Still Kicking Some Cancer Ass

I'm not even going to say it, but you know I miss you all! A lot has been happening with me these past months.  I've starting working for a great social media marketing agency RealTime Marketing Group as the Social Media Director. I am loving this job because it allows me to be creative and help other people, win win for sure!  As some of you may have noticed I am also writing for Mashable.com which is such an honor and allows for me to meet many of the greatest minds in the social media marketing world. And finally I am producing conferences with Global Strategic Management Institute (GSMI)! In fact my very first is Social Media Strategies this February in San Francisco, I am super excited.

You haven't heard from me in a while because I've been so busy living life! While I feel guilty about this at times I stop and remind myself what this blog was really all about - KICKING CANCER'S ASS and if I'm doing that it means I don't always have time to write.  My life is no filled with.....LIFE!

I just wanted to give you all an update and assure everyone that I haven't gone anywhere. I will work hard on continuing this blog and reminding everyone who reads it that there is life after cancer. It can be a difficult journey back but once you get there it's pretty amazing!

It's beautiful outside

It's been a while since I posted so I thought it was about time I pop in and say hello.

Right now I am in NYC at my dear friend Dominique's. It's absolutely beautiful outside and I am enjoying every minute of it! Tomorrow I am attending the Mashable conference to learn more about the latest social media trends.

Yesterday I handed in my third Mashable article. It's definitely fun doing things I never dreamed I would. Life has been strange for the past several years but I am grateful for each day!

Now go get outside and enjoy the beauty!

Powerful Kid Contest, Little CJ

I've written about CJ before and he is part of my nonprofit, Spirit Jump.  This brave young cancer fighter has been nominated for the Powerful Kid Contest and I would love if others could help win this. You can vote daily and its very easy just CLICK HERE.  You can read more about CJ's brave fight below.

CJ, is a powerful kid! We know that for sure because we remember when he struggled to find an ounce of strength that could become power. You see, CJ struggled with extreme anxiety and fear for many years as a young boy. Often that fear would lead to panic and an overwhelming sense of dread that he could not seem to shake. But then something unexpected and amazing happened. At age nine, CJ was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. This was difficult and we did not know how CJ would get through this with all the fear he had.

Initially, CJ’s fear was still there; but soon an amazing thing happened! CJ learned the secret to staying strong. It happened when he was at the hospital and he saw all the other little kids and families that were there dealing with illnesses. He started focusing on them instead of himself and his own fears. That’s right! CJ learned the secret to power is focusing on helping others.

For example; CJ started organizing a food drive at Thanksgiving to deliver boxes to hospitals, clinics, cancer clubs, and individual families who had a sick child. On the day of delivery, CJ had to have his own blood drawn for his cancer treatments. CJ was helping carry food boxes upstairs, stopped off to get his blood counts done, and then went right back to delivering boxes. This is something that would usually cause fear for CJ, but because he was focused on delivering the food boxes for the other families, the fear left him. Ever since, CJ knows the secret to power over fear is to focus on others, so he does just that. At Christmas he made stockings and collected, wrapped, and delivered presents for sick kids while he was in between his own chemo appointments.

Then he did something amazing. He donated his birthday to raising support for other families by asking others to donate to them instead of him. We believe that all this focusing on others is what has made CJ the most powerful kid. He has found the strength to get through something we would have said he could never do before, by focusing on others instead of himself.

Fellow Fighter Lynn

Congratulations to Meaghan for creating I Kicked Cancer’s Ass! I don’t usually use that word in public, but then I’ve been quiet for a long time. I kicked 3 types of cancer in 1987 and have been cancer free since then. Woohoo - that’s 23 great years of appreciating my life like I never did before cancer.

I was preparing myself to die with breast, colon, & skin cancer in 1987, and I’m so thankful to the people around me who helped me to change my mind. I did a lot of work myself, but my support team helped to make it easy for me.

