‘Decoding Annie Parker’ film – keep an eye out for it

An important film about surviving cancer and discovery of the breast cancer gene

I just read a story in our local newspaper about an important film that will be coming out sometime in 2014.

That story, in short, is this: Annie Parker lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 13. Both her sister and a first cousin died of the disease before 40. She was diagnosed at age 29 with the disease, opting for a radical mastectomy. At 38, the sharp-witted, irrepressible Toronto-area mother was told she had third-stage ovarian cancer. Again, she beat the terrible odds.

As if that weren’t enough, in 2006 Parker’s oncologist told her she had a tumor behind her liver. Again, she survived.

Interwoven into Annie Parker’s remarkable story is the discovery by geneticist Mary-Claire King (played by Helen Hunt) of the breast cancer genes BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 responsible for 5-10% of breast cancers. Her discovery has been heralded as one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the century.

I watched the trailer and look forward to seeing the film with an amount of hesitation.  Being a breast cancer survivor and my mom also, it will be emotional to watch this film. Luckily, I have had the genetic test done and they did not find this mutated gene in me. Whew.

But the filmmaker says this is not so much about the story of one woman’s life. “The film is more about what sustains people in times of crisis than anything else. I was trying to address a greater truth about the nature of the human condition that allows people to survive.”

Movie trailer & news article

What’s also interesting about this film is it was written by a local Vancouver doctor, Dr. Michael Moss, the provincial medical director for LifeLabs, a local blood testing lab.

What a great and important project for all involved. I look forward to it.

~Wendy

Mindfulness – researched benefits on the brain

For those of you who appreciate seeing research results, here is a study about the benefits of Mindfulness on the brain. It’s entitled “Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density” and is posted on the PMC U.S. National Library of Medicine’s website.

Gray matter concentration increases in the left hippocampus for those that practiced mindfulness

This study shows the changes that occur in the brain after subjects took the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training program.  This is the program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, that I took and blogged about previously.

In a nutshell, what may catch your attention is the positive effects MBSR has on psychological well-being and alleviation of symptoms of a number of disorders including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and chronic pain, as well as improving well-being and quality of life.

Mindfulness meditation involves the development of awareness of present-moment experience with a compassionate, non-judgmental perspective.

Mindfulness practices are simple to learn and do, but the challenge is remember to do these practices in order to experience the benefits.  ‘Mindfulness’ is quickly becoming a household word.  It’s well worth learning!

~Wendy

Related posts:

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course
• How my friends and I discovered Mindfulness

4 ways to ‘help’ when someone is diagnosed with cancer

A sense of community and caring has a powerful effect on healing. Here’s how to help someone who’s struggling.

We have all experienced it – someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer.  You feel shocked. You feel helpless.  I learned about three good acquaintances who had new diagnoses this past week which has prompted me to write this post.

Before I had cancer, I remember feeling unsure and sometimes uncomfortable to find the words or actions to help someone. I think we all have an innate sense to help others but what could we possibly do for someone with cancer, especially someone who we care about but perhaps are not very close to, like a nice co-worker that you enjoy working with?

People often ask me:  What do I do?  What should I say?  I don’t want to say something to upset this person. And sometimes because people are unsure, they choose not to do anything at all, then they feel badly about that.

Here are 4 helpful Do’s and Don’ts:

1. Express that you are thinking of her, that you’re sending positive, healing thoughts. I believe in the power of intention and when I was going through my treatment, I truly felt all the positive energy people were sending to me. This made me feel cared for which is invaluable.
2. Keep in touch along the way.  Usually with the initial news of diagnosis, the buzz of people wanting to find out what’s going on is high, but over the months, the connections fade. It’s important for her to keep getting a steady stream of reminders that people are thinking of her, as she inevitably will go through many ups and downs.
3. Do not say ‘Be Strong’.  The effect of hearing this from people can be negative for her, because it puts the pressure on her to always remain strong.  When she has down moments, which is normal and expected, she’ll feel inadequate and failed that she isn’t being strong.
4. Ask what specifically you can do to help.  If you say “let me know if I can help in any way”, this is a lovely offer but usually your friend in need will not know how to respond. She won’t feel right asking for help or doesn’t know what she needs in that moment.  So a better question is “what specifically can I do to help?” and perhaps give her some examples of what you are willing and able to do.

I hope these tips are helpful. If this is not helpful to you today, perhaps it will be in the future.  Here’s a bonus tip:  send surprises to her – perhaps a little pick-me-up gift so she knows you’re thinking of her.

All the best,

~Wendy

A precious emotional reaction from a baby

Witness how precious and pure this baby’s reaction is to her mom’s singing.  It’s worth the 2 minutes to watch this.  It will warm your heart and probably surprise you, as it did for me.  Human emotions are beautiful.

Idea:  Keep this link handy and watch it whenever you are stressed or you need a lift.

Scroll down to the second image and play the video.  It gets even better around the 1:30 second mark  🙂

Ontario baby gets choked up over mom’s singing

I hope you enjoy this special moment,

~Wendy

What cancer means

The ‘C’ word is a scary word. I’d like to share with you my personal thoughts on what cancer means to me.

Cancer invokes fear in us all, yet cancer brings meaning to our lives.

Both my parents have had it.  My breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 changed my life.  Am I scared of recurrence?  I admit, yes, I am.  Some days it hits me harder, like today. I discovered a neighbour who just passed away from a cancer recurrence, and was also reminded of two wonderful people who are fighting it – both of these people inspire me because of the way they are living their lives now.

Not one day passes that I am not grateful for the awakening I have had from my cancer experience. It stopped me from living my life in auto-pilot and undervaluing each day that I have. Teaching people how to meditate and live mindfully is simply my way to help people awaken to the value of life.

Help John Mann start his musical tour inspired by his cancer experience

A local musician and actor in the Vancouver, British Columbia area named John Mann, had rectal cancer, and is now raising money to go on tour to share his beautiful music about his cancer experience.  Please take a moment to see his video and consider helping him realize his passion:

John Mann’s indiegogo site “The Waiting Room”

Thank you kindly,

~Wendy