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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 1: MY CANCER IS ME”]
MY CANCER IS ME |
HEAR IT FROM VIJAY |
| Most people are conditioned to think that illness is caused by external or foreign agents outside one’s body, and that illness is often beyond one’s control; there is a tendency to externalize illness.
However, cancer usually arises from within a person and one needs to understand this at two levels: at the physical level, where the body’s own cells start growing uncontrollably; and, at the deeper level of one’s inner experiences, thoughts and emotions. We will show you that the manner in which you live your life can actually create the conditions for cancer to occur; equally, living your life in a different way can create conditions for healing to occur. Once you shift your perspective to acknowledge this, your entire approach changes and you begin to take full responsibility for your experience in a way that honours your body and your illness. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 2: CANCER: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH”]
CANCER: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| Society prefers to view cancer as a random and unfortunate event, a ‘bump in the road’. We view cancer as a ‘fork in the road’.
This fork can point you in a new direction and help you move away from the comforting but stifling notions of normalcy and of life as you have always known it. Instead, it can take you towards growth and transformation. Our message to you is that cancer, like other serious illnesses, is an opportunity for deeper self-awareness and self-transcendence. While this may seem controversial and counterintuitive at first, we assure you that the reality is very different. We invite you to see cancer as a blessing rather than a curse. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 3: NEW LANGUAGE & MINDSET ARE NEEDED”]
NEW LANGUAGE & MINDSET ARE NEEDED |
HEAR IT FROM VIJAY |
| The vocabulary surrounding cancer is not just limiting but defeatist as well. Cancer is spoken of as a ‘monster’, a ‘scourge’ and an ‘internal terrorist’.
Viewing your illness in such negative terms will dishearten you and drain you of hope and energy. We offer you a positive vocabulary that will actually energize and empower you. Read more. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 4: CANCER: A CELL THAT FORGETS TO DIE”]
CANCER: A CELL THAT FORGETS TO DIE |
HEAR IT FROM VIJAY |
| Cancer is a complex and formidable disease. To add to this, the fear and social taboos that accompany this illness make it even harder to comprehend.
We demystify cancer by explaining its basic cellular process in simple terms. Cancer starts with one cell that escapes its regulating mechanism and forgets to die on schedule. Thereafter, this one cell replicates continuously, hijacking nutrients from surrounding tissues. Eventually, it can bring down the entire organism. Once you begin to understand what cancer is and how it grows, you will feel better equipped to deal with the fears and anxieties that this disease brings. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 5: HOLISTIC & INTEGRATED APPROACHES”]
HOLISTIC & INTEGRATED APPROACHES |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| The terms ‘holistic’ and ‘integrated’ are often used interchangeably by the lay person, and the meaning of both is diluted as a result.
We help you draw a clear distinction between the two:
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 6: FOUR VIEWS OF ILLNESS & CANCER”]
FOUR VIEWS OF ILLNESS & CANCER |
HEAR IT FROM VIJAY |
Based on available research, we propose four different views of illness:
While each view has its own considerations and implications, no single view is likely to be fully right. The challenge – and opportunity – is to hold all these views simultaneously. In this way, we help you open new lines of enquiry into your illness; doing so can bring you fresh insights to support your healing. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 7: IMMUNITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR GOOD HEALTH”]
IMMUNITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR GOOD HEALTH |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| Our key premise is that your best defence against cancer’s occurrence and recurrence is the maintenance of optimum immunity.
Nature has given you an immune system that is fully capable of keeping you in good health. It is now well established that the body routinely produces cancerous cell mutations that are detected, dealt with and flushed out by the immune system. We explain the twin functions of the immune system: protection and repair – with reference to cancer – and show you how stress is one of the major factors that can compromise immunity. This premise is scientifically supported by the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 8: STRESS IS MULTI-FACTORIAL”]
STRESS IS MULTI-FACTORIAL |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| Most people have a limited and narrow understanding of stress. According to us, stress is multi-factorial and can originate at various levels within a person – physical, mental, emotional, systemic and spiritual.
If you can discover your stressors and what triggers them, you can take specific and targeted actions to recover from them. This discovery and recovery restores peak immunity. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 9: DECONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING THE SELF”]
DECONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING THE SELF |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| We contend that cancer cannot be approached superficially. True healing requires you to dive deep into yourself and confront yourself at all levels.
Then, you need to ‘deconstruct’ or examine all aspects of your life: your body, thoughts, emotions, relationships, lifestyle and so on. After this, you have to ‘reconstruct’ or build yourself up on a fundamentally new basis. We support you through this process by illustrating, through our own experiences, how cancer can give you an opportunity to begin your life anew. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 10: DEATH: A FOCUS ON LIFE”]
DEATH: A FOCUS ON LIFE |
| Modern society is so afraid of Death and Loss that it avoids them as much as it can. A cancer diagnosis is traumatic.
