Smoke Free Life Program's drop-in sessions can help!
Drop in and talk with an SCCA Tobacco Cessation Specialist and learn about options to quit smoking! Call (206) 288-7766 for additional information or questions.
Date: Every Tuesday
Time: 12 noon to 1 p.m.
Location: SCCA Sanctuary 1st floor
Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do to preserve your health. It's also one of the most difficult behavior changes to make. Studies show that people who receive tobacco cessation counseling are more likely to succeed in quitting than people who do not receive counseling.
If you have been thinking about quitting and would like assistance in developing a quit plan, contact the SCCA Smoke Free Life Program at (206) 288-7766. Our counselors can assist you in developing a plan that addresses the symptoms of the physical withdrawal from nicotine, the emotional aspects of smoking, and the behavioral issues related to using tobacco. Our services are free!
It's never too late to quit. Health benefits begin immediately once you stop smoking.
This piece was written by Maura Keller and published several years ago. But we liked it so much, we continue to share it every year. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
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The cutout paper snowflakes you taped to the windows as a child. The gingerbread cookies your mom always made for the neighbor down the street. The hand painted dreidels your grandmother showcased on her mantel. The impromptu sing-alongs children love at this time of year.
Holiday traditions reflect and reinforce the things we care about. Traditions give most people a sense of belonging and allow them to mark the holiday season in a meaningful and unique way. And for people whose lives have been touched by cancer, the holidays take on a new meaning.
Celebrating Each Day
For Ginny Dixon, a photojournalist in Miami, the holidays represent a very important time in her life—11 years ago on December 10, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 31.
“When I was diagnosed, I was in the hospital the week between Christmas and New Year’s in critical care because I had gotten an infection and had to be in isolation. I was alone that entire week,” Dixon says.
Each year on the anniversary of her diagnosis, Dixon and her family have a celebration. “We call it my second birthday,” Dixon says. “For me, cancer was kind of a rebirthing process. You really are starting over—you have no hair, you shrink down in size and you really are brought back to rebuilding all your cells and everything about yourself.”
For Dixon, December 10 and the holidays that follow entail getting together with family and close friends “and talking about how lucky we are and how blessed and grateful we are just to be alive,” she says. “We usually ask everyone to bring presents for a local children’s charity.”
In addition to their annual celebration, Dixon and her mother have created a foundation called Points of Life. “The reason so many women die from ovarian cancer is because there is no early detection test,” Dixon says. “So given that I was really lucky to make it through cancer, we wanted to give something back.” The first fundraiser was a photographic show where Dixon showed a retrospective of her work. “I did portraits of different people in the community and sold them.” Over the years Dixon and her mother have done similar fundraisers through Points of Life, resulting in nearly $20,000 raised for researching early detection of ovarian cancer.
Looking back on her experience with cancer, Dixon sees it truly as a gift. “It made me appreciate life—as it is right now, not how it will be someday down the road. Until cancer entered my life, I took it for granted that I had time to do everything ‘someday.’ Now I know that today is really all I have, so I better make the best of it. I don’t see myself as just a ‘survivor’ because I think it doesn’t really tell the whole story. I am thriving, not just surviving and I am truly grateful for having had cancer; it was a great teacher.”
The Written Word
Like Dixon, Kim Garretson was also diagnosed with cancer during the holiday season. “My cancer tradition happens to fall over the holidays because I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer via tests on December 26 and 27 in 2001,” says Garretson, of Minneapolis. “Despite a grim prognosis, I had a good outcome from surgery at the Mayo Clinic that April.”
For the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis, Garretson’s wife, Carla, booked a room for him and his dog, Morrie, at Gunflint Lodge on the Canadian border. During this time, Garretson wrote a book, Niches of Clarity at Gunflint, for family and friends about “how I thought I had been a smart, healthy guy, when actually I was lazy, cavalier and foolish,” he says. “I had a pretty unique experience at Gunflint Lodge, alone with my little dog. The book details how family, friends and my dog were the keys to my surprisingly successful outcome.”
Last Christmas, Garretson returned to Gunflint Lodge with his wife and two dogs to continue his holiday writing tradition. He also created a website based on his book (www.mansgland.com). “The site is aimed at men under the age of 50 who, like me, don’t read about, talk about, think about the prostate and its health, much less even know what the gland does,” he says. Garretson expects to continue this holiday writing tradition at Gunflint Lodge and is working on another book.
A Memory Tree
The holidays can often be a difficult time for the family and friends of loved ones who have died from cancer. For Mary Sadlier, Christmas has provided a perfect opportunity to celebrate her father’s life.
“My father died five years ago,” Sadlier says. “Every year at Christmas, we participate in a tree-decorating program at Slater Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. There is a sign on the tree that says ‘In memory of John M. Sadlier’ and we decorate it with the latest photos of his grandchildren, tennis balls because he played all the time, ornaments students gave him when he was a schoolteacher and other decorations his brothers and sisters have added that have sentimental family meaning.”
