“My mom had breast cancer.”

Drew and Courtney Daly and their boys

Courtney Daly was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with stage I invasive breast cancer, which manifested as two tumors in one breast.  In addition, she also learned that she had DCIS in both breasts. It is now one year since her diagnosis.  

Recently, her son Aidan completed a video project for school.  Let’s have him share his story in his own words. 

Hi, my name is Aidan. I made this video for a school project called “Think Care Act”.  For this project you choose a problem you care about and do something to help. Originally I wanted to raise money for LBBC, but then I decided to create a pamphlet and video for kids my age who might be scared if their moms have cancer. I wanted to help them know that there are other kids out there and people know how they feel.

This video tells the story of how my family and I got through my mom having breast cancer. My mom was diagnosed at age 37. She was one of the 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer who are under age 40. It was really hard at first knowing my mom had breast cancer. But as we talked about the survivors we knew it got a whole lot easier. My parents were very reassuring and that made me feel better. Throughout the spring and summer, my mom had two surgeries, four chemo treatments, and tons of doctors appointments. She tried her best to come to my baseball games and other special events. She is an awesome-sauce mom!

I hope that this video helps many kids my age, and lots of families. If you are gong tough times right now I hope this video helps you.

My Mom Had Breast Cancer

►

Alysa Cummings: Spirit of Spring

Alysa Cummings, Group Facilitator for LBBC’s writing workshop series Writing the Journey, shares a seasonal excerpt from her recently published cancer memoir, Greetings from CancerLand,  in February’s first submission to Living Beyond Breast Cancer‘s Writer’s Corner.

Spirit of Spring

Excerpt from Greetings from CancerLand: Writing the Journey to Recovery

Six brown paper bags, stuffed almost to bursting, sit at the bottom of my basement steps. Long empty of groceries, each bag is filled with another sweet necessity entirely. I inspect these bags every time I pass by – even as I struggle with armloads of laundry on my way to the washing machine. I confess I just can’t help myself.

I think about what’s inside these bags and it always makes me smile.

These six brown bags have been hiding in my dark unfinished basement since early November. I remember packing them the night of the first fall frost, using sections of the Sunday Inquirer as insulation from the basement dampness. I look at the bags in my basement day after day, week after week, through the cold winter months and think the same thought over and over again: spring is coming.

It’s all about time, actually. Time passing. Looking forward in time. It’s quite intentional on my part. Ritualistic, even. You see, I look at the six brown paper bags and mentally project myself to springtime.

Maybe it’s just that time of year right now. All these months of cold, grayness and snow; oh yes, I’m more than a little winter weary. Somehow this brown bag ritual serves me, gets me through. Keeps me upbeat and hopeful, believing that spring will arrive and that I will be here to celebrate the season again.

During the third week of March, these six bags will make the trip up the stairs, out of the dark, into the light, through the house and outside to the turned over and weeded perennial beds in the backyard. For the occasion, I plan to eagerly break out a fresh pair of gloves, slip into my most comfortable stained and well-worn gardening sneakers and (drum roll, please) break open the bags.

By mid-March it’s high time to check on the health of my collection of canna bulbs. Some will have rotted, unfortunately, but the majority will be pushing out pale green shoots; ready for planting in my garden. Early spring is the time to get these bulbs back in the ground so that, come July, there will be an amazing field of five foot plus high plants with wide tropical fronds and enough brilliant tomato red colored flowers to stop traffic.

I started this cycle of planting and digging up canna bulbs the summer after my cancer diagnosis. Now (happily) heading into year fifteen of my cancer journey, this bulb-in-the-basement routine is a conscious part of my survivorship strategy. I recommend it highly to my fellow green-thumbed survivors!

Until the buds start peeking out on the trees, until temperatures creep above 32 degrees, keep your heart and spirit as warm as you can. And as we all wait for the official arrival of spring on March 21st, please keep in mind the wise, often quoted words of Hal Borland, “No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn. April is a promise that May is bound to keep.”

Living Beyond Breast Cancer will host another Writing the Journey Series this Spring, hosted by Alysa Cummings. And the good news is that there will be two different Writing the Journey groups in Spring 2013 – one in Cherry Hill, NJ and one in Haverford, PA.  Check back to the LBBC Blog for more insights from Alysa Cummings and future Writing the Journey creations.  You can purchase your own copy of Greetings from Cancerland, on Amazon.com!

