In July 2017, a tumor was found in my colon during my first colonoscopy at age 50. When I got the confirmation on the biopsy from the gastroenterologist, I went into survival mode. I found an oncologist and a surgeon as the next steps. I had surgery in September 2017 and the second biopsy confirmed that I did have Stage 3 colon cancer. What followed was 3 months of chemotherapy and, by the end of 2017, I was done with the initial part of the treatment. For the past 4 years, I have continued my follow-up care as directed by my oncologist. This includes regular appointments, colonoscopies, CT scans, blood work, and diet.
Although I had the love and support of my family and friends as I went through the diagnosis, surgery, and treatment, there was something missing. I did not have someone who understood what I was going through … the fear, anger, and other emotions I was dealing with. I had many questions that my loved ones could not answer nor help me face. Why did this happen to me?
What would my life be like during my treatment? Would there ever be a recurrence of cancer somewhere else in my body? How could I choose to live my life instead of in fear?
In 2021, after years of working in the corporate world, I made the decision to become a Certified Life Coach with an emphasis on clients who were dealing with cancer in their lives.
My practice takes a holistic approach to help you with managing your day-to-day life. I can work with you on many issues. What I have learned over the last couple of years is that we need to share our experience, strength, and hope with others. Arm them with the tools to face adversity and help them come out the other end stronger and more independent.
My goal is to empower you to thrive physically, emotionally, and spiritually!
I would be happy to speak with you about how my practice can help as you deal with your own cancer. Please feel free to either email me or call me. If you are interested in a complimentary session, please click on the button to schedule.
The focus of my practice is one-on-one coaching with recently diagnosed cancer patients.
I have developed a proprietary signature 8-session program that takes patients from the fear of cancer through starting survivorship and what that looks like.
Session 1 – Fear
You have been recently diagnosed and feel overwhelmed. You are unsure of so much – what does my stage mean, what is my prognosis, what treatment will I have and what side effects may I experience, and can I return to my life before cancer. Together we will look at ways to overcome fears – tapping into past successes, knowledge and information, spirituality, and other things in your life to use.
Session 2 – Education
You will be inundated with a lot of information regarding your cancer and will probably have many questions that you want answered. Knowledge is empowering Being aware of what your journey will be like will help you focus and stay positive. In this session, we will look at finding resources to answer your questions like your medical team and online resources.
Session 3 – Self Advocacy
You will be dealing with a lot of changes – physical, mental and spiritual. You may be limited physically in what you can and can’t do. You may need to rely on others to help you. You may need help getting to appointments. You may need to tell your medical team if something isn’t right. It is imperative that you ask for what you need without feeling guilty or being a burden. During this session, we will work on overcoming these issues and speaking up for yourself. By doing this, you will remain in control of your day-to-day life.
Session 4 – Spirituality
It is very easy to get depressed and blame your higher power for coming down with cancer. You may be asking “Why Me?” … going down this rabbit hole and allowing the depression to take hold and prevent you from thriving. For this topic, we will look at your faith and how it has helped you in the past. We will also talk about your regular spiritual practices and how to use them to stay in a good mindset.
Session 5 – Diet and Exercise
Health and wellness are big factors in your fight against cancer. Staying as strong as possible is necessary to stave off the effects of the cancer and surgery/treatments. Due to side effects, you may be limited to what foods you can tolerate and how much exercise you can do. I will send you a quiz from the American Cancer Society to do before we meet to see what your eating habits are. I want you to keep your exercise habits in mind. We will incorporate instructions with your medical team to come up with a diet and exercise routine for you to follow.
Session 6 – Sleep and Rest
You may feel fatigued from the disease and/or treatments. That is to be expected. Making time during the day to rest and following a regular sleep schedule will only help regain your strength. Like your diet and exercise, we will look at your current patterns and incorporate what your doctors say to develop a routine for you.
Session 7 – Dreams
We all have things we would like to do or accomplish in the future. Having cancer should not be something that stops you from following those dreams. It may only put them off temporarily. In this session, we will discuss what dreams you have, what and how you can accomplish some of them during cancer and which ones to go after when your battle has been won.
Session 8 – Survivorship
You have come a long way since your diagnosis. You have overcome pain, anger, sadness, and other negative emotions. You have seen that nothing is impossible once you work past what is preventing you from thriving. You are at the other side of the bridge. Where would you like to go next? Has the experience changed you in some ways and how can you manifest that in some way? In our final session of this program, I will work with you to begin to write the next chapter of your life story!
I am a Certified Life Coach (CLC) and have other certifications as a Health and Wellness Coach and Spiritual Coach. These were all gained through the Life Purpose Institute.
My motto is “taking you from surviving to thriving.” What this means is that my clients don’t have to go through their journeys without control of their lives. By working together, they are empowered to have a quality of life that is as close to “normal” as possible.
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