100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (5 page)

Art Therapy Association:

Art therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of

art-making to improve and enhance the physical, mental, and emotional

well-being of individuals of all ages. Research in the field confirms that

the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to

become more physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and func-

tional, resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, man-

age behavior, reduce stress, handle life adjustments, and achieve insight.

Who wouldn’t want to be involved in this?! Research

shows that art therapy is extremely helpful in restoring

health, specifically for can cer patients who have to deal

not only with their physical illness, but also with the emo-

tional and mental issues that go with it.

Here is a charcoal drawing done by a woman with

newly diagnosed leukemia:

I don’t think you need a degree in psychology to inter-

pret what this woman is feeling. The drawing allows her to

be able to identify and express what she is feeling without

using one word. It also provides her therapist with a tool

to use for opening up discussions about her emotions.

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

Nancy Nainis, MAAT, ATR-BC, is a retired art therapist who conducted

research on the benefits of art therapy for cancer patients. Nancy told me,

“Art therapy often surprised cancer survivors. They enjoyed the creative

process more than expected and experienced reduced pain. Art-making gave

a lift to their self-esteem, and many gave the items they produced to care-

givers to express their gratitude. For a relatively small investment the rewards

were great.”

The “art” doesn’t have to be a fancy, intricate oil painting. In fact, you

don’t need any experience with art at all. While painting is an option, there

is also clay, sculpture, drawing, mobiles, collages, and jew-

elry making.

Consider art therapy

Therapy implies treatment that leads to healing. With

along with your

cancer, there’s a lot of healing to do. Not everyone is able,

chemotherapy and

for whatever reason, to express the feelings associated with

physical therapy to

a cancer diagnosis and everything that it encompasses. Art

help bring you back

therapy can help with expression and can also help with the

to your optimum health.

healing process necessary to regain physical, mental, and

emotional health.

Check with your local hospital or medical center, or your oncologist to

find an art therapist near you, or contact the American Art Therapy Associ-

ation at www.arttherapy.org.

Perk #2

Cancer Helped Me

Find My Soul Mate

A
s fate would have it, at almost exactly the

same time that I found my lump, I also

found my soul mate. Shawn and I were first intro-

duced online. I immediately confided in him that

I had found a lump in my breast, but at that time

I was convinced that it was harmless. We spent

the next few weeks e-mailing and talking on the

phone, getting to know one another and planning

to meet in person.

When I was officially diagnosed, my hopes of

meeting the man of my dreams were dashed.

Although we had not met in person, I really liked

Shawn. He was funny, honest, hardworking, and

handsome to boot! After being divorced for

nearly ten years, I thought that he could really be

Flo and Shawn, celebrating their

three-month anniversary.

“the one.” However, how could I possibly enter

into a new relationship when my prognosis for survival was so uncertain?

Reluctantly, I called him in tears to say, “There is no point in us meeting.

I just found out that I have breast cancer and I don’t know what lies ahead

for me.”

To my surprise, he replied, “If you are trying to ditch me, it’s not going

to work. I am coming out there this weekend to take you out to dinner.”

As cliché as it might sound, it was love at first sight, and Shawn has been

by my side ever since.

How can I be sure that he is really “the one”? Well, who but a soul mate

would enter a relationship with a woman who is about to lose a breast, all

of her hair, and be catapulted into early menopause by chemo drugs? (I just

hoped chemo would leave me with enough estrogen to keep the spark alive!)

I 9 J

10

100 Perks of Having Cancer

Cancer may not help you find your soul mate, but it will certainly let you

know if he or she is by your side. If you are still looking for that special

someone, don’t let cancer hold you back.

HEALTH TIP #2

You Need Estrogen to Make Your Kitty Purr

A
hhhhhhh, estrogen . . . the very essence of a woman. It is the hormone

responsible for many things that make a woman a
woman,
such as

breast development, libido, and intelligence (
wink
). Men

also produce estrogen, but in very small amounts. Hence

why they lag behind women in the niceness department

(as well as breast size—in most cases).

One of the purposes of estrogen in women is to make

the sex organs ready, willing, and, more important, able

to have
enjoyable
sex. Unfortunately, after menopause,

even if it is chemo-induced menopause, the “kitty” may

become unresponsive. But wait—there is hope!

If you are in your twenties or thirties, without medical

Without estrogen.

complications, you probably don’t need extra estrogen

as your ovaries and adrenal glands are hard at work pro-

ducing enough female hormones to keep you feeling

healthy and “horny”! However, as estrogen wanes, due

to meno pause, drugs, or health issues, the following can

happen:

●
increased cholesterol, causing arteries to become clog -

ged and possibly leading to a heart attack

●
decreased bone density, possibly causing osteoporosis

●
“hot flashes” or incredibly annoying episodes where

With estrogen.

you feel as if you will spontaneously combust

PERK #2: Cancer Helped Me Find My Soul Mate

11

●
sleep disturbances—either insomnia or waking up during the night

●
mood swings, including (but not limited to) general bitchiness, homici-

dal tendencies, and spontaneously crying at Hallmark commercials

●
vaginal dryness, and a compulsive tendency to methodically repeat the

phrase, “Not tonight, honey; I have a headache.”

If you are postmenopausal or have had a hysterectomy that includes an