Rachel Pinkstone-Marx: Book Review and CONTEST GIVEAWAY!

Love the recipes from Annette Ramke, CHHC, cancer survivor and co-author of the book, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer? Now it’s time share our OWN! Read this review and leave YOUR favorite recipe in the comments section of this post. Annette will pick a winner to receive a FREE copy of  Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen! (Be sure to leave your name & email)

Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer

Annette Ramke & Kendall Scott

(Review by your faithful blog steward, Rachel!)

When you flip open the cover of Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen you learn that this book is “THE resource for the woman who has been handed the cancer card—and for the one who never wants to get it.” However, as a reader and a writer, I think that it’s categorized even better in their dedication. This book is for:

All those who have faced a major life challenge and kept moving forward with determination, because they just have way to much living left to do.

As I have now had the pleasure to read this thoughtful cookbook and speak with both of the authors, I surely connect every word of this book to that purpose.  Authors Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott are both cancer survivors, so they come equipped with the needs and perspective of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. In this sassy and insightful book of recipes and stories, they share real-life knowledge and experience about the healing power of food, along with a look into their journeys with breast cancer. These pages are filled with more than 100 recipes for living a healthy life while living with cancer and easing the symptoms of treatment. This should be considered a favorable resource for women, before, during and after treatment. It also doesn’t hurt to give it a read if you haven’t been diagnosed with cancer, but would like an in depth look at a healthy and disease-preventative diet.

Annette Ramke was 36 when she was first diagnosed with cancer, and while in treatment, became immersed in studying nutrition as a way to fight cancer. She felt better than she ever had, including before getting cancer, and decided to pursue further studies at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, which is where she met Kendall. She is now a certified holistic health coach and works with those facing cancer and other diseases. She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Kendall Scott was diagnosed with cancer at age 27. She then went from a meat & potatoes/ take-out pizza diet to leafy green veggies and whole grains in baby steps, and felt the improvement even while undergoing chemotherapy. After going into remission, she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York City. She is board certified in holistic health coaching through IIN and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Kendall teaches nutrition and cooking classes, leads webinars, presents at wellness events and writes online articles as a nutrition expert. She lives in Maine.

As you break the book down after your first read, you note that you can enjoy two large and very different sections of the book:  a “girlfriend’s guide,” where you learn about Annette and Kendall’s “ups and downs” with diagnosis and treatment, and then a thorough second half filled with recipes. The intentions of the book are to help and comfort woman dealing with the struggles and dietary mazes that come along with treatment, but–don’t get me wrong–Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen is a resource that  would definitely appeal to the health/diet-conscious person, whether they have cancer or not.

Focusing on the “cookbook” portion, the recipes range from being as easy as throwing a few ingredients into a blender for a “Gorgeous Green” or “Superfood” smoothie, to moderate difficulty for your “Seitan Strogonoff.” However, nothing seems out of a Beginner Chef’s reach.  Also, there is a handy section at the top of each recipe that starts you out with bullet points of  the recipe’s “healthy helpers” such as being  “detoxifying,” “immune boosting,” and of course, “constipation kicking!” Our authors also then provide a quick, yet informative introduction of the recipes healthy hints. Right in the center of the book is most likely where you will get lost, as you peruse the beautiful photographs of a selection of the finished products as you choose what meal to make yourself.

This uplifting cookbook/memoir will not let you down, as it is written like a guide coming directly from the heart: girlfriend-style. I’m sure you’ll find it hard to pick out just ONE recipe as your favorite!

Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen has received some amazing press, and it’s only right to let all of you hear what some of these acclaimed authors have to say:

“…a beautiful, delicious, and effective way to improve your health at any time—whether or not you have cancer or any disease. In fact, I recommend that all follow this sort of diet for optimal health!”— Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of the New York Times bestsellers: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

“An essential guide to using food as medicine and creating an inhospitable environment for cancer, while delighting your palette and invigorating your senses. Getting well has never been more fun or tasty!” —Mark Hyman, MD, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Blood Sugar Solution

“Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen offers, in one engaging and comprehensive package, what others don’t – first-hand experience, nutritional know-how, girlfriend-style support and tasty recipes – all designed to help kick cancer or keep you healthy. A healthy diet is an integral part of healing and fighting disease, and Annette and Kendall join you, step-by-step, and empower you to discover how easy and delicious eating well can be – starting with your very next meal! —Dr. Steven G. Eisenberg, Co-founder of California Cancer Associates for Research and Excellence and author of Dancing With The Doctor (2013)

Now it’s your turn! Leave your best recipe in the comments section of THIS book review post (along with your name and contact email address) and Annette will choose a winner!

Annette Ramke, CHHC, is a certified health coach and breast cancer survivor. She took an integrative approach to treatment and focused on a whole food, plant-based diet. She coauthored (with Kendall Scott, CHHC), Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, released October 2. Learn more atTheKickingKitchen.com.

Self-Care is Self-Love

We here at Living Beyond Breast Cancer feel it is important that no matter what stage you might be in–newly diagnoses, in-treatment, remission or recovery–health and nutrition are paramount.  Here today at the LBBC blog, we are thrilled to welcome back Annette Ramke,  certified health coach, cancer survivor and co-author of the book, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, as she comes back for her monthly installment providing our readers with her perspective on nourishing the body and soul.

So often we go through life running from one thing to the next. We are busy with work and family responsibilities, putting the needs of partners, children, friends and bosses above our own.

We believe we don’t have the time to take care of ourselves, whether it is moving our bodies with exercise, preparing and eating healthy food, finding moments of balance and stillness in our days or even taking a deep breath and appreciating our bodies for all they do for us day after day, month after month, year after year.

For many of us, a cancer diagnosis is a wakeup call in a number of ways. We have said ourselves, and have heard many of our cancer pals say, “I knew I was burning the candle at both ends. I knew I was stressed and wasn’t taking care of myself,” when speaking of the time prior to getting hit with the Big C news. Suddenly a diagnosis puts everything into glaring perspective. Now it’s not just about having low energy, flabby abs or edgy nerves. It’s about surviving, and the stakes are high.

And while we know that always eating poorly, never exercising or continuously functioning under stress doesn’t cause cancer directly, these elements do significantly affect our health and well-being. They do support or hurt the immune system. They do influence hormone levels. They do contribute to energy, strength and metabolism. They do impinge on our emotions and mental clarity. And they do affect the body’s ability to prevent and heal from disease and cope with conventional medical treatments.

Why not give your body, heart and mind some support, especially if you’re facing cancer?

If you are serious about getting healthy, then right now is the best time to get serious with self-care. You will feel renewed, refreshed, happier and stronger just from taking some time to give your body, mind and soul what it craves. No matter where you are in health and cancer, it’s time to show that amazing body some love!

Here are some of my self-care faves. What are yours?

Sipping hot tea

Reiki

Reading in my hammock

Massage

Meditation

Cooking wearing a fun apron

Green smoothies

Juicing

Yoga

Savoring a little dark chocolate

Singing in the car

Walking, hiking, bicycling – moving

Sunshine and fresh air

Taking a bubble bath

NEWS: The LBBC Blog will offer a review of Annette and Kendall’s Book, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, as well as a contest to win a your very own copy!

NEXT MONTH: Leave your best recipe in the comments section of the February post reviewing the cookbook, and Annette will choose a winner!

Annette Ramke, CHHC, is a certified health coach and breast cancer survivor. She took an integrative approach to treatment and focused on a whole food, plant-based diet. She coauthored (with Kendall Scott, CHHC), Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, released October 2. Learn more atTheKickingKitchen.com.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer and Metastatic Breast Cancer Network Release New Publication

For Immediate Release:

GUIDE FOR THE NEWLY DIAGNOSED JOINS GROWING RESOURCE LIBRARY FOR WOMEN WITH STAGE IV DISEASE

January 8, 2013; Philadelphia, PA | Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network (MBCN) have announced the release of a free publication to help address the needs women have in the first months following a diagnosis of metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer. The Metastatic Breast Cancer Series: Guide for the Newly Diagnosed is the newest title in LBBC’s growing library of Guides to Understanding Breast Cancer, free publications designed specifically to empower women with the information needed to make the best and most informed decisions for themselves and their families when facing a breast cancer diagnosis and considering options for treatment and disease management.

