100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (2 page)

Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

HEALTH TIP:
Imagine This—Lucy in the

HEALTH TIP:
How to Build a Good-Looking

Sky with Diamonds

Salad

PERK #51:
Hundreds of Dollars Saved

PERK #41:
Cancer Shook Up My New

in Hair Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Year’s Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

HEALTH TIP:
Treat Yourself to Chocolate

HEALTH TIP:
Three Quick and Easy

Cupcakes

Resolutions to Shake Up Your Life

PERK #52:
Rockin’ the Bandana . . . . . . . . . 205

PERK #42:
Packing Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

HEALTH TIP:
Rock Out with a Different

HEALTH TIP:
Don’t Mock the Tuna

Kind of Exercise

v

PERK #53:
Cancer Cured Me of My

PERK #63:
Cancer Forced Me to

Needle/Blood Phobia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Forgive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

HEALTH TIP:
Fear Needles? Try Acupuncture

HEALTH TIP:
I’ll Take My Forgiveness in

Pill Form, Please

PERK #54:
Cancer Made Me Value

PERK #64:
Cancer Motivated Me to

Every Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Drop Some Bad Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

HEALTH TIP:
Forget the Toga Party . . .

Have a Yoga Party

HEALTH TIP:
To Drink or Not to Drink?

PERK #65:
. . . And to Adopt Some

PERK #55:
Cancer Taught Me a Lesson

Good Habits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

About Loving My Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

HEALTH TIP:
Get Keen on Keen-Wah

HEALTH TIP:
Love the Skin You’re In . . .

(Spelled Q-U-I-N-O-A)

by Using Proper, Healthy Sunscreen

PERK #66:
Cancer Proved to Me That

PERK #56:
A Surprise Visitor . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Humor Can Be Found in Pretty Much

HEALTH TIP:
Take Advantage of All Your

Any Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Diagnostic Options

HEALTH TIP:
That Clown Is Not Funny

(You Know Who I’m Talkin’ About)

PERK #57:
Handsome Doctors . . . . . . . . . . 229

HEALTH TIP:
When Good Doctors Go Bad

PERK #67:
Cancer Introduced Me to

Many Phenomenal Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

PERK #58:
Say Good-Bye to Bad

HEALTH TIP:
The “Miraculous” Vitamin D

Hair Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

HEALTH TIP:
Say Hello to Sea Salt

PERK #68:
Cancer Allowed Me to

Feel Like a Movie Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

PERK #59:
A Five-Week Vacation . . . . . . . . 239

HEALTH TIP:
And the Winners Are . . .

HEALTH TIP:
Multivitamins . . . What Do

Envelope Please

You Have to Lose?

PERK #69:
I Could Finally Admit

PERK #60:
Families United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

I Believe in Angels and Fairies . . . . . . . . . . . 282

HEALTH TIP:
Is Your Home Sweet Home

HEALTH TIP:
Did Somebody Say “Nuts”?

Too Sweet?

Good Reasons to Grab Your Nuts and Go!

PERK #61:
Quality Time with

PERK #70:
Cancer Made Me the

My Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Preferred Sister-Wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

HEALTH TIP:
How to Make the Most Out

HEALTH TIP:
Prepare Your House for

of Your Walking

the Apocalypse . . . or Just Have a Tasty,

Healthy Snack

PERK #62:
I Haven’t Been Sick Since

I Got Cancer

PERK #71:
Treats in the Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

H

HEALTH TIP:
REJOICE! Chocolate Is Actually

EALTH TIP:
Load Your Immunity Guns

with Curcumin

Good for You!

vi

PERK #72:
Cancer Made Me Reevaluate

PERK #81:
A Good Reason to Spend

the Relationships in My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

More Time in My Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

HEALTH TIP:
Is the Water You Drink Toxic?

HEALTH TIP:
No Dirt? No Space? No Problem!

PERK #73:
Cancer Brought Out the

PERK #82:
Cancer Helped Me to Grow

Family Resemblance to My Son . . . . . . . . . . 304

as a Psychologist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

HEALTH TIP:
While We Are on the Topic

HEALTH TIP:
Choosing the Diet That’s

of Pumpkins

Right for You

PERK #74:
Cancer Gave Me a New Way

PERK #83:
A Great Save on the

of Marking Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Heating Bill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

HEALTH TIP:
Change Your Attitude Through

HEALTH TIP:
Natural Ways to Deal with

Affirmations

Menopausal Symptoms (Without Freezing

Your Kids)

PERK #75:
Cancer Made Me a More

PERK #84:
Cancer Can Trump Pretty

Interesting Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Much Anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

HEALTH TIP:
Interesting Facts

HEALTH TIP:
Friends Can Truly Be Lifesavers

PERK #76:
Cancer Prompted Me to

PERK #85:
Cancer Made Me Feel Like

Ditch the Worry Habit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

the Six Million Dollar Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

HEALTH TIP:
Health Priorities Are (in This

HEALTH TIP:
Better, Stronger Bones

Order) Air, Water, Food

PERK #86:
My First Breast Cancer

PERK #77:
Cancer Redefined My

Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Relationship with Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

HEALTH TIP:
It’s My Cancer and I’ll Cry

HEALTH TIP:
If Bill Clinton (aka I’ll-Have-

if I Want To

a-Shake-With-That-Burger) Can Eat Healthy,

Anyone Can!