A person who has cancer must necessarily confront both death and loss, but usually does not feel adequately prepared or supported in doing so. We help you address the subject of death by explaining how bereavement affects everyone. We also prepare you to anticipate and face cancer’s five ‘shocks’. Further, we offer you a way to conduct a ‘dialogue’ with death; this will help you release your natural fears and uncertainties. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 11: DIET & NUTRITION FOR CANCER”]
DIET & NUTRITION FOR CANCER |
| There is a lack of clarity about the diet and nutritional needs of a person with cancer. While you are advised to eat normally and sensibly, there is, at the same time, an overwhelming amount of information, on the internet and in other media, on foods considered suitable or unsuitable for cancer. At times, this information is contradictory.
We highlight the key dietary principles that have a bearing on cancer and propose certain nutritional guidelines that will help you in creating a healthy regimen you can adopt or adapt as appropriate. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 12: THE CAREGIVER’S PERSPECTIVE”]
THE CAREGIVER’S PERSPECTIVE |
HEAR IT FROM NILIMA |
| Even though cancer traumatizes the family as much as it does the individual, the implications for the primary caregiver and the rest of the family are largely ignored.
In some cases, cancer can cement family relationships; in others, it can create cracks. Through our personal story, we highlight the crucial role of the caregiver in the healing process, as well as different types of patient-caregiver relationships. Read more |
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[su_spoiler title=”Key Idea 13: THE HERO’S JOURNEY”]
THE HERO’S JOURNEY |
HEAR IT FROM VIJAY |
| Since cancer is such a difficult, challenging and testing experience, human nature tends to focus on its negative aspects.
Without denying the reality of pain and suffering that cancer brings, we reframe this narrow view by applying to the cancer experience the metaphor of the archetypal hero’s journey. Just as every mythological hero must answer the call to adventure, take on a variety of challenges, encounter helpers and tricksters along the way, confront his worst fears, drink the elixir and finally bring it back to transform his society, so can every individual with cancer. We explain how to do so and invite you to manifest the hero within you. Read more |
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Cancer: Friend, Foe or Teacher?
A crab is a strange pet to have. While it appears harmless and docile, suddenly it can bite you. After Vijay Bhat adopted a crab, Cancer; he too had a bitter-sweet relationship with it. Eventually, he befriended it.
Quite like our relationship with cancer, the disease. Most people see cancer as the end of the road. But what if cancer can be a new beginning? The thought of thriving after cancer doesn’t come easily. Hence, after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2001, Vijay consciously chose a different and empowering relationship with cancer.
Thriving after cancer and finding a ‘new normal’
The crab reminds Vijay to stop surviving … and start thriving after cancer.
- It wasn’t fate that gave me cancer. But I gave it to myself with the life choices I made
- So to become cancer-free, I can choose to be healthy and whole.
- I’m in charge of him, not the other way around.
- When ‘scare-giver’ Cancer brought in the storm, my wife and caregiver, Nilima Bhat was my anchor. Together they kept me focussed and positive.
- It’s also important to get over the fear of death and respect your cancer experience. Thriving after cancer is possible!
Reflection
- What is your view of illness? Do you see it as a rude and inconvenient obstacle?
- Review your key lifestyle factors. What changes or improvements can you make?
- How open are you to seeing cancer as a catalyst for growth?
- What does your future – your life after cancer – look like?
- As you contemplate this new direction, what past experiences can you make use of for thriving after cancer?
Nothing can prepare you for the cancer journey. But advice from someone who have been there, done that can certainly make you better informed. You can watch the Cancer Awakens video series here and read the articles here.
]]>Cancer: The beginning of a new life
A cancer diagnosis is not the end of your life. It is, perhaps, the end of the life you had hoped for, expected, planned, wanted or been promised.
It is the shattering of the old dreams of “my life”. But perhaps the initial shock hails the beginning of a new life, a more authentic, connected, honest, conscious, loving life, however ‘long’ you have left, for this journey requires very little time.
Reconnecting with yourself
Perhaps it is an invitation to remember yourself, focus, breathe, root out the unnecessary violence in your relationships and in yourself, a call to shine light on those pockets of suffering you would have never paid attention to before.
It is a rude awakening, to be sure! – and you may wish to rewind the movie, or at least fast-forward to the future scene of total healing and remission. That would be nice. But you might miss the grace of the journey, the unexpected gifts along the way.
