Stress Education Center - Dstress.com Newsletter

"Dedicated to serving by providing information, products, and services to create awareness and then offer control of stress and the process of change."

In this issue:

1. Introduction and Welcome

2. Ovarian Cancer... Your Prayers for Miracles

3. Pre-Post Operative Stress Management

4. Article: Stress Management and Visualization for Healing

5. Products of the Month: Stress Management for Healing and Pre-Post Operative Survival

6. Thank you

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1. Introduction of the Stress Education Center's - Dstress.com Newsletter

A special thank you to all the new readers who have signed up to receive our newsletter. This is a small milestone. It is our 23rd newsletter and I hope that it will be of service to you.

The January, 2004 newsletter will take a slightly different form for this month. See below.

By the way, thank you for all the positive feedback from past newsletter issues. We really appreciate your feedback and input.

As I requested in the most recent past newsletter:

Stop for a minute in whatever busy place you are, take one deep breath, relax your shoulders, your forehead, and your jaw. Put the news into perspective. React but do not over-react. Be present...enjoy the moment! And please, take good care of yourself.

Thanks for reading

L. John Mason, Ph.D.

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2. Your Prayers for Miracles:

This newsletter will take a different form. There are things related to stress management that I have a personal need to share in this issue. I ask for you to understand my indulgence into a topic that I have not covered before and have had no personal experience with in my life.

Some of you may know that in early November my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Most of you do not know that this diagnosis has had a profound effect on our lives, but I am sure that you have a strong gut feeling about what this might be like.

I will admit that at that time I did not know as much as I would need to know about ovarian cancer, but I do have some experience with managing the stress of life threatening disorders and with rallying the mind to assist in healing the body. I have experience with helping people get back some sense of control, at least over the way that they respond to stressful situations.

Fear is a great motivator! The unknown is very scary. Sometimes knowing can be even scarier! But without some knowledge and awareness about what you are experiencing, you can have no way of knowing what to do or which direction to move.

My wife, Barbara, is a nurse. She knows a lot about health care and something about self-care. What we agreed upon together is to fight the disease with every means possible that we could afford. The statistics regarding stage III ovarian cancer are not promising. It is aggressive and deadly. To fight fire with fire, we chose the most aggressive protocol. Barbara had major surgery to clean out all visible cancer from abdomen and then began chemotherapy. (Important hint: your chance for success in beating this disease are much better if you have an experienced cancer surgeon and ovarian cancer specialist.) We were lucky to have access to one of the best surgical teams on the West coast.

Did you know that there is a blood test called CA-125 that can be used to determine if this cancer is active and present. The cancers cells put off a factor that can be measured in the blood. It can also be given off by other conditions, but if present, additional screening/testing should be considered if this number is above the 0-35 range that is considered normal. Early detection of this disease is difficult but very helpful for long term survival. Before her surgery Barbara CA-125 was over 800. The surgery discovered that the tumors had spread throughout her abdomen. With our good luck, it was not deeply imbedded in her intestines or in her lymphatic system. The surgeon said that she had gotten all visible tumors. I have since learned that this is very important for long term survival. Two weeks after surgery and after a lot of post-surgical healing, I got my wife home and her CA-125 reading was down to 111.

We were referred to an oncologist who told us about the chemotherapy process. Barbara and I were concerned (on a good day) and scared (on a not so good day) about how she would react to chemotherapy. Important hint: there are many advances in medication to minimize the side-effects to the chemotherapy. Barbara has tolerated her first chemotherapy fairly well. After her first chemo her follow up blood test showed that our prayers had been answered and her CA-125 was down to 24. There is still a long way to go in her chemotherapy to assure that the cancer is heading for remission.

My level of personal stress has become greatly elevated. Even though I am a stress management expert, I admit that the stress has been felt. My neck and back ache. My sleep is not quite what it could be. My stomach feels the stress. Fear is closer to the surface than normal. To minimize these symptoms I have followed my own advice. I practice regular relaxation. I try to get daily exercise. No caffeine. I attempt to eat better. And, I reach out to my family and friends for support, input, and to debrief. I am blessed to have a great network for this necessary support. I am not sure what my levels of stress would be without this extra self-care, but I feel that I have received benefits from following this regimen.

In the following articles, I will describe some of the additional techniques that we are using. I hope that this will be helpful. Any input of information or your positive thoughts and prayers would be gratefully received and, when appropriate, shared.

Good luck and good health!

For information, audio stress management tapes, books, on-line stress management courses (a thermometer and audio tapes/CD's are included in the materials for this program), or coaching contact L. John Mason, Ph.D.