As someone living with metastatic breast cancer, Shirley Mertz knows firsthand of the physical and emotional impact of a stage IV diagnosis. Mertz, the president of MBCN, reflected on her personal experience and commented, “Most new metastatic breast cancer patients feel overwhelmed with anxiety and a loss of control over their lives. This new publication will remind women that knowledge is power, help them find courage to educate themselves about metastatic breast cancer and hopefully open the door to better treatment selection and outcomes.”

The Metastatic Breast Cancer Series: Guide for the Newly Diagnosed is designed to help women navigate the first few days, weeks and months after a first-time, stage IV breast cancer diagnosis or metastatic recurrence. The guide focuses on medical, emotional and practical concerns with the goal of helping readers to understand the biology of metastatic disease, form questions they may need or want to ask and provide available resources that improve emotional and physical wellness.

“Living Beyond Breast Cancer and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network worked together to create this resource to help women become their best advocates,” said Jean A. Sachs, MSS, MLSP, LBBC’s chief executive officer. “This guide will help women understand the tests and treatments they may undergo and address the impact that metastatic breast cancer can have on emotional well-being.”

Nearly 150,000 people—women and men—are living with metastatic breast cancer in the United States and while a diagnosis of this type is life-changing, advances in research and treatment have made it possible for many to live longer, more fulfilling lives. LBBC and MBCN worked diligently to ensure that this guide was available to help bridge the gap between initial diagnosis and life beyond.

“I wish something like this had been available to me when I was first diagnosed, for my benefit and the benefit of family and friends who had—and still have—so many questions,” says Cindy Colangelo, a member of the consumer advisory committee that reviewed the guide’s content for accuracy. “Hopefully, this guide will help people acknowledge the elephant in the room that no one wants to discuss. Our goal is to provide a greater understanding of metastatic breast cancer and help affected women and families move forward by answering questions, providing information and giving hope.”

In addition to Colangelo and other women living with metastatic breast cancer, the guide was also reviewed by LBBC and MBCN staff, health care professionals, medical and surgical oncologists, social workers, nurses, researchers, and a palliative care specialist, led by William Gradishar, MD, of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

“As a group facilitator, I’m excited to present this guide to patients who seek wisdom, guidance and support,” says Marie Lavigne, LCSW, OSW-CAs, an oncology social worker and a member of the medical review team. “As with all of LBBC and MBCN’s offerings, it provides a cornerstone to the essential needs of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer – clear, honest information, hope and inspiration when they need it the most.”

The Metastatic Breast Cancer Series: Guide for the Newly Diagnosed is divided into six sections written in clear and easy-to-understand language. Individual copies of the guide are free and can be ordered online at lbbc.org or by calling (610) 645-4567. Larger quantities may also be ordered for a small shipping and handling fee. Additional resources can be found through LBBC’s Understanding Guides: Metastatic Breast Cancer Series and through MBCN. LBBC’s titles are: Treatment Options for Today and Tomorrow, Managing Stress and Anxiety, Symptoms and Treatment Side Effects and Understanding Palliative Care. MBCN’s titles are: Diagnosis: Metastatic Breast Cancer…What does it mean for you? and Get the Facts.

About Living Beyond Breast Cancer
For over 20 years, Living Beyond Breast Cancer has been providing educational resources and support services to women of all ages who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. LBBC helps improve the quality of life for these women by empowering them with the information they need to make the best and most informed decisions for themselves and their families. National conferences, monthly teleconferences, regional community meetings, the Guides to Understanding Breast Cancer and a toll-free Survivors’ Helpline are just a few examples of the services that are provided, always at little or no cost.

If someone you know has recently been diagnosed, is in treatment, recovery, years beyond their diagnosis or living with metastatic breast cancer, LBBC can help. For more information, visit lbbc.org, call (610) 645-4567 or download a free copy of Empower, LBBC’s general information brochure.

About Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, a national, patient-led organization, works to raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer within the breast cancer community and public. MBCN encourages women and men living with the disease to raise their voices to demand support, resources and more research for metastatic disease.
MBCN provides education and information to metastatic people and their caregivers. Visit mbcn.org or call (888) 500-0370 to access education, support and advocacy resources.

Randi Rentz: Survivor’s Guilt

As we all all coming off of the excitement and possible exhaustion of the holidays to ring in the New Year, the LBBC Blog is happy to welcome back recurring writer, Randi Rentz, and she discusses a topic that many diagnosed women have experienced–Survivor’s Guilt–and how she plans to let it go.  Along with Randi, we here at LBBC wish everyone a beautiful and joyous New Year with health, happiness and hope in the future.

Have you ever wondered why you were diagnosed with cancer? If you have, stop it right now! I’m serious. I’ve never wondered why I was diagnosed with cancer. I can truly say that is an honest statement. Many people have asked me, “Why on earth would you, a young, healthy, happy person with no family history of breast cancer get breast cancer?” Even when other people wondered, I never have.  In my mind and heart I figured that “Why?” wasn’t the point. I had “The Big C.”  I had to deal with it. I had to move on and look ahead.

Since my diagnosis, I have had four friends die of cancer and another one who will die soon. All were young, healthy and happy people. Some had no family history, while others did have a family history.

My question is: “Why did I get what I got (a treatable cancer) and they get what they got (a life limiting form of cancer)?” Do you know I think about this Every. Single. Day. Sometimes this thought makes me feel so morose. Sometimes it makes me feel anxious. Sometimes it makes me feel remorseful.

As I think about my friend who is fading, I’ve come to realize what’s going on: I am experiencing a version of survivor guilt, yet again. It is common to feel guilty about having survived when others died. Now, this typically refers to catastrophic events such as 911 or an earthquake or some other disaster (no reason to go on with examples and make myself feel shoddier!). I happen to think that a cancer diagnosis (of any kind!) is pretty darn earth shattering. Don’t you? When I received my diagnosis, my world stopped. Completely.

What I’ve learned is that this feeling of guilt is part of being human. For me, it is a way of searching for the meaning of my survival vs. another person’s fatality. Normalizing these feelings doesn’t necessarily make me feel better, though. There are no two ways to say it. Anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis is forever changed. There. I said it.

When I lost my first friend to cancer, I felt paralyzed. Sessions with a social worker helped me be productive and rational. I certainly did not want to continue to go down an unfortunate road every time I lost someone I cared about.

Today, I admit my survivor guilt still brings a few issues. For some people, survivor guilt can cause despair, rage, and guilt that may even compromise their physical health and well-being. UGH.

Believe me I’m thrilled to be where I am. I’m able to speak to other people about cancer and their emotions and feel so fortunate. I really do. I don’t know what’s in my future. None of us does. I can tell you through this ordeal, I have faced uncertainties, challenges, and sorrow. I know that I have also learned lessons I couldn’t have learned any other way.

What I know for sure is that life is a precious gift; however after losing my mother to cancer, I actually already knew that…I guess it’s just been reiterated – in a BIG WAY. For now, it’s my time to live.

To learn more about Randi you can peruse her blog or read excepts from her book, Why Buy a Wig…When You Can Buy Diamonds!, when you visit her website.

Julie Anne Mauro: “Strength in the Face of Great Uncertainty”

Sometimes getting out your feelings can be just the therapy you need. Living Beyond Breast Cancer offers a “Writing the Journey” Seasonal Writing Series that offers instruction and encouragement for women affected by breast cancer to use this creative outlet to express themselves. On this second installment of the LBBC Blog‘s Writer’s Corner, Julie Anne Mauro shares who own musing on diagnosis and LIVING with metastatic disease.

I Quit Cancer - April 30, 2012 – after an extensive month of tests and trying to get on a drug trial and finally getting on a treatment that is working.

I quit cancer

Seriously, I quit

It’s not a fun job

It certainly doesn’t pay well

And it just takes up too much of my time

I’m tired of Pink

I’m tired of Anti-pink

I’m tired of just being a number

Tired of being a patient

Tired of blood draws and infusions

Tired of looking in the mirror and not seeing myself anymore

Just the battle scars

Just the bitterness

Tired of thinking, will this be the last time I ……

*          *          *          *          *

Untitled – August  7, 2012

Can you do something more than just a prayer?

