Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor's Soul (36 page)

Celebrate Life!

W
hat lies behind us and what lies before us are small matter compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Mercy Hospital Patients, Employees and Visitors:

In early June, I was the speaker at our annual National Cancer Survivor Day picnic. This year’s theme was
CELEBRATE LIFE.
I took each letter and found a concept to suit it. When I shared the outline of my talk with Mary, my niece, she replied, “Aunt Sue, what you said can apply to anyone—not just people with cancer.” Thus, I share CELEBRATE LIFE.

C
OUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NOT YOUR WORRIES.
I found this on a little prayer card. It doesn’t mean that worries won’t come, but when they do, just don’t count them. Focus on blessings instead. Choose to see a glass half full, not half empty.

E
XPRESS YOUR FEELINGS HONESTLY.
Cancer evokes varied emotional reactions.
Respect whatever they are honestly. Above all, stay real, concentrating on what’s best for you.
Don’t try to please others by hiding authentic feelings in order to make others feel better.

L
EARN TO LAUGH AND LAUGH TO LEARN.
Someone once said that laughter is the best medicine. It is! I’ve come to believe that a sense of humor is as vital as the first five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing). Having a positive attitude doesn’t require smiling all the time, but there is a definite link between our basic attitude and our immune system that is too important to ignore.

E
NDURE WHAT IS NECESSARY.
Yes, there’s tough stuff in your coping with disease. But never forget the patient who told me her mother always said, “From the day that you’re born ‘til they take you in a hearse, things are never so bad that they couldn’t be worse.”

B
E OPEN ANDFLEXIBLE ...GO WITH THE FLOW.
Find meaning in the day-by-day doings because little things mean a lot. Ponder the adage, “They who have a why to live can bear almost any how.” Cancer is a wake-up call that jolts us out of our complacency.

R
EMAIN IN CHARGE BY NETWORKING WITH FAMILY AND DOCTORS.
Work with doctors not as a victim but as a partner. Trust your body signals for better or worse.
You have a right to retain an appropriate degree of control in what’s happening.

A
CCEPT AND FACE YOUR MORTALITY.
This can be as low and painful process that takes time and effort. Cancer does provide a new awareness of life’s previous quality through its unique lens. Death is certain for all of us, but how we live out our remaining days is up to us.

T
REASURE EACH DAY AND EACH NEW EXPERIENCE.
No, I wouldn’t have chosen cancer on the menu of health struggles, but I would not trade all I’ve learned, lived, laughed and loved because of it.
One marvelous side effect has been connection with incredibly beautiful people. I believe you can turn your back on negativity that wants to drag you down.

E
XERCISE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT AS ABLE.
In the new book, Remarkable Recovery, by Caryle Hirshberg and Marc Ian Barasch, seven common factors among the survivors are discussed: the will to live, acceptance of the disease but not the outcome, working with doctors as collaborators, having supportive people around, improving diet, exercising more, and finding faith important in recovery.

L
IVE REMEMBERING THAT LIFE IS A MYSTERY TO BE LIVED, NOT A PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED.
As you search for answers, reasons, whys and why nots, remember there is a dimension of all this that remains a mystery. Sometimes health struggles invite us to reverence instead of grueling analysis.

I
NVEST IN YOUR INNER RESOURCES:
COURAGE, EFFORT, DETERMINATION, FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE.
All of these nurture the will to live and flourish.
Surprise yourself by opting to maximize who
you are by practicing these virtuous behaviors.

Intravenous Chicken Soup for the Soul®

Reprinted with permission from Dave Carpenter.

F
IND THE FUTURE IN YOUR NOW.
Maybe you’ve wondered if you’d make it today—you’re here! Select short-term goals as your ongoing link to life. Meditate on the “Family Circus” cartoon that says, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” Sink your heart into that one.

E
MERGE AS A WINNER—NOT A VICTIM OR

More Chicken Soup?

Many of the stories and poems you have read in this book were submitted by readers like you who had read earlier
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books. We publish at least five or six
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books every year. We invite you to contribute a story to one of these future volumes.

Stories may be up to 1,200 words and must uplift or inspire. You may submit an original piece or something you clip out of a local newspaper, a magazine, a church bulletin or a company newsletter. It could also be your favorite quotation that you’ve put on your refrigerator door or a personal experience that has touched you deeply.

Just send a copy of your stories and other pieces to the following address:

Chicken Soup for the Soul
P.O. Box 30880
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
fax: 805-563-2945
Web sites:
www.chickensoup.com
www.clubchickensoup.com

We will be sure that both you and the author are credited for your submission.

For information about speaking engagements, other books, audiotapes, workshops and training programs, please contact the authors directly.

Who Is Jack Canfield?

Jack Canfield is one of America’s leading experts in the development of human potential and personal effectiveness. He is both a dynamic, entertaining speaker and a highly sought-after trainer. Jack has a wonderful ability to inform and inspire audiences toward increased levels of self-esteem and peak performance.