For more tips on what you can do to get back in control of your responses when you are stressed, use the tips from the article "ten timely tips" . These are very useful. Let me know what you think.

Along the way, do not forget to take good care of yourself!

Good Health!
L. John Mason, Ph.D.

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3. Pre-Post Operative Stress Management

Whether we face surgery for cancer, circulatory problems, digestive concerns, to repair a sports injury, or wish to improve your appearance, we know that the procedure is scary and stressful. The unknown always creates anxiety and uncertainty. Procedures performed on your body get very personal and very stressful.

Awareness is half the battle. The more you know about what to expect and what will happen, the better you can prepare. Your anxiety levels can move toward more manageable levels through awareness and stress management. Once you know the: what, where, when, how, and, hopefully, the why, you can begin to do a desensitization that will reduce the anxiety.

Controlling pre-post surgical anxiety will assist you in reducing levels of pain and promote healing and recovery rates. Reducing the stress can take many forms, but do not underestimate the importance of using these tools regularly before, during and after your operation. Hint: knowing what to do is not enough. You must actually practice these techniques.

Once we knew more about what the procedure would involve, Barbara began to practice with the pre-surgery guided relaxation. As our anxiety levels built, the stress management offered a nice break from the apprehension and fear. We also used visualizations of the tumors being reduced and her being free of the tumors after surgery. This helped to empower Barbara. She felt that even though we did not understand how we got this terrible diagnosis, she was able to do something for herself to fight it.

Barbara also ate well, got a lot of exercise, continued her work routine, and began taking additional supplements to boost her immune system and to enhance healing. We also used some anchoring techniques from hypnosis/NLP that our friend and therapist Sabrina Braham, MFT, offered to Barbara. We explored any blocks or barriers that she might have, mentally, to ridding herself of the disease process. We were covering all bases. Barbara even made an appointment with an acupuncture specialist to help recover from chemotherapy and to promote healing with this Eastern therapy.

The day of the surgery we were concerned, stressed and anxious! It was a long day for us. The post-surgical report from the doctor did not seem comforting at the time because she described all the tumor sites that were found and removed. She did a great and thorough job. (Important hint: thorough and experienced is what you would like to have in a surgeon.) Barbara used the post-surgical guide relaxation after the operation and continued with visualizations for healing and the defeat of the cancer. Though pain and discomfort were high after the operation, the medications and relaxations helped to control most of the pain. After ten days in the hospital for recovery, we headed for home.

Post-surgical stress management was very important and used to promote healing at home. More in the next article about stress management and healing.

Thank you.

Along the way, please take good care of yourself.

Send me your comments regarding what strategies you believe work for your self-care and how you most benefit from regular self-care practices.

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4. Stress Management and Healing

Stress, pain, and anxiety can reduce the body's ability to fight disease and to heal after an accident or surgery. The science of Psychoneuroimmunology studies the direct and indirect pathways that thoughts and emotions can influence the functioning of the immune system. Fear and anxiety can suppress the body's ability to respond to infections and disease. There are also situations when anxiety can create a hyper-sensitive immune system response. For some people this means that allergies or auto-immune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus) can be made worse.

Conversely, stress management and positive visualizations can minimize these problems and offer the hope of promoting healing. I know that reducing stress and anxiety reduces the intensity of pain and can free energy for health and happiness. It is obvious to me, that linking stress management with positive visualizations have helped hundreds of my clients and these helped Barbara as well.

Learning to control your physiological response to stress will reduce symptoms, promote health, and offer a sense of control, when control seems very remote. Patients who are actively involved in their fight with diseases like cancers have better long term prognosis'. It may not mean that you win fully every time, but the length of your life and the quality of your life will improve.

Statistically, ovarian cancer in stage III offers only a 25% chance of survival for 5 years. I hope that our good luck holds out and the continued active involvement in the healing process allows Barbara and I to have many happy, healthy years together. We will keep you posted.

Barbara believes that her experience with using acupuncture has offered her a great deal of help. Controlling symptoms of chemo, promoting relaxation, and enhancing her immune system are all positive results that she has experienced. It is a alternative therapy that merits your consideration if you or someone you know is fighting this disease process.

Barbara and I are also working to refine our process with the relaxation and visualization. To minimize symptoms from the chemo and to promote continued healing, we are now adding a visualization of seeing a cooling, sky-blue light that can reduce the heat from the chemo while promoting a bright healing energy. Yesterday (1/15/04), we heard that her CA-125 was down to 22 as we went for her second chemotherapy session.

Along the way, do not forget to take good care of yourself! Be present and enjoy everyday. Enjoy time with your family and good friends.

Good Health!
L. John Mason, Ph.D.