But fight for me

Fight for me

Show the world that I was once there

Fight for me

Oh fight for me

Let me know that somebody really cares

Fight for me

Oh fight for me

Show me there’s more than blank and empty stares

Oh fight for me

Oh fight for me

Even when I’m weary and on my last breath

Fight for me

Please fight for me

*          *          *          *          *

Julie Anne is a recent transplant to Arizona from New Jersey,  married, and a mother of 2 boys (8 and 14). In July of 2009, a week before her 44^th birthday, she was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer. After chemotherapy, a bi-lateral mastectomy and radiation, in May of 2010 her came up clean. She “beat cancer.” One month later, she found a lump in her chest wall–her cancer had spread to the lymphatic system and she was diagnosed Stage IV.  Since then the cancer has spread to her lungs, but she is still here and living strong every day with Metastatic disease.  Her motto is “Strength in the face of great uncertainty.”  Writing has been a great release for her and a way to express herself living in a world of unknowns.

Visit the LBBC Events Page for more information on the “Writing the Journey” Fall Writing Series. 

Amy Hauser: Horses.Healing.Hope. (Part Two of a Two-Part Series)

Amy Hauser never considered herself destined to be an author. From her self admitted “life-long inability to properly start and stop paragraph formations, among other things,” to being busy raising two children full time, a book simply was not on the radar.  Until God said otherwise. Today, the LBBC Blog welcomes back Amy to tell her story of how her religion and horses helped her to survive.

My journey through breast cancer also left me with a deep desire to positively impact other women who were travelling down similar paths. I knew that the compilation of my life’s trials had brought me to a point of greater connection with God, including during the breast cancer fight, yet realized not all women were similarly impacted. I felt led to point others to Him in a unique manner, while sharing our common struggles. I also wanted to address the aspect of cancer that seems to go almost unnoticed by the medical industry, which is to help guide women through the process of living beyond treatment as they navigate the often isolating stage of the “new normal” – where hair is growing back, the phone calls and meals dwindle and the doctors and surgeons release you from care. Fear and anxiety so often enter the scene and can consume a woman as she is often unprepared for this stage – a stage she was looking forward to with so much joyful anticipation!

Horses.Healing.Hope. (HHH) was created to help women navigate the inevitable emotional phases encountered during the healing journey. HHH blends nature, the horse and equine assisted therapy in a relaxed, peaceful environment, allowing women an escape from the everyday surroundings of post-cancer life. Horses have an amazing ability to reflect our emotional states – to help each of us identify and get in touch with our true heart – and its related wounds.

Today HHH offers sessions that meet weekly for two hours, for seven weeks. HHH has been a huge success in the North Houston, Texas area and we are excited to see it grow. We will also launch a program for newly diagnosed women facing breast cancer and are creating connections to women who have gone before them, to learn how to heal and grow in their walk with Christ.  These are not riding programs, but rather creative healing programs that utilize the horse as a tool toward increased overall healing.

In following this internal desire to help others, I have helped myself. Taking the focus off of my own circumstances and looking beyond, I have healed a part of my soul that could only be touched through serving the needs of others. Maybe serving should be a written prescription for all of us as we navigate life’s trials!

It is our dream to see HHH one day become the foundation of Made For More ministries HEALING RANCH. These ideas have been planted in my husband Tom’s and my heart for some time – to have a refuge that not only reaches out to cancer survivors, but also a place for entire families to have a respite from the ever-present “C” word – a getaway retreat that hosts both HHH retreats as well as ongoing sessions.

If you would like to learn more about Horse.Healing.Hope., sponsorship opportunities, Made For More, or IN HIS GRIP, please visit Amy and Tom’s website at www.MadeforMoreministries.com or like them on Facebook under “Made for More ministries.”

Annette Ramke, CHHC: Berry Almond Smoothie

We here at Living Beyond Breast Cancer feel it is important that no matter what stage you might be in–newly diagnoses, in-treatment, remission or recovery–your health and nutrition are paramount.  Today at the LBBC blog, we welcome back Annette Ramke,  certified health coach, cancer survivor and co-author of the book, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, as she comes back for her monthly installment providing our blog readers with a tasty recipe and the real life reason it worked for her.

