Tag Archives: #InspirationalStories

“’Thriver Soup’ saved my life!”

Complementary Therapies, Conventional Methods, Events, , , , , , ,

Jacqui Roell, a Registered Nurse, says, “Thriver Soup saved my life!”

Jacqui was diagnosed with Stage 2b lobular breast cancer and a friend urged her to read Thriver Soup. The first thing Jacqui read in the book was, “I thought I had been sentenced to die. Instead, I had been invited to live joyfully so my soul could prosper” (p. 19).

Jacqui was not expecting to read something like that. She set Thriver Soup aside.

She had already decided not to do chemotherapy or radiation. Eventually she wanted to see what I suggested in the way of alternative treatments.

She opened up Thriver Soup again, and read, “At the start of my cancer journey, I had a long talk with Vince and Connie Lasorso at Whatever Works Wellness Center. For decades they have offered complementary treatment methods and emotional support to cancer patients. They told me the story of a woman who worked in the local holistic community and got cancer. She rejected all conventional treatments and focused on a variety of alternative healing practices. She ended up dying of cancer, acknowledging at the end that if she had received conventional medical care in the beginning, she probably would have survived. That story struck a note with me and I decided to follow what my doctors recommended.” (p. 25)

Jacqui says, “That was huge for me. It made me take a step back and reconsider my options. It gave me permission to do what my doctor wanted me to do, while also taking care of what I needed to do spiritually and mentally.”

Using the practical tips in Thriver Soup for managing chemo and radiation, Jacqui did conventional treatment. “Thriver Soup is my bible,” she said. “It is amazing and made a huge difference for me.”

Jacqui finished treatment January 12, 2018, and is free of evidence of disease. Yet she continues to read and refer to Thriver Soup, because the ideas can apply to any and every area of life.

“Everyone should read Thriver Soup, including caregivers of people diagnosed with cancer,” she says. “It can help caregivers support their loved ones by learning about complementary treatments that assist the patient. This can reduce the patients’ experience of stress.”

Jacqui spoke at the Feb. 17 HIME Wellness event at Crossroads Mason in Ohio.

I will be speaking at 10:30 am and 1 pm on Saturday at Kent Cook Institute, and at noon on Tuesday at Main Street Books, both in Davidson, NC.

On Thursday, March 1, I am the headline speaker at 2 pm at the Annie Appleseed Conference in West Palm Beach, FL.

Heidi Bright awarded Champion in Cancer Care

Complementary Therapies, Conventional Methods, Events, , , ,
Amy Ostigny nominated Heidi Bright for the Champion in Cancer Care award.

Heidi Bright, MDiv, Milford, Ohio, has been named 2017 Champion in Cancer Care by Cancer Support Community in Cincinnati.

The CSC gala on Saturday, Oct. 14, honored inspirational individuals working in cancer care.

Bright, in radical remission from highly aggressive end-stage sarcoma for six years, embodies the words Champion in Cancer Care—she champions genuine hope and hundreds of healing solutions for cancer patients, according to her nominator, Amy Ostigny, Executive Managing Director of eWomenNetwork Cincinnati.

As a national speaker and traditionally published author of Thriver Soup: A Feast for Living Consciously During the Cancer Journey, Bright emphasizes healing one’s life to open space for the body’s natural healing abilities to arise, said Ostigny.

“Her compassion shines through when speaking and writing because she knows the devastation of being told there are no more medical options and to get one’s affairs in order,” said Ostigny.

All proceeds from CSC’s signature fundraising event are channeled into free programs and services for anyone impacted by cancer. http://www.cancersupportcincinnati.org/Default.aspx

How to Let Go of Fear, Sorrow, Powerlessness: MySevenChakras Podcast

Complementary Therapies, Conventional Methods, Cushioning Chemotherapy, Let Food be Your Medicine, Mapping the Emotions, Soaring with Spirit, , , ,

He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

– Psalm 23, discussed on MySevenChakras Episode 198 with Aditya

Aditya asked Heidi Bright:

  • When did you first come to know that you had Cancer? 
  • What type of Cancer did you have?
  • How did your Cancer end up getting detected?
  • What was your initial reaction when you received your diagnoses?
  • How to go about reducing the impact of chemotherapy?

These were just some of the questions , so if you’re curious about how Heidi overcame cancer…. listen to the podcast till the end: 198: From an aggressive end stage Cancer to radical remission. It’s possible! with Heidi Bright

Alternative Practice – Holistic healing.

Action Step – Going out, doing everything I can to be healthy. I was not going silently into that dark night so I picked myself back up. I worked with that fear and sorrow and that absolute powerlessness. I continued all my healing processes.

Major Life Lesson – There is a genuine hope, and there are always options.

Life Purpose – To share my message about healing our attitudes, behaviors and being able to make major life choices that we need to.

Wisdom Round:

Best Advice – Get to a therapist. Manage my emotions in a healthy way.
Personal Habit – It’s the map of emotions, and that’s the practice of experiencing the sensations in my body without thinking about them until they leave.
Book Recommendation – Waking the Warrior Goddess by Dr. Christine Horner

How to be Fearless

Mapping the Emotions, Mending the Mind, , ,

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25, Christian Bible, New International Version

 

I rarely paid much attention to clothing; I was more interested in developing who I was.

Well, it finally dawned on me about 10 years ago that I needed to get a little more with the fashion program. I was sitting next to my friend Laura Dailey in a nice restaurant. She was wearing the current style. I felt silly sitting next to her in my 15-year-old dress, even though it has been my all-time favorite style, pattern, and color mix. I finally conceded that I needed to set it aside. *sigh*

Do you have a favorite outfit that’s outdated? Frustrating, isn’t it?

I needed fashion guidance after recovering from my cancer ordeals. Tracy in Houston generously bought me some beautiful, fashionable dresses when I stayed with her right after my 2009 sarcoma diagnosis. My sister Roselie clearly loved watching me try on and then wear the pretty clothes.

When Thriver Soup was published, I knew I needed professional help with my wardrobe. Amy Elliott Elberfeld, Doris Gibbons, and Patti Raggets came over and went through my clothes. Keep, donate, trash. Out went 3 big black bags of clothing. Amy also gave me a lovely silk scarf that fit my skin tones perfectly and a couple stylish necklaces. She then took me shopping for a couple of outfits.

Painful, but I felt grateful. And fearless.

So I learned that fearless and fashion can go together. Fearless about letting go of what’s no longer serving me, and welcoming what does.

Find out how to become more fearless in my 10-minute video recently posted on the FashionNotFear blog (filmed by my fearless fashionista friend Laura Dailey).

Today I might not be Heidiva the Fearless Fashionista, yet my friends helped make my wardrobe more current and suitable.

Still, my friend Mim teases me: “When I think of fashion, I think of my friend Heidi.”

And we chuckle.

Thriver Soup Ingredient

Clothing ourselves for fashion can help us fit in and feel more confident. It helps us laugh a little more heartily in the face of life’s difficulties. And then we can take our new-found fearlessness and apply it to other areas of our lives.