Wednesday, January 21, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Radio show Cancer — a powerful messenger
explores
nature of
beliefs
By Katy Yoder
Columnist
Do our beliefs help
our evolution or hold us
back?
“Defining belief loosely
as ‘an acceptance that a
statement is true or that
something exists’ doesn’t
necessarily mean the thing or
idea or concept or entity we
declare we believe in is true.
However, it’s certainly true
for the one making the state-
ment. In this context belief
cannot be defined, other
than as a state of mind,”
says radio host Kelsey
Collins.
She’ll take on the nature
and impact of beliefs in her
Saturday radio show on
community radio KZSO
94.9.
“Stating we have faith
or trust that our beliefs are
accurate portrayals of real-
ity has played a signifi-
cant part of all religions for
thousands of years,” Collins
says. “But beliefs travel way
beyond religions. They can
be magical, too, as well as
a phenomenon of human
consciousness.”
Collins will be joined
by Pat Benage, a life coach
in Bend, this Saturday on
the Kelsey Collins Show,
to discuss the subject of
beliefs.
The Kelsey Collins Show
broadcasts at 9 a.m. at KZSO,
94.9. You can also hear
the podcast later Saturday
at kelseycollins.podbean.
com.
Cancer is telling us some-
thing. Each person’s mes-
sage is different. For some,
their bodies hold a genetic
predisposition to getting can-
cer. For others it is environ-
mental. The question is what
do we have power over and
what is out of our control?
I was genetically tested
and know that my breast
cancer was not due to genet-
ics. That being said, cancer
has been the cause of death
for quite a few of my family
members. My father, grand-
parents, cousin and uncle
all died because of cancer. I
reassured myself by the fact
that my father and grandpar-
ents were all stricken later in
life. But my cousin and uncle
were in their 30s and 40s.
No matter how I looked at it,
cancer was a shadow remind-
ing me that I could be next.
When I felt a lump in my
breast I reassured myself that
there was no history of breast
cancer in my family. I put off
having a mammogram or
even going to see a doctor
because of finances. I put it
off until my intuition went
from a whisper to an internal
scream. By the time I saw a
doctor and got the diagnosis,
the tumor had grown beyond
what would be considered
early stages of development.
What caused my breast
cancer? I looked hard at my
physical state. I have chosen
to eat organic whenever pos-
sible. But I am overweight.
My battle with weight goes
back to a tug of war that
begins with the irony of my
two grandfathers’ profes-
sions. My father’s father was
a dentist; my mother’s father
was a candy maker.
My maternal grandfather,
Poppy, took us to the candy
factory on special occasions,
allowing us to fill a large
plastic bag with any kind of
candy we wanted. It was a
sweet tooth’s dream come
true.
Fast-forward 40 years
later and my sweet tooth has
become quite picky. I go for
the high-end, dark chocolate
and organic versions of sugar
highs. Either way, I know it’s
a case of too many calories
and not enough exercise to
work it off.
In my younger years, I
was a fast-moving, hard-
working kid with an entre-
preneurial spirit that kept me
strong and fit. As I aged and
began working in an office,
sitting in a chair for hours
a day, I started using sweet
coffee drinks and afternoon
snacks to keep me going
when my body just wanted
rest. I didn’t realize that
there was a day when my
habit became an addiction.
The switch was pulled and
changing was a lot harder
than before. I’ve dealt with
using food as a means of
self-medicating and celebrat-
ing instead of a way to refuel
my body.
My doctor filled me in
on a fact that had eluded me
until I was diagnosed with
breast cancer: My kind of
cancer, which is estrogen
fed, can have a direct corre-
lation to being overweight.
Excess fat in the body pro-
duces estrogen. So being
overweight contributed to
my cancer.
This was my wake-
up call. Cancer was the
messenger.
The aftermath of
Salted Caramel Mocha
Mmmmm...
treatment has made it harder
to do what I can to change
my circumstances. When I
healed enough, I was getting
out and walking five to six
times per week. I started to
have some pain but figured
that was just part of getting
back into shape. Eventually
I realized that I had devel-
oped tendonitis that made my
Achilles tendons extremely
painful.
I’ve learned that after
chemotherapy and the start
of taking post-cancer drugs
to halt the production of
estrogen, many patients who
try to get back into shape
experience the same prob-
lems. Both my arms have the
potential for lymphodema so
I have to wear uncomfortable
tight-fitting sleeves from my
wrists to my armpits when-
ever I exercise. This summer
those sleeves, coupled with
the hot flashes I now expe-
rience, made me feel like a
pressure cooker.
What I can still control
is what I put in my mouth.
Some days I do better than
others. There are so many
emotional repercussions
from the cancer experience.
I’m taking one meal at a time
as I work on controlling how
I deal with them.
And there are other com-
plications. Let me tell you,
chemo-brain is real and it
makes recovery harder. I for-
get to take my pills, when I
have a doctor’s appointment,
13
and the names of people I’ve
known for years.
I’m the first one to admit
I’m not the sharpest scalpel
on the tray, but I did okay
at maximizing my positive
attributes and mitigating the
challenging ones. Chemo-
brain tipped the scales and
made me lose confidence
in myself. That foggy brain
feeling makes it harder to
remember to do what I can to
get healthy.
But behind all of this
belly-aching is a fact I want
to remember more than any
other. I AM STILL HERE!
I lived and have been given
the chance to change what I
can change and choose a dif-
ferent way to deal with the
things I can’t. I am so grate-
ful that I’m alive. I know
there are so many who didn’t
get the chance I have been
given.
When I sink into moments
of sadness and loss of hope, I
pick myself up by remember-
ing those who lost their lives
because of this disease.
Through physical therapy
twice a week my tendons
are healing. I’m starting to
get back out there and walk
again. I’ve taken a few steps
backwards but I’m at it again.
I’m hoping that switching
to a different drug that isn’t
quite so severe will limit fur-
ther injuries when I exercise.
So, it’s time to put one foot
in front of the other and see
where it all leads.
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