Some of the presenters, in alphabetical order



Gaye AdegbalolaGaye Adegbalola is a powerful singer/songwriter who received the Blues Music Award (formerly known as the W. C. Handy Award) and is a founding member of Saffire — The Uppity Blues Women. In addition, Gaye performs solo, in a classic blues duo with accompanist Roddy Barnes, and is front woman for Miz A & The Freedom Band. She plays guitar and harmonica, is a composer, and has recorded 10 CDs with Saffire and 5 solo CDs. Gaye taught science in public schools in Fredericksburg, VA, for 18 years and was named Virginia State Teacher of the Year in 1982. She was a 2008 nominee for Blues Music Award’s Contemporary Female Blues Artist, and, in 2009, was again a BMA nominee for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year with Saffire. This year, with great reviews, she released a children’s CD, Blues in All Flavors, which also features extensive learning activities for each song. She is the survivor of two primary cancers (uterine and cervical) in 1992. www.adegbalola.com

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Lise N. Alschuler, ND, is board certified in naturopathic oncology and has been practicing naturopathic medicine for 17 years. Dr. Alschuler is past-President of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She is co-author with Karolyn Gazella of The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing, now in its 3rd edition. Their newest book, Five to Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan was published in September 2011. They have created CancerThrivers, a multimedia initiative dedicated to sharing information about integrative cancer prevention and treatment. Dr. Alschuler has received professional recognition and many awards for her work in integrative medicine. She is a breast cancer thriver. www.drlise.net

She will present: Creating a Body that Cancer Doesn’t Like — Learn how your lifestyle can transform your internal landscape to fight cancer. This presentation will focus on the most impactful ways to make your body inhospitable to cancer by highlighting the best researched diet, exercise, sleep, and dietary supplement anti-cancer strategies.

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Leslie LehmanLeslie Lehman has been practicing yoga for over 12 years and has been teaching in the Spartanburg area for 4 years. She has practiced many different styles of yoga including Hatha, Bikram, Power, Iyengar, and Kundalini. Her inspiration to teach yoga emanates from her desire to share her passion for yoga and the strength, flexibility, and inner healing that yoga has to offer. Leslie’s style of teaching is contemporary, energetic, self-aware, and fun. She started her own mobile yoga business, Yoga-A-GoGo, in 2010. She is currently continuing her yoga education through the Asheville Yoga Center.  www.LeslieLehmanYoga.com and www.yoga-agogo.com

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Emmett MillerEmmett Miller, MD, one of the fathers of Holistic and Mind/Body Medicine, is a physician, scientist, musician, and master storyteller, whose multicultural heritage has given him a unique social, medical, and spiritual perspective. A graduate of The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Miller has served as lecturer or preceptor at Stanford University, the University of California, and other universities and medical schools. He gained international prominence as a founder and Medical Director of the world’s first Cancer Support and Education Center in Menlo Park (1977). He is probably best known for his creation of the first deep relaxation/guided imagery tapes (1973). Now on CDs and DVDs, these healing products are recommended and used by top hospitals and health professionals. He is the author of numerous books, including Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine and dozens of audio and video products widely available.
drmiller.com

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Thomas MooreThomas Moore, PhD, is the author of the bestselling book Care of the Soul. Since then he has written fifteen other books on soul, spirituality and holistic medicine. He lectures frequently on art, psychotherapy and spirituality.

He is a former monk and a musician and has practiced archetypal and soul-centered psychotherapy for thirty-five years. He lives with his two children and his wife, Hari Kirin, artist and yoga trainer, in New Hampshire. careofthesoul.net

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James NaveJames Navé is a storyteller, poet/writer, public speaker and trainer/coach. He believes that pursuing your creative potential is key to productive, joyful and successful living. He has devoted his life in service of this, for himself and for others. In February 2010, Navé was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The day after his surgery on March 31, he began writing a poem a day, resulting in a series of poems titled Looking At Light, 100 Poems in 100 Days. Poetry kept him connected to the flow of his life’s work even as his body was interrupted with the business of healing and recovery. Navé is one of the pioneers of the Spoken Word movement. He knows over 600 poems by heart and has performed over 3000 shows and workshops for schools, universities, and businesses around the globe. He is co-founder of Poetry Alive! and has partnered with Julia Cameron, best-selling author of The Artist’s Way, to bring Creativity Camps across the nation. Navé holds an MFA in Poetry. His work has been published in The North Carolina Literary Review, the Asheville Literary Review, Summit Magazine, the Taos News, Chokecherries, Heartstone Journal, The Dirty Goat, River Oak Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, Willard and Maple, Red Wheelbarrow, Phoebe, Tightrope, Griffin, South Carolina Review and Poetry Slam Redux. www.jamesnave.com

He will present: From the Imaginative Storm to the Creative Form,
The healing power of creativity, poetry, and storytelling
— an exploration of how to use essential elements of creativity, poetry, and storytelling to anchor yourself in the creative core of your interior during times of change and trouble. You’ll identify the big and small actions you can take along the way to propel your creativity, and by extension your healing, towards your highest ideals and expectations. You are your own authority, the author of your own story. In addition, Navé will perform poems from his series 100 Poems in 100 Days: Life After Prostate Surgery.

