Cancer Is a Teacher

Guidance for cancer patients and their loved ones

Lucy O'Donnell

Are You Having a Busy Day?

Being super busy does not make us happy but we are under the illusion that it does. Actually, it just leaves our brain feeling like scrambled eggs.

Why Are People Missing Vital Smear Tests? Body Shame

A staggering 35% of young women are too embarrassed to attend smear tests because of their body shape, and 38% over concerns about smell.

Understanding Metastatic Breast Cancer

I find it so odd that people do not know the startling differences between breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer

Do Low Cost Drugs Really Work in Treating Cancer?

Why do we not know about the use of everyday low-cost drugs for the treatment of cancer? And what are these drugs? And how do you get them?

Having Your Cancer Treatment at Home

Who would have known that it is now possible to have long-term or acute cancer oncology treatment at home.

Five Years on From a Grim Diagnosis—Why Is It So Poignant?

Yes, I was given an 80 percent chance of dying in five years. My five years is up, and thanks to the incredible advances in medicine for cancer treatment, I am still well.

How to Cope With Radiotherapy

Knowing what is going to happen when you arrive for your first radiotherapy appointment, and how to cope with the side effects can make it much easier to deal with.

Fascinating Evidence Shows How Melatonin Can Help With GERD

Are you suffering from a multitude of gastrointestinal problems. Look at the findings that suggest melatonin, aside from its other benefits, may greatly help.

The Granola Queen is Back

The Granola Queen has a new take on Granola - keep it healthy - keep it low sugar but still get that hit.

Cancer Is My Teacher - Part 6: Surgery

Cancer surgery may not always go as planned - be prepared for "tweaking" or "fine tuning" and many factors can influence this.

Chemotherapy: How to Get Through It

Chemotherapy is gruesome, but there are ways to make it more tolerable. Forewarned is fore-armed.

The Healing Benefits of Bone Broth

If you are ill or going through cancer treatment and have a loss of appetite, nutrient dense bone broth can effectively restore the body without the stress of of digesting solids.

Cancer Is My Teacher, Part 4

Having so many operations during this cancer journey and coping with so many general anesthetics crammed into such a short space of time—you really need to approach this as you would a job. What are all these tests and what do they do? Understanding this complicated process and being prepared makes it a whole lot easier.

Cancer Is My Teacher, Part 3

Sometimes it can feel so surreal when you are coping with cancer and hard to deal with all the small things that when compounded have a profound effect on our everyday life. Here, through my experience, I tell of how I navigated through these feelings and situations. To this day, almost 4 years from diagnosis I still find myself in similar situations.

Generic Drugs to Substantially Enhance Cancer Recovery

Is treatment for substantially enhancing your recovery from cancer sitting in your medicine chest? There are many "Off Label" drugs - drugs that have become generic and therefore inexpensive that substantially enhance recovery from cancer. Why do you not know about it? Because there is no money to be made from it by the pharmaceutical companies.

Cancer Is My Teacher Part 2

Have you just had a cancer diagnosis? How do you tell your children, spouse or partner. Better still, how do you tell friends, schools and co-workers? At the same time as dealing with this roller-coaster of emotions you have to remember about others close to you. They will be suffering too.

Cancer Is My Teacher Part 1

Do you ever have a niggling feeling that something isn't right medically? Are you chronically tired for no reason? Has your Doctor often ignored these complaints and put it down to the stress of modern day living? Well, if this resonates with you, then read on. You could save your life.

How Do You Behave With a Dying Loved One?

Being given a "Do and Don't" list when visiting my dying friend may sound strange but was possibly one of the most helpful things to receive. It not only put my friend at ease, but also me. Visiting dying loved ones is traumatic and devastating, but knowing how to behave with that person makes it an easier experience for all.

Why Is it Difficult to Get a Massage When You Have Cancer?

Some therapists say it is “contraindicative” to perform a massage on a person with cancer, but I say it is the therapists who are “contraindicative.”

Shedding the Pounds Helps Prevent and Control Breast Cancer

“A wise man should consider that health is the greatest 
of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.” Hippocrates

Stress and Cancer

In this time of constant motion, running at full speed, being permanently on call, and losing our Sundays – it is no wonder we are stressed. Many studies show that there is indeed a connection between stress and cancer. Learning to manage stress is not difficult but it does require discipline.

Emotional Well-Being and Cancer

Acknowledgement is key to emotional well-being for cancer patients. Please, please acknowledge the situation! You can do this in many different ways. By acknowledging, you are immediately removing the “elephant from the room” and it only takes a few seconds!