Smoothies were my go-to food during chemotherapy when I was too tired to make a meal or felt too nauseous to get anything solid down. Before I began making healthier choices with food, my typical smoothie was actually a milkshake – a few scoops of ice cream and some milk in a blender. Once I learned that I could make smoothies that were creamy, yummy and nutritious, I never went back to the milkshakes. I wanted to give my body what it really needed, especially while enduring grueling cancer treatment and trying to kick cancer.

I’m excited to share one of our favorite, delicious and easy smoothie recipes from Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen – the Berry Almond Smoothie!

This smoothie is energizing, filling and super tasty! Bananas offer potassium to help replenish lost electrolytes, and berries give a boost of antioxidants, those awesome little cancer fighters. You get your protein and some fabulous nutrients, like iron, calcium and magnesium from the almond butter. Anemia is common for those undergoing chemotherapy treatment and in many other people, and iron can help to treat this. Almonds are also helpful in relieving constipation, a common side effect of cancer treatment.

Photo Credit:
Steve Legato, stevelegato.com

Yield: makes 24 ounces

12 oz almond milk

1 banana

1⁄2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1⁄2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

3 tablespoons raw almond butter

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix at medium speed for about one minute or until mostly smooth. If a thinner smoothie is desired, add more water or almond milk and blend for a few more seconds.

Annette Ramke, CHHC, is a certified health coach and breast cancer survivor. She took an integrative approach to treatment and focused on a whole food, plant-based diet. She coauthored (with Kendall Scott, CHHC), Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: The Girlfriend’s Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer, released October 2. Learn more at TheKickingKitchen.com.

Suzin Glickman: “Presently” Living

Suzin Glickman is a former Long Island girl, survivor, professor, lawyer, mother, wife and daughter who found writing and creative expression to be one of the most therapeutic and inspiring ways to cope and heal from her cancer diagnosis.  She is pleased to share some of her favorite original poems with the LBBC blog readers for our bi-monthly series, Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s Writer’s Corner.

Salad Bar Marred - April 2012

They all went to the salad bar

I stayed back

and watched from afar

A rush of emotion

Swelled

Over me

Just from watching

Their backs to me

A seemingly insignificant moment

Then came that haunting

Once more

It comes as hauntings do

When you least expect them

Catching you quite unprepared

At a moment unaware

Shaking me at my core

Tears welled up in my eyes

Feeling queasy

Muscles and nerves reacting

My thought

Alarmed

How can this be?

The four of them

Will go on without me

I watch them move along the line

A outsider

Watching

Spying on them

Like a fly on the wall

Not accepting

I could be dying

We are out

Having family fun

And I

Have come undone

All because it is all about

I want to be part

Not apart.

*          *         *          *          *

Life’s Adjustments - April 2012

Let’s talk about life’s adjustments

The ones we have to make

When life

Gives us strife

And of our expectations

There is a breach

Our original plans

We realize

We might not reach

Those hopes and dreams

Upon which for years

We made plans,

Had aspirations

We will have to compromise

Economics, jobs, relationships, religion, family, health

At first, all these have their allure

Some people have luck

That is for sure

But few can escape some kind of kink

In what is planned, I think

Hopefully, one can find a cure

When life drops upon you manure

And endure

And so these adjustments

We do not always easily or happily make

Are life’s big message

Hanging on our door

( sarcastic, “oh, goody”)

We are now mature.

*          *         *          *          *

Suzin is now “presently” living in the Washington D.C. area with metastatic breast cancer and all that comes with it. Suzin started blogging in January 2012 after her re-diagnosis, occurring just at the 5 year mark since her first round of breast cancer. Suzin hopes to strike a deal with whomever it concerns in regard to living in this condition for a long time, maintain her sense of humor and be present for her family. Her goal is for readers of her poems get an “Ah Hah! Me too! “reaction and that the poems make them smile and touch a chord as well. To read more of her work, visit her Blog, ” Suz’s Muzes.”

Head to the LBBC Event Page for more information on our “Writing the Journey” Fall Writing Series.