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Laura PoleLaura Pole, President of Eating for a Lifetime, is a Health Supportive Gourmet Chef, an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nia Fitness Instructor, and a professional musician with over 30 years experience in health care, health education and entertaining people. Laura first learned the art of good cooking in Louisiana at the apron strings of incredible Cajun and Creole home cooks. Laura blends her passions for food, entertaining and health into a career of nurturing people. Laura is considered an authority in shaping the field of health supportive cooking for people with serious illness. Chef Laura is Director of Nourishment Education Programs for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. She also serves as Head Chef for their Cancer Help Program Retreats. www.eatingforalifetime.com

She will present: Nourishment for Life — Join “Chefnurcian” (Chef, Nurse, Musician) Laura Pole for this highly entertaining “informance” on nurturing yourself through nourishment. You’ll learn the 8 basic principles for health supportive food selection and how to individualize your food choices. You will learn tips for eating awareness that help you discover which foods nourish you and which foods “nag” you. Finally, expect to have a delightful time, as Chef Laura brings you “sound bytes” with her savory singing!

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Bunny RichardsonBunny S. Richardson is a Communications Specialist at BMW Manufacturing Co., focusing on developing and implementing communications tools to share information about the factory and managing community relations efforts in the Greer community.
When Bunny was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the small bowel in June 2011, her research and reporting skills were useful as she investigated the cancer, treatments and locations. And her faith gives her the strength to travel the journey. She began chemotherapy in July 2011 and continued treatment until May 2012 when chemotherapy was suspended for as long as her cancer markers continue to be normal.

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Jonna-MB-1-largeJonna Tamases is an actress and 3-time cancer survivor (Hodgkin’s Disease, Large-Cell Lymphoma, Breast Cancer). She has turned her experience into a highly acclaimed one-woman show, Jonna’s Body, Please Hold. The show has received rave reviews and was nominated for two Ovation Awards: Best World Premiere Play and Best Lead Actress. The recently released movie version has won 6 national film festival awards, including Audience Award for Best Comedy Short (Asheville Film Festival), Best Short Comedy and Best in Show (MAGA Film Festival), and Best Actress (2009 Show of Your Shorts Festival). For more information visit http://www.jonnasbody.com and www.jonnasbodymovie.com.

She will present: Jonna’s Body, Please Hold — Enter the nutty world inside Jonna’s Body, where life’s daily chaos is corralled by Pearl, Jonna’s loyal and sassy internal receptionist, as she fields calls from a parade of off-beat body parts: Baby Toe trapped in a tight pump; Sgt. Coif leading a head full of unruly troops; Uta and Ula begging to be released from their brassiere imprisonment! When two nasty killers invade, it’s a fight for Jonna’s life. This moving and hilarious one-woman play takes us on a wild ride into the realm of health, illness, joy, and the beauty of life.

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Nancy WelchNancy Welch, Ed.D., hosted “The Nancy Welch Show” on television for nearly 25 years before spending 20 years in higher education. Because of the television show, she is well known in the Carolinas and Georgia as another Martha Stewart! Dr. Welch has authored three cookbooks and a humorous book about owning and operating a Bed and Breakfast Inn and has written a regular magazine column on cooking and entertaining. Her latest, A Taste of Humor Cookbook, combines her taste for good food and her keen sense of humor. She has received many honors for her involvement in community organizations and spends most of her time as a volunteer and a grandmother!

She will present: A Bend in the Road (otherwise known as Plan B!) — When Dr. Welch was diagnosed with rectal cancer, she thought about all of the things she was planning to do that now would never get done. She was writing a book, was trying to finish a quilt, was redecorating a mountain condo, planning a trip to Normandy and the list went on and on. Then she realized that cancer was not the end of the road, just a bend in the road. In her presentation, she will add humor to a not-so-humorous subject giving listeners hope for their journey. With her strong faith and sense of humor as a backdrop, you will hear the 10 lessons she has learned on her journey to beat cancer. Using examples from her past experiences, you will leave believing that laughter IS the best medicine! www.nancywelch.net

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