PERK #87:
Cancer Gave Me a Cause. . . . . 367

HEALTH TIP:
The Importance of Dreaming . . .

PERK #78:
An Excuse to Buy New

and Sleeping

Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

HEALTH TIP:
When Dressing for Comfort,

PERK #88:
Cancer Gave Me the Courage

Don’t Forget Your Feet

to Step Outside My Comfort Zone. . . . . . . 373

HEALTH TIP:
Don’t Fear the Squash!

PERK #79:
Eat Pray Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

HEALTH TIP:
Eat, Pray, Love . . . but First

PERK #89:
Bonus Reward Points . . . . . . . . 377

Wash Your Hands

HEALTH TIP:
You Get Points for Buying Food

Too, but Should You Always Buy Organic?

PERK #80:
Cancer Taught Me the

Importance of Living in the Present . . . . . 337

PERK #90:
Learning Postcancer

HEALTH TIP:
Sometimes a Little Worry Can

Etiquette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Be a Good Thing

HEALTH TIP:
Hear No Evil, See No Evil,

Speak No Evil

vii

PERK #91:
Free T-Shirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

PERK #96:
Realizing I Am Worth It . . . . . . 410

HEALTH TIP:
Is There Joy in Soy?

HEALTH TIP:
You Are Also Worth Safe Spa

Products

PERK #92:
Skipping the Line at

the ER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

PERK #97:
The Opportunity to Help

HEALTH TIP:
And as I Always Say, “The

Other People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Road to Recovery Is Paved with Garlic”

HEALTH TIP:
Just Because You Are Not a

Scientist Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Understand

PERK #93:
Eavesdropping on the

the Research

Ward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

HEALTH TIP:
Need Fresh Niblets? Look in

PERK #98:
Raising Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Your Neighborhood Markets

HEALTH TIP:
The Rewards of Broccoli

PERK #94:
Living a Kick-Ass Life. . . . . . . . . 401

PERK #99:
Cancer Introduced Me to

HEALTH TIP:
You’ve Kicked Ass, but Have

a New Way to Get a Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

You Kicked the Habit?

HEALTH TIP:
If Your Goal Is Healthier

Eating, Start with Your Cookware!

PERK #95:
Cancer Helped Me to Find

My Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

PERK #100:
I Am a Survivor! . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

HEALTH TIP:
If You’re Going to Breathe,

HEALTH TIP:
Make a Survival Plan

Be Mindful

(Hmm
. . . Better Use a Pencil)

Conclusion: Cancer Plan 4 Life, 433

Recommended Websites, 435

Suggested Reading and Viewing, 439

References, 442

Index, 456

About the Authors, 465

viii

For Patches, who was my constant and loving companion

through many difficult days.

RIP Patches.

—FLORENCE

I

J

For my dad, who always found a way to

work in his daily 10,000 steps.

—SUSAN

Foreword

I
believe this book provides the reader with the resources necessary to help

you find your perks, through the various tips and directions it will expose

you to. I feel we all need life coaches but rarely have any available to us as

we are growing up, so let the authors become your coaches and their perks

and tips become the instructions that can turn you into a star performer.

No book can change you. You have to read on and show up for practice to

be exposed to the wisdom and make the changes that this book makes clear

to you to make it happen. You change your life and existence due to the

desire and intention that reside within you. They direct you to the wisdom

and help you to learn about being a survivor.

I call these difficulties our labor pains. They lead us to rebirth and re-

parent ourselves and create a new and meaningful life and body we can

love. When the essential teachings of the ages are made clear to us, we can

learn before the disaster occurs. It is a lot easier to be strong enough to with-

stand the difficulties and to not break down so the cancer, or other problem,

does not have to be your teacher, new beginning, or wake-up call. My dad

said his father’s dying when he was twelve was one of the best things that

ever happened to him. I was shocked by his statement until he went on to

explain that it was what he learned about life from all the difficulties he

experienced that made him say that. A rather painful perk, but it made him

focus his life on helping others to live.

I have learned that, if the inspiration is within you, then the information

that you can derive from this book and its perks and tips can help you to

become a survivor. This is not about becoming immortal. We all die some-

day, but when your body knows you love your life, it does all it can to keep

you alive and help you to thrive. The natives know the territory and can

help the tourists, who haven’t experienced “cancer land,” to find their way

home. They can expose you to the common themes that survivors portray.

I must add that these lessons are for all of us to learn now. You don’t need

xi

xii

100 Perks of Having Cancer

to use cancer as an excuse or to have permission to take care of yourself.