancer,

before flying off toward the water. Later that day, I cried tears of relief when

I received the news that the spots on my liver were harmless.

The following day a package arrived in the mail, an unexpected gift

from a colleague. When I opened the box, I was amazed to see a pendant

of a blue butterfly, which was almost an exact replica in size and color of

the one I had seen in my garden the day before. I immediately sent her an

e-mail message to thank her for her gift and to ask, “How did you know

the significance of blue butterflies to me?” She responded, “I didn’t know

that they are special to you. I was in a store in Florida when I saw this and

it reminded me of you. I left the store with my husband, but felt compelled

to go back and buy it for you.” What an amazing “coincidence” that this

gift would arrive the day after my blue butterfly experience!

I still had a long road ahead of me, but the angels continued to make

their presence known on a regular basis, which helped me to remain calm.

Yet on the day of my surgery, I had an uneasy feeling as I entered the oper-

ating room. I wished for one more sign, but as I looked around me at the

steel doors, the sterile white walls, and the sea of green scrubs, I lost all hope

of getting one. Just then the nurse reached for my arm bracelet and I saw

it: a blue butterfly tattoo on the inside of her wrist! A wave of peace washed

over me.

Perk #50: Receiving Special Gifts

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I believe that there is no such thing as coincidence; rather, these signs

are heavenly messages. I do not know what the future holds for me, but

these signs from the angels let me know that everything is unfolding accord-

ing to God’s plan.

If you have not already done so, welcome the angels

into your life. You can even get guided meditation

CDs to help you use the power of your imagination

to meet your guardian angel.

HEALTH TIP #50

Imagine This—Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

T
he best example I can think of for popular guided imagery is the Beatles

song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Whether you believe the myth

that the title stands for LSD or not, the song is a journey that invites you

to travel to a fairy-tale land and chill out:

“
Picture yourself in a boat on a river . . .

with tangerine trees and marmalade skies
. . .”

Doesn’t that sound nice?

Guided imagery is that simple. It is the practice of closing your eyes, let-

ting your mind go free, and picturing yourself in the stress-free place of your

choosing. Through concentration and focus, you truly feel that you’re there.

You imagine the smells and sights of the place, which then elicits a physical

relaxation response in your body. You can do this on your own, in a class,

or with a recorded voice to help you. There are even special guided imagery

sessions to help you “imagine” your immune system kicking the crap out

of the cancer cells.

It is believed that through guided imagery, your mind can give your body

signals to perform functions like cell repair, healing, and gaining strength.

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my five sisters chipped in

and bought me an iPod. I filled that iPod with inspirational audio, guided

imagery, relaxation sessions, and affirmations, and it came with me to

every chemotherapy session. I found it very helpful to listen to a CD I had

downloaded entitled
Meditations for Enhancing Your Immune System:

Strengthen Your Body’s Ability to Heal
, by Dr. Bernie Siegel. The audio is a

guided imagery journey where you imagine you are

Include guided imagery

injected into your own body so you can see what is going

in your bag of survival

on and fix what needs to be fixed. By listening to Dr.

tricks and take

Siegel’s voice and allowing myself to be transported to my

advantage of the

“inner self,” it brought about a sense of self-awareness that

mind/body relationship

was extremely useful and necessary for self-healing. The

to perform self-healing.

techniques I learned on the CD gave me some tools that I

could use to get me through treatments as well. While the

drugs were working on my body, I felt like I wasn’t just sitting there doing

nothing. I was actively helping those drugs to work by helping my mind

to help my body to help the drugs to do their job.

There are many “journeys” you can take with guided imagery and many

issues you can explore, such as health, love, stress, peace, and forgiveness.

All it takes is the power of your mind.

Perk #51

Hundreds of Dollars

Saved in Hair Care

T
hey say be careful what you wish for. Lesson

learned! Once my chemo treatments were done,

I often found myself wishing my hair would grow in

faster. I meant the hair ON MY HEAD, not my chin.

I looked in the mirror one morning and thought I

saw a bald dude with a goatee looking back at me.

So I figure, one of the perks of having cancer was that

I saved hundreds of dollars in hair care. Technically

speaking, I had saved myself enough money to buy

that new hair-removal gadget I saw on the shopping

channel. Nontechnically speaking, the money was

not actually “saved,” but let’s not split hairs, shall we?

An average North American woman spends about $100 a

month on hair care and hair removal. (Okay, I made that stat up.

It is actually what I spend.) Calculate how much you saved

due to chemo and treat yourself to something new.

HEALTH TIP #51

Treat Yourself to Chocolate Cupcakes

H
ey, how did this tip find its way into this book? Everyone knows choco-

late cupcakes aren’t healthy. But wait a minute—these cupcakes are spe-

cial. They’re beetroot chocolate cupcakes! Betcha didn’t know you could

make dessert out of beets!

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Beets are often processed for their natural sugar, so they are sweet by

nature, and they give a gorgeous consistency and wonderful ruby red color

to everything they touch (including your hands). This recipe is my own cre-

ation, but feel free to experiment with the recipe and change what you don’t

like. (Just don’t change the beets, okay?) They don’t really need frosting, but

since the frosting is no sugar, no dairy, there’s no need to say no.

Beets are high in fiber, vitamin C, folate, and potassium. The fact that

this recipe is plant-based means you don’t have to worry about animal fats

and cholesterol. See? You can eat chocolate cupcakes with no guilt attached!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE BEETROOT CUPCAKES

YIELD: 10 TO 12 REGULAR-SIZED OR 24 MINI-CUPCAKES

Cupcakes:

11/2 medium-sized beets (about 11/2 cups)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (real syrup,
not
Aunt Jemima’s)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder