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I hope you had a fabulous Red, White and Blue! For those of you who missed us last month, we apologize for not getting the newsletter out. Life got in the way!
Our son Brooks did graduate from college, we did celebrate National Cancer Survivor's Day, my husband celebrated his 60th birthday, and I was as busy as I could be. But I learned a very valuable lesson: it's OK to put some things aside.
I always credit cancer with helping me to "stop and smell the roses". I didn't realize at the time what an incredible treadmill I had been on, until my cancer and its treatments caused me to take time off, sit for long periods of time during chemo, take naps, do some of the things I had always wanted to do.
I've written in this column before about our son Brooks' dog Skylar. This month~ now that she's moved home with Brooks from college~ she has reminded me even more of what it's like to take time to recover from life's challenges.
It started when Skylar got a fish hook caught in her leg while swimming in the lake. She had to have surgery to get it out. The next day, she twisted that leg, trying to walk through the pain she must have been experiencing. Two days later, she developed "hot spots", a condition whereby she was licking the fur off her body down to the skin. She has a beautiful lamp shade on her head until we can break her of the habit. And lastly, when my husband dropped a bar-b-que rib on the ground and Skylar grabbed it from him, in one fell swoop she had swallowed it, bone and all! X-rays were required to insure that she would not have to have surgery to remove the bone.
And yet, through this all, I still see Skylar wagging her tail, coming for hugs and kisses, teasing our cat Simone, and most of all~ resting. It reminds me again of the year I went through all my treatments and surgeries, and I think to myself: "It's OK to slow down."
Take the time this month to enjoy the hot days of July, maybe rest by a lake or swimming pool, appreciate the tastes of summer and tell yourself, "It's OK to slow down." Have a sizzling July, and above all else, don't forget to laugh!
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those special moments that take our breaths away."
-- Anonymous
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KEEP MOVING FORWARD! |
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SHARE THE EXPERIENCE |
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How You Can Support a Friend Diagnosed With Cancer
Let's face it... we all hate car problems. But a mishap or breakdown, even routine maintenance, can be overwhelming to someone dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Offer to take the patient's car in for its summer check-up (oil change, fluid levels, etc.). Fill their car up with a full tank of gas. Get the car washed and sprayed with a refreshing scent that will lift up the patient's spirits. If an accident has occurred, offer to get the estimates, and schedule the appointment to get those dents removed. Your friend or loved one will be overwhelmed with your generous offer to help and may just use the time you've saved them to take that necessary nap.
To cancer patients:
Hand over your car keys the next time someone asks you, "What can I do to help?" Relieve yourself of stressful actitives such as check-ups for your vehicle when you have check-ups of your own to worry about. Let your friend/loved one know the location of your favorite gas station and/or body shop, and sit back and relax. After all, for today, someone else is doing the driving!
"Our thoughts are like taxis; they take us where we want to go. The way to get to happiness and health is to think happy, healthy thoughts."
-- V.E. Williams
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OREGANO POWER! |
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Researchers have found that herbs such as oregano, dill, thyme and rosemary serve up stronger cancer protection than fruits and vegetables. It doesn't take a lot of seasoning-- a single tablespoon of fresh oregano, for example, equals the antioxidant protection of an entire apple. So next time you sit down to enjoy your favorite Italian pasta, add a pinch of herbs and enjoy!
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THE CHAT ROOM |
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Dear Cancer Club,
Shortly after September 11, I had to fly from Portland, OR to a small city on business. In my job, I carry a badge in my purse, but I am not a cop. It is a seven point badge which could easily be a "throwing star," quite a dangerous object in the right (or wrong) hands. I often pass through this little airport, and the security people there always catch it. This time, as I was going through the process on the return flight to Portland, I had the opportunity to have a short adventure, and I couldn't pass it up.
I put my purse, briefcase and pager on the x-ray belt and walked through the metal detector at the little airport. Even though I didn't activate the detector, they asked me to step over to an area so a sweet, little lady of about 65 could wave the handheld scanner over me. I stood there with my arms straight out from my sides, while she waved it all around me. All the time, I'm trying to keep an eye on my purse, briefcase and pager, which have made it through the x-ray machine and are waiting on the other side for me to collect them. Once the scanning is done, the sweet thing tells me she has to do a pat search. So she starts rubbing the back of her hand across my outstretched arms, up and down my legs, and across my chest before she asks me to turn around so she could repeat the actions on my other side.
After all this searching stuff, I went over to the man holding my purse. He asked if I minded if he looked. I told him the item he was looking for was in the outside pocket of the purse and would he mind if I got it out for him? He allowed me to do so. Once the badge was in his hands, he yells down the way to his buddies on the x-ray machine who detected it, "She's a cop! Look at this! It's a gold badge from the State of Oregon." Of course, all the fellas had to come see it. The fact that it said something other than "police officer" or "sheriff" was lost on them. Badge equals "cop" to them. It was kind of quiet at that particular time, so they could leave their posts and fondle my badge.
After all this high drama about my badge, the sweet little lady comes over to me and says, "Since you're a cop, tell me: was the pat search okay?" I couldn't help myself. I leaned close to her and whispered, "It was fine. But did you notice I had a phony breast?" There was a brief gasp, and she just looked at me as her face turned red. I couldn't leave her like that, so I said, "So, I guess I got a high-quality breast if you didn't notice it was a fake, huh?" I was grinning like a fool, and she finally got into it and laughed a little. Then she laughed a lot, and her male helpers wanted to know what they were missing. I collected my belongings and strolled away while she giggled, and they badgered her to share the joke. I don't know if she shared the joke, and I didn't really care if she did. It was funny, and I needed a laugh! Take care, and enjoy the summer.
Les Dolecal, Concord, NH
Dear Cancer Club,
When in an examining room at a hospital emergency room, my friend~ a double mastectomy patient~ was being examined by a young intern. While removing her gown and checking her heart, making small talk, the doctor asked my friend if she had ever been in a hospital before. She quite candidly said to the doctor, "No, I did this to myself."
Needless to say, the doctor was quite embarrassed when he realized what he had just said. Hopefully this will bring some humor into a life or two, or maybe more. Keep up the good work!
Dianne Garrett, Marysville, OH
Dear Cancer Club,
I have come to the conclusion that the Lord has a really wierd sense of humor. Why else did he put all those organs and bits & pieces inside of us? So that doctors would have something to take out?
Before I'd even had my twelve surgeries, I tried to get my doctor to cooperate with me. But would he? No. So I taped a long, gray zipper to my tummy and insisted he come talk to me before he put me under. He did, and I whipped up my gown and said to please install this zipper. He was laughing so hard, he couldn't answer. The nurses on the floor were confused as to why my chart came to them with a zipper pinned to it. It took the doctor awhile to come see me,as he'd come to the door, bust out laughing and walk away! So don't tell me I didn't try to simplify things for the medical profession. Keep the faith.
Shirley Timm, Wichita, KS
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HAVE YOU HEARD? |
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ABOUT...PROTANDIM™ ? The only supplement clinically and scientifically proven to slow down the cell aging process by reducing oxidative stress by an average of 45%. Protandim is advanced science for cellular protection, clinically proven to reduce oxidative cell damage caused by free radicals. The active ingredients are derived from five botanical sources, and each ingredient has substantial human experience in traditional medicine. 100% vegetarian and free of gluten, wheat, dairy, gelatin and yeast. To learn more about Protandim, or an exciting business opportunity, please call The Cancer Club at (952)944- 0639. Recommended by Christine Clifford Beckwith. Visit www.LifeVantage.com/LiveYoung and watch the ABC Prime Time video. Then call us today to get started improving your health!
ABOUT...The Joy of Living: The Journal That Inspires YOU to Live Life Laughing™? Created by Roz Trieber. Cancer survivor Roz invites you to keep a humor journal. The journal gives you permission to focus on all the positive and fun aspects of your life. Call Roz at (410)998-9585 or email roz@humorfusion.com. $14.95 + $5.00 S&H. Or visit www.humorfusion .com.
ABOUT...mypinkScarf, Inc™ ? Created by cancer survivor Tara Lacher, Tara has mailed her hand-made pink scarves to 3,000 women in 30 states and 8 countries. Visit www.mypinkscarf. com or call Tara at (701)426-8303 to order yours today!
ABOUT...CANCER AND THE HEALING POWER OF PLAY™ ? Created by cancer survivors Izzy Gesell, M.Ed, and Roz Trieber, MS, CHES, this delightful book is a prescription for living joyously with presence, acceptance and trust. Visit www.cancerandthehealingpowerofplay or call Roz at (410)356-5832 or Izzy at www.izzyg.com.
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THE "HELPFUL" SIDE OF THE CANCER CLUB |
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The Cancer Club has always been a company that markets "humorous and helpful" products for people with cancer. Most of you are familiar with our humorous side, but we don't often focus on the "helpful" side. I'd like to take a moment to share an extraordinary experience with all of you.
Five months ago, I helped launch a brand new Network Marketing company called LifeVantage, that offers a supplement called Protandim. The product was created in 2003 by scientist Dr. Joe McCord, the co-discoverer of free radical biology, a four-time Nobel Prize nominee, who is featured in Sanjay Gupta's (CNN Medical Reporter and President Obama's choice for Surgeon General) book, Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality.
In 2005, ABC Prime Time did an eight minute special on Protandim. But in 2008, six clinical trials on Protandim were completed. All peer-reviewed, three of the studies have now been published, with the other three waiting for publication. One of those trials, from Louisiana State University, was published on Protandim, a fundamentally new antioxidant approach in Chemoprevention, on April 24th. I am providing a link to that study here.
What does Protandim do? It lowers oxidative stress by 45% by stimulating two enzymes (SOD and CAT) in our bodies to start our body's own production of antioxidants. A high level of oxidative stress plays a role in over 100 diseases, including cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, depression and arthritis, to name a few.
It stimulates Glutathione production up to 300%, and a lack of Glutathione plays a role in those same 100 diseases. And finally, two of its natural ingredients have a high anti-inflammatory component to them.
The most amazing thing, however, has been the results that people, including me, have experienced by taking Protandim. With the only change in their lives being the consumption of one Protandim supplement per day, people have experienced lower levels of cholesterol, hair growth for alopecia, dissipation of chronic migraine headaches, clearance of skin conditions such as Grover's Disease and shingles, elevated levels of energy and increased focus and clarity, to name a few. While Protandim makes no claims to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, due to its all natural ingredients, it does not require FDA approval.
I would personally like to encourage all of you to visit www.LifeVantage.com/LiveYoung, watch the ABC Prime Time video, and call me personally to tell you how you can improve your health starting today.
In fourteen years of being a survivor, I have researched every vitamin and supplement and been devoted toward improving my health. I have never endorsed a product before Protandim, but I am 100% behind this one. Why? Because it works. Here's to YOUR good health!
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ABOUT CHRISTINE CLIFFORD BECKWITH & THE CANCER CLUB™ |
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The Story Behind The Newsletter
The Cancer Club™, based in Minneapolis, MN, was created by Christine Clifford in 1995 in response to her diagnosis of Stage III metastatic breast cancer at the age of 40 in 1994. Christine, whose mother died of breast cancer at 42, found during her own treatments that while family and friends were supportive, noone ever gave her anything to make her laugh.
Needing a lift, Christine began to search for signs of humor in herself and her predicament. She found them daily. The more she laughed, the stronger she grew, and The Cancer Club™ was born.
The critically acclaimed Cancer Club™ is the first organization to offer hope and support to cancer patients, their families and friends through the healing power of humor. A dynamic speaker, Christine has traveled the globe with her keynote presentations and seminars on using humor to get through life's adversities.
Christine is married to speaker/author Harry Beckwith (co-authors of You, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself) and is the mother of five boys: Harry, Jr., Tim, Walter, Brooks & Cole; a daughter Cooper, a cat Simone and grandmother to a Siberian Husky named Skylar. Call The Cancer Club™ today or email us to book Christine for your next event. Don't forget to laugh! ™
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NEXT ISSUE: AUGUST, 2009 |
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We Hope You've Enjoyed This Edition
We hope you've enjoyed this edition of The Cancer Club™ eNewsletter. We'd like to thank our FABulous illustrator Jack Lindstrom of FAB Artists!
If you have a humorous or interesting story about cancer, send it to us at: P.O. Box 24747 Edina, MN 55424-0747 or email us at: Christine@cancerclub.com
Visit us online at www.cancerclub.com
Have a sizzling summer, and don't forget to laugh!™
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Warmest wishes, 
Christine Clifford Beckwith, CSP
Founder/President/CEO
The Cancer Club ™
Don't forget to laugh! ™
Phone: 1-800-586-9062
Fax: 1-612-922-0195
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Cancer Club | P.O. Box 24747 | Edina | MN | 55424-0747 | | |
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