What it is- How it Works- What are the Benefits

A​t Young Cancer Survivors’ January meeting, local meditation instructor, Carol Teare, led us through a beginner’s practice of mindfulness meditation.

What it is
Mindfulness meditation is based on being mindful or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. In mindfulness meditation, you broaden your conscious awareness. You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction studies have shown many mindfulness techniques improve common psychological problems such as anxiety, stress and depression in cancer survivors and improve overall quality of life.
According to the National Cancer Institute, up to half of cancer patients have trouble sleeping. Insomnia is the most common sleep disturbance, affecting up to eighty percent of patients. Emotional distress, side effects from medications, and pain all contribute to difficulty falling asleep. But insomnia is not mere inconvenience. Getting adequate deep sleep lowers stress hormones like cortisol, boosts immune function, reduces inflammation, and promotes the body’s healing mechanisms.
Dr. Linda Carlson* teaches her patients a breathing exercise that has been successful in helping them relax and fall asleep. Based on what she calls “2 to 1 breathing,” this exercise is best done while in bed, in a dark room, in preparation for sleep.

How it Works
Begin by lying on your back. Breathe in for a count of 4, exhale for 8. Do this 8 times.
Turn to your left side. Breathe in for 4, out for 8. Do this 16 times.
Turn to your right side. Breathe in for 4, out for 8. Do this 32 times.

The Benefits 

• Reduced insomnia
• Increased relaxation
• Less anxiety
• Decreased feeling of being overwhelmed

Why it Works
This 2:1 breathing exercise combines gentle, diaphragmatic breathing with an extended exhalation, which shifts the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic “fight-flight” response to the body’s “rest-and-digest” parasympathetic response. Switching sides mimics alternate nostril breathing in yoga. You always end on your right side because that compresses the right nostril which forces you to breathe more through the left nostril which stimulates the right brain for more relaxation and prepares people for sleep. The other reason it works is it keeps your mind really busy with all the counting, and people usually fall asleep before they’re done!

Follow BPT-All Cancer Survivors Group on Facebook for announcements of local classes.
Ask to join BPT-Young Cancer Survivors on Facebook.

*Dr. Linda Carlson holds the Enbridge Research Chair in Psychosocial Oncology, is an Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions Health Scholar, Full Professor in Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology. She is the Director of Research and works as a Clinical Psychologist at the Department of Psychosocial Resources at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. 

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A survivor’s story by Cheryl Thayer

My journey started in September of 2010. I had off and on muscular back pain, so when my left breast started to feel achy and swollen my family doctor just thought it was the muscle pain associated with that.

After a month the feeling had not subsided, so I called my OB-GYN in Ames to have it checked out. I had been in for my yearly physical just six months prior. They scheduled me for a mammogram, had me wait, and was called back for more views. I started to think this was not good. Sure enough they saw something, and scheduled a biopsy the next day. The following day I got a phone call no one wants, “It was Breast Cancer.”

I was shocked, angry, and couldn't understand. I exercised, watched what I ate, didn't smoke or drink. Why me? Two years later I got my answer.

I was scheduled with a surgeon who suggested the lump was caught early and wasn't large. I decided to have a lumpectomy which was done in November 2010. A week after surgery I went back for a check-up with the surgeon. He wanted me to see an oncologist, which was scheduled the next week. I was shocked when I was told I needed chemotherapy and radiation. I didn't understand. All you hear is "Catch it Early" (which I had done); surgery and pathology showed no signs of cancer. They had gotten it all during the biopsy.

He explained that with the type of cancer I had, this was the only treatment. If it came back it would be terminal. Needless to say I was in shock, felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. We caught it early - I thought I was good to go! No one ever explained to me I had Triple Negative Breast Cancer; a lack of three receptors that fuel most breast cancers: estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor. This type is very aggressive. The surgeon had said this was negative, and to me negative was a good thing! One thing I have learned, ask questions! I had no idea there were so many different kinds of cancer. Be your own health advocate, if something doesn't seem right keep asking questions!

The next few days were a whirlwind, I got my port in, and started chemotherapy December 17, 2010. I was scheduled to have four rounds simultaneously of Taxotere and Cytoxan every three weeks. After each round I ended up in the hospital with some reaction. But once I was released, I went back to work the next day. I had to use my vacation and sick time, but as long as I got in at least 30 hours a week my employer was good with it. I was tired but kept on going.

I had 20 radiation treatments in March. Finally, I was done with treatments. I was tired for a long time, I remembered my nurse in the hospital saying that it would take a good year before you may feel somewhat normal. Once I had finished treatments I had an adjustment period of feeling like I needed to keep doing something to keep this away. I lived an hour from Ames, and the only support group met at 7 p.m. That was too far away to go to that late, so my support was my husband and children. You just have got to keep going. I tried walking as much as I could in between treatments. I would walk on my treadmill for even five minutes and build from there. I felt like I was doing something to reduce my stress and building my strength back up.

I feel like I got my answer of "Why me?" two years later when my daughter had gone in for her checkup. She had just moved back to Waterloo, and had to find a new OB-GYN doctor. She proceeded to ask her physician when she should get a mammogram, as her mom had breast cancer. She was told she could wait until 40, as she was only 32, and she proceeded with her physical. The doctor felt something. My daughter was sent for a mammogram, followed by an ultrasound. They told her they were 98% sure it was just fibroid, and they would check again in six months. My daughter knew I would be freaking out, so she opted for a biopsy. Low and behold it was cancer. She was also diagnosed with Triple Negative.

​My daughter was checked for the BRCA gene, and found she carries the gene. My middle daughter also did genetic testing, finding out she carries it also, as well as my son. My middle daughter opted for a preventative mastectomy and hysterectomy. My son can be proactive and watch for symptoms as well. As it turned out, the BRCA gene came from their father's side of the family. I feel as if I had never had breast cancer it might have been too late before the cancer was detected in my daughter. I feel that I got Breast Cancer to save my children's lives!! I do believe everything happens for a reason. God works in mysterious ways . . . Never lose the Faith!