As Sadlier explains, the tree-decorating program is open to the public with a small fee of $25 to cover the costs of the tree, lights and electricity. Many of the trees are memorials. “We spent a lot time at Slater Park as a family—little league games, ice skating, the zoo and playground,” Sadlier says. “My dad was an avid tennis player, so we always pick a tree near the tennis court.”
So what does Sadlier enjoy most about this tree-decorating tradition? “Like with any tradition, there is comfort in the sameness of it,” she says. “This is also special because the decorating is shared by many who knew my father, as well as just regular people who come to the park to enjoy the winter festival they hold near the holidays.” Sadlier admits it is therapeutic for her mother, daughter and herself to decorate. “It also gives others who may visit the park a happy surprise and an excuse to call us to share a memory about my father.
“One of the hardest things about someone dying is worrying that people will forget they lived. The tree is a homage to my father’s life, as well as a symbol to all who see it—that they, too, will be remembered.”
November/December 2005 Issue of CUREXtra
http://www.curetoday.com
This is a fun exercise. Check it out and check off what you would Traditionally do with a (T) and then make a check with a (W) what you Want to do this year. Share this with your family or have them do one of their own and compare notes.
Holiday Cards/Letters
__Mail as usual
__Shorten your list
__Include a “Holiday letter”
__Elect to skip this year
Decorations
__Decorate as usual
__Modify your decorations
__Ask for help
__Let others do it
__Make changes to a smaller scale
__Decide on one special decoration
for each family member
__Eliminate decorations
Shopping
__Shop as usual
__Give cash
__Shop through catalogs
__Ask for help
__Shop early
__Make your gifts
__Give bake goods
__Shop with a friend
__Ask for help wrapping gifts
__Do not exchange gifts now but perhaps later
__Make a list of gifts you want before you go out
Holiday Music
__Enjoy as usual
__Avoid turning the radio on
__Shop early before stores have Holiday music on
__Listen to it, have a good cry, and allow yourself
to feel sad that this isn’t a normal year
Traditions
__Keep the old traditions
__Attend holiday parties
__Don’t attend holiday parties
__Go to an entirely new place
__Bake the usual holiday foods
__Buy the usual holiday foods
__Bake but modify “the usual”
__Go to the religious service
__Do not attend the religious service
__Attend a totally different place of worship
__Spend quiet time alone
__Open gifts at ‘the usual’ time
__Open gifts at a different time
__Entertain friends and family
__Entertain only family
__Get together with new friends
Holiday Dinner
__Prepare as usual
__Go out for dinner
__Invite friends over
__Eat alone
__Change time of dinner
__Change routine of dinner, such as, this year do a buffet
__Change location of dinner, eat in a different room
__Ask for help
Post Holiday and New Year’s Day
__Spend time as usual
__Remove the holiday decorations early
__Go out of town
__Avoid New Year’s party
__Attend a New Year’s party
__Have a New Year’s party
__Spend time with only a few friends
__Write in your journal your hopes for the new year
__Go to a movie
__Go to bed early
Hope that helped upt the season in perspective for you.
Have a great holiday!
Ann and Sara
There are many phone numbers for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance services. We've created a handy list that you can download and print: Important-phone-numbers-2009. On this list you'll find these numbers and more:
Here are numbers our Transplant, General Oncology, and Women's Center patients should call if they have problems during the day or after normal business hours:
Transplant Patients
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., M-F
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat, Sun
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Holidays
206-288-7600 Adult & Pediatric
Transplant Patients, After Hours
10 p.m. to 8 a.m., M-F
6 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sat, Sun
5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Holidays
206-598-8902 Adult
206-987-2032 Pediatrics
General Oncology
4th Floor Patients
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., M-F
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat, Sun
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Holidays
206-288-7400
General Oncology, After Hours
4th Floor Patients
10 p.m. to 8 a.m., M-F
6 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sat, Sun
5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Holidays
206-598-6190: Ask for the Fellow On-Call
Women’s Center
3rd Floor Patients
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., M-F
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat, Sun
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Holidays
206-288-7300
Women’s Center, After Hours
3rd Floor Patients
10 p.m. to 8 a.m., M-F
6 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sat, Sun
5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Holidays
206-598-6190: Ask for the Resident On-Call
Ann Breen MN APRN, OCN
Ann Breen has a masters degree from the University of Washington and is certified in Oncology and Psychosocial nursing with years of experience in Oncology and Rehabilitation Education.
Sara Olsen, MS, CHES
Sara Olsen is a Certified Health Education Specialist, with a graduate degree from the University of Wyoming. She is experienced in college health and oncology.
