Today David and I attended the first session of a program offered through Hope Spring. This is a 6 week program for people who want to help themselves as they deal with cancer. The objective is to relieve much of the anxiety and depression, confusion, pain, fatigue and other forms of distress through the use of deep relaxation, using imagery and visualization, goal setting and healthy communication. Healing Journey program was designed by Dr. Alistair Cunningham of Princess Margaret Hospital.
In our sesson today we went through a deep muscle relaxation exercise which takes about 1/2 hour. We were lying on the floor while doing this and David fell asleep. Obviously relaxing for David! Good exercise though and we are supposed to practice every day. I think I can handle that.
Healthwise I am feeling good. The swelling in my abdomen is greatly reduced and so I am more mobile. I have started going out in the evenings with David when walking our dog Cyrus. I haven't been able to do this for several months.
Tomorrow I have an appointment in London with Dr. Bertrand. She is checking me out after 2 chemo treatments to ensure the chemo is doing the job it's supposed to be doing. She will also discuss the surgery which may occur about 4 weeks after the third chemo treatment. The timing for this may be the 2nd week of December or so. We'll know better tomorrow.
David probably needed the wee nap!
ReplyDeleteI remember doing that program at HopeSpring, Olga, and I can still do the relaxation piece...do they use the going down the escalator visual? Glad to hear you are using this good resource. Love Jill
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