He is the author and narrator of several bestselling audio-and videocassette programs, including
Self-Esteem and Peak Performance, How to Build High Self-Esteem, Self-Esteem in the Classroom
and
Chicken Soup for the Soul—Live.
He is regularly seen on television shows such as
Good Morning America, 20/20
and
NBC Nightly News.
Jack has coauthored numerous books, including the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Mark Victor Hansen),
100 Ways to Build Self-Concept in the Classroom
(with Harold C. Wells) and
Heart at Work
(with Jacqueline Miller).

Jack is a regularly featured speaker for professional associations, school districts, government agencies, churches, hospitals, sales organizations and corporations. His clients have included the American Dental Association, the American Management Association, AT&T, Campbell Soup, Clairol, Domino’s Pizza, GE, ITT, Hartford Insurance, Johnson & Johnson, the Million Dollar Roundtable, NCR, New England Telephone, Re/Max, Scott Paper, TRW and Virgin Records. Jack is also on the faculty of Income Builders International, a school for entrepreneurs.

Jack conducts an annual eight-day Training of Trainers program in the areas of self-esteem and peak performance. It attracts educators, counselors, parenting trainers, corporate trainers, professional speakers, ministers and others interested in developing their speaking and seminar-leading skills.

For further information about Jack’s books, tapes and training programs, or to schedule him for a presentation, please contact:

The Canfield Training Group
P.O. Box 30880 • Santa Barbara, CA 93130
phone: 805-563-2935 • fax: 805-563-2945
or at America Online at keyword
chickensoup.

Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

Mark Victor Hansen is a professional speaker who, in the last 20 years, has made over 4,000 presentations to more than 2 million people in 32 countries. His presentations cover sales excellence and strategies; personal empowerment and development; and how to triple your income and double your time off.

Mark has spent a lifetime dedicated to his mission of making a profound and positive difference in people’s lives. Throughout his career, he has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to create a more powerful and purposeful future for themselves while stimulating the sale of billions of dollars worth of goods and services.

Mark is a prolific writer and has authored
Future Diary, How to Achieve Total Prosperity
and
The Miracle of Tithing.
He is coauthor of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Jack Canfield) and
The Master Motivator
(with Joe Batten).

Mark has also produced a complete library of personal empowerment audio-and videocassette programs that have enabled his listeners to recognize and use their innate abilities in their business and personal lives. His message has made him a popular television and radio personality, with appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, PBS and CNN. He has also appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including
Success, Entrepreneur
and
Changes.

Mark is a big man with a heart and spirit to match—an inspiration to all who seek to better themselves.

For further information about Mark write:

P.O. Box 7665
Newport Beach, CA 92658
phone: 949-759-9304 or 800-433-2314
fax: 949-722-6912
Web site:
http://www.chickensoup.com

Who Is Patty Aubery?

Now vice-president of The Canfield Training Group and Self-Esteem Seminars, Inc., Patty Aubery remembers the early days of Jack Canfield’s work—before
Chicken Soup for the Soul
took the country by storm. Jack was still telling these heartwarming stories then, in his trainings, workshops and keynote presentations, which Patty scheduled and coordinated.

Later, she directed the labor of love that went into compiling and editing the original 101
Chicken Soup
stories, and went on to support the daunting marketing effort and steadfast optimism required to bring it to millions of readers worldwide.

Though Patty can’t claim the title of bestselling author, noted authority, or even nationally recognized speaker, over 5 million copies have now been sold of the bestselling books that were brought to print with her unique combination of hard work, judgment and insight.

Recently, Patty coauthored the series’ fifth and latest offering,
Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor’s Soul.
Of the effort, Patty says, “I’m always encouraged, amazed and humbled by the story-tellers I meet when I work on any
Chicken Soup
book, but the overwhelming courage, enduring faith and profound wisdom I encountered from
Surviving Soul
contributors will stay with me forever.”

Patty is married to successful entrepreneur Jeff Aubery and together they have a young son, J.T. Aubery. A native of Southern California and an outstanding asset to Jack Canfield’s training organization and the
Chicken Soup
phenomenon, Patty and her family make their home in Santa Barbara. She can be reached at:

The Canfield Training Group
P.O. Box 30880
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
805-563-2935
fax: 805-563-2945

Who Is Nancy Mitchell?

Nancy Mitchell is director of publishing for The Canfield Group. She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

After graduation, Nancy worked at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Four months after graduation, Nancy moved back to her native town of Los Angeles. Her sister and coauthor, Patty Aubery, offered her a part-time job working for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Nancy’s intentions were to help finish
A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
and then return to nursing. However, in December of that year, she was asked to continue on full-time at The Canfield Group. Nancy put nursing on hold and became the director of publishing, working closely with Jack and Mark on all
Chicken Soup for the Soul
projects.

Nancy says that right now what she is most thankful for is her move back to L.A. “If I hadn’t moved back to California, I wouldn’t have had the chance to be there for my mom during her bout with breast cancer. Right now my priority is to be there for my mom and for my family.”