True healing goes deeper than the removal of symptoms, deeper even than growth or remission, illness or death. It’s the discovery of who you really are, cancer or no cancer at all, medical intervention or not. It’s the remembering of love, connection, the peacefulness at the core of things, the ground on which you stand.
You are not, and will never be, a cancer victim, even a cancer survivor. No story can define you, no good story or bad story. You are life itself, and the presence or absence of symptoms is no excuse for forgetting this. Let everything heal you, let the moment be your guide, remember to breathe, and know where you are.
Reflection
- What is your relationship with cancer … how healthy or disturbed is it?
- How will you transform your outlook to see it as the ‘beginning of a new life’ rather than as a ‘death sentence’?
- How have your core beliefs and dreams changed during your cancer journey?
- What activities help you to reconnect with your inner self?
Source
Excerpts from Jeff Foster‘s experiences.
]]>Coming to terms with cancer
“Why me?”
“Am I going to die?”
“How much time do I have?”
“I will battle cancer. I will conquer it.”
These are common questions after the devastating cancer diagnosis. The pendulum of emotions swings from shock to self-pity to fear to the will to survive. And yet, somewhere deep down, there may be a voice that equates cancer with death.
This is not surprising considering the scary survival statistics. It is true that more than 50% of people diagnosed with cancer will die within 5 years. However, these statistics bury the stories of thousands of people who not only survive, but go on to thrive. Cancer thrivers become symbols and role-models of determination, hope, new beginnings and transformation. So what do these cancer thrivers do differently?
Cancer Thrivers: Who Are They?
Most people who get cancer consider it to be a curse. Whereas the small minority – the cancer thrivers – are able to see it as a blessing. In fact, they turn it into a springboard personal growth and self-transcendence. Cancer thrivers very quickly get past the basic ‘why me’ questions and start enquiring into the significance of cancer in their lives.
During the journey, they continue to look for deeper meaning. They become curious about the bigger and more fundamental questions: What is the larger meaning of cancer? Why does cancer exist in the first place? How does cancer fit into nature’s (or God’s) greater plan?
5 Things That Cancer Thrivers Do
Cancer thrivers think and also behave quite differently, compared to other cancer patients. Our research shows that cancer thrivers take these 5 common steps. We invite you to do the same!
1. Reclaim your power
In the early days of cancer journey, it is natural for you be vulnerable and fragile. So you may hand over your power to your doctors, family and even your spiritual teacher. But at some stage, to become a cancer thriver, you must reclaim that power. If you don’t take charge of your life and your healing, you will only live your life on other people’s terms, not yours.
2. Take the fork-in-the-road
Society prefers to view cancer as a random and unfortunate event, a ‘bump in the road.’ We view cancer as a ‘fork-in-the-road.’ This fork points you in a new direction. It helps you move away from the comfortable but stifling notions of normalcy and of life as you have always known it. Instead, you can create ‘The New Normal’ as your path towards growth and transformation.
3. Access inner resources
There is no dearth of information about cancer but much of it is contradictory and confusing. It is hard to find relevant and high-quality insights. The bigger challenge, of course, is to apply those insights to yourself. This calls for looking within, rather than searching outside. Further, you must find the inner resources to confront the most difficult aspects of yourself.
4. Focus on quality of life
While most people are obsessed with quantity of life, cancer thrivers focus on quality. They identify their life’s deepest, unfulfilled desires and fulfill them; they seek out their life’s unfinished business and finish it. Surprisingly, research says that those who focus on living well tend to live longer.
5. Offer your experience in service of others
Experiencing cancer forces you to confront your own mortality. At the same time, it also reconnects you with your own humanity. And when this happens, it quite naturally evokes a deep compassion towards the suffering of others. Cancer thrivers are able to convert such compassion into concrete actions that serve others. It rarely matters to them whether a single individual or many thousands benefit … their commitment and passion to self-less service are important.
Will You Stand Among Cancer Thrivers?
Cancer thrivers demonstrate that it is possible to transform the life-threatening cancer challenge into a life-changing experience. And more importantly, you can learn, internalise and practice these approaches on your own. Or you can seek the expert guidance of one of our SHERPAs, and sign up for the THRIVER program.
Either way, we hope and pray that you will commit yourself to a new life after cancer, to ‘The New Normal’
Reflection
- How can you take the first steps to becoming a cancer thriver, instead of seeing yourself as a victim … or even a survivor?
- What do you need to do to accept your situation? How can you learn to let go?
- How does each new day enrich your learnings about yourself and about life?
- Review your key lifestyle habits. What changes or improvements can you make?
- In what way can your cancer experience help you to give back to society?
Nothing can prepare you for the cancer journey. But advice from someone who have been there and done that can certainly make you better informed. You can watch the Cancer Awakens video series here and read the articles here.
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