If you have cancer and you want to kick its ass – get a support team to help you as it’s very tough to do this alone. If you know someone with cancer who wants to kick its ass, then whatever support you give them will make a big difference in how they’re able to live their life.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful health care team all through surgery and chemotherapy. My doctors were helpful and they inspired me to do everything I could to complement conventional medicine and help myself get well.

The Cancer Agency ran a support group where I learned to do meditation, visualization, guided imagery, deep breathing, and deep relaxation. My surgeon recommended a psychiatrist to help me deal with unfinished business, and a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy course to help me deal with depression.

With love and support from family and friends, I learned how to manage my stress and change my diet and exercise pattern. Reading books, listening to tapes, and attending workshops taught me many other coping skills and bit by bit I built my road to health and wellness.

I’ve been an active member of the cancer community for many years now as a survivor, health care worker, and as a volunteer. It’s with sadness that I’ve seen many people die of cancer. If we don’t know cancer is there and we let it grow too long, it just takes over like an aggressive weed. When cancer is advanced it takes over our bodies and takes away our energy; with more cancer and less energy we have less chance of kicking it out.

I think the best defense is an offense; we need to be aware of our bodies and check out signs and symptoms when they begin. This way I hope more people will give cancer a swift kick, and take control of it before it controls them. Cancer is like a bully! When we let cancer have its way, it takes over our lives and even takes our lives for no good reason. When we stand up to cancer we at least have a chance of kicking it out of mind and out of sight. By focusing on being as well as we can possibly be, we improve our quality of life and possibly our quantity of life.

One day at a time, I give thanks for every day.

You can visit Lynn's blog to read more about her story, prevention, early detection and recovery. Please stop by and thank her for sharing her amazing story!

Check Out My Article On Mashable

Hi folks! I am so excited to announce that my article was recently published on Mashable. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

8 Tips For A Successful Social Media Cause Campaign

Join My Facebook Community Page

I just started a community page on Facebook called, I Kicked Cancer's Ass. I am hoping that all my fellow cancer fighters and supporters will join this page and share their stories. We are a powerful group and even on those most difficult days we stand up against cancer and fight!

The world needs to hear our voices, cancer needs to know we are here working together to survive and regain our lives after our battle.

This page is meant not only for survivors but also for those currently in their battles and the friends and family who support cancer fighters. We are all in this together and need to share our stories to give hope and courage to each other. 

Please join me and the many other men, women and children who are kicking some serious cancer butt!  FACEBOOK.COM/IKICKEDCANCERSASS

Skin Care For Cancer Patients & Survivors

If you have, or are now going through cancer treatments you know what havoc it reeks on your skin.  I remember my skin literally peeling off when I tried to shower. In fact, at one point my mother took me to a spa as a treat. The plan was to get my hair cut and eye brows waxed. For some reason no one mentioned to the salon that I was undergoing radiation and chemo therapy. Because I looked like a cancer patient the esthetician asked me a very important questions, "do you have cancer and if so are you undergoing treatment?" 

Well the answer was of course yes and that's when I realized what a huge disaster I had just avoided. If I had gone through with the eye brow waxing I would have lost all the skin along with any eyebrow hairs I had. Read more about this on my former post: Note To Self: Do NOT Wax Eyebrows When Getting Chemo.

So what should you be doing to take care of skin during and after cancer treatments?  Skin can become very dry after treatments and that means the focus should be on hydrating the largest organ in your body.  There are several ways to keep skin hydrated so as to avoid lines, wrinkles and that sickly yellow skin color.

1) Drink plenty of water and eat raw fruits and vegetables high in anti oxidants

2) Try 100% chemical and preservative free moisturizers like Dr. Beckers 

3) Avoid invasive or harsh facial services and replace them with light massages.

4) Use products that are similar to your skins own natural oils. Squalane moisturizers are great as they the finest, most delicate moisturizers available in the world.

If you have any tips or suggestions please leave a comment