Dear Friends,

The Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ conference last week-end was awesome! One participant wrote:

I came here with my wife expecting some sort of sales pitch and instead I sit here in awe of the grace and humanity and the pure giving of this gift to us who are so in need. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

There were many profound lessons and highlights at the conference in San Mateo for me.  Before I tell you about one of them, I want to share with you an exciting video I recently watched on the internet.

If you have any doubt that nutrition is a vital part of your healing, I encourage you to watch a 20 minute talk by William Li, a mainstream scientist, talking on the subject, Can we eat to starve cancer?

Jeanne Wallace, one of our conference speakers, has been talking about anti-angiogenesis for years in her talks on the role of nutrition in controlling cancer. It’s so exciting to see that the world is starting to catch up with her cutting-edge information.

If you want to learn more about how to eat to starve cancer, come to the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen workshop on November 5th in Napa with Jeanne Wallace and Rebecca Katz. If you can’t be there, you can watch the DVDs from their workshop we held in March. I can’t emphasize enough how important this information is to your health. People often ask me what I have done to continue to thrive after three primary cancers, and evidence-based nutrition has been a biggie.

I want to share just one of the highlights/lessons for me from the conference.  Dean Shrock, PhD, talked about research showing that people who do what truly brings them joy are more likely to live longer and healthier lives. When I heard that, I made a mental note to pay closer attention to what brings me joy.

About an hour after that talk, I found myself dancing on stage with about 50 other people and feeling truly joyful. I could feel the music in my body, enhancing my feeling of aliveness. And I loved the eye contact and connections I experienced with the other people dancing on stage. I became aware that music, dancing, and connecting with others bring me joy.

If a doctor prescribed a pill that research showed would help me live a longer and healthier life, I’d take it. Why is it so difficult to add more music, dancing, and connection to my life?  I so often think I have to finish my work before I can do something just for fun.  There is no evidence that finishing one’s work contributes anything to one’s quality or quantity of life.  I’m going to pretend that I have a prescription to increase the music, dance, and connections with others in my daily life.

I would love to hear what some of your lessons or highlights were. What happened that became a “take home” lesson for you?

In the spirit of healing,

Jan Adrian's signature
Jan Adrian, MSW
Founder and Executive Director

Return to Turning Points eNewsletter – October 2010