Living Well While Surviving Cancer
Live Life EVERY DAY!!
Lots of advice on relaxation, controlling anger, and being energetic.
In this post, we offer additional tips for living well. Previously, we posted about: More Tips for Living Well and Living Better and Being Happier.
How to be healthier.
Today, we feature four valuable health-related videos. We hope you find them valuable. 🙂
Three in-depth infographics to help YOU live well.
Today, we offer new tips for living well. Previously, we posted about:
The effects of color on YOUR body.
Do you understand how colors affect YOU? They can greatly influence both our psychological and physiological state of well-being.
Take a look at the following infographic to learn more about how colors affect our well-being.
A Type 1 diabetic playing top-level college basketball.
Despite adulation for sports stars, they are not “heroes” in the true sense of the word. Athletes’ on-field performance does not make them heroes. Their off-field exploits may. As may the way they live their lives.
A new hero for me is Lauren Cox. She is a 20-year old star woman’s basketball player for Baylor University. Her team won the NCAA championship on Sunday in a close game. Lauren was hurt in that game, and missed the last quarter with a leg injury.
So, what makes her someone I admire? As a 25+-year diabetic (the last 4 as a virtual Type 1 diabetic), I know how tough it can be just to live well every day. In Lauren Cox’s case, to be able to play top-level basketball as a Type 1 diabetic, she has an insulin monitor on her at all times. Yet, she never complains or gets down about her condition.
As Lindsay Schnell reports for USA today:
“Lauren Cox swears it doesn’t hurt. But when she describes the act of getting her insulin tube ripped out, or having someone accidentally ram a knee or elbow into the insulin infusion point on her hip during a basketball game, it sounds extremely painful.”
“’I mean at this point, I’m used to it,’ the 6′-4″ player for the Baylor women’s basketball team told USA TODAY Sports. And she plays while checking her blood sugar multiple times a game. And that, makes her, according to longtime Baylor trainer Alex Olson, ‘just amazing.’”
“Cox is used to rough and tumble play — she actually picked college basketball over college volleyball because she prefers the physicality of hoops — and she’s used to playing with Type 1 Diabetes. She’s been doing it for 13 years.”
“Cox’s blood sugar is checked every five minutes by her Continuous Glucose Monitor. Using Bluetooth technology, her CGM sends the number to her insulin pump, a handheld device a little smaller than an iPhone, that connects a tube to an infusion port in her hip. During games, she tucks the pump into the side of her sports bra, and checks the number anytime she steps off the court. She and Olson are looking for a reading between 120-150; if it gets below 70 or above 300, she’s automatically pulled out of competition.”
Go Lauren. Here’s hoping you have a full recovery from your leg injury. 🙂
A checklist that you could use to rate your doctors.
A few months ago, we featured a YouTube video on doctors and compassion. In that video, it was reported that a doctor could show compassion in less than a minute.
Today, we ask: Do you think your doctors are caring?
As part of a research project, Mark E. Quirk, et al., devised the following checklist. How would EACH of your doctors score on the checklist? If a doctor’s score is low, why don’t you switch to another physician?
Over the past few months, I have been writing pieces that appear on Thrive Global. That site was founded by Huff Post’s Ariana Huffington. Today, let’s highlight the importance of inspiration through videos.
While you’re at it take a look at this post: Feeling Fortunate – Not Sorry for Oneself
Here are some excerpts from my Thrive Global post on inspiration:
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inspiration is “something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create. Thus, it is a force or influence that inspires someone.”
Today, I’d like to look at the power of inspirational video through three examples involving those who motivate us. Even in their absence due to cancer: Jim Valvano, Steve Jobs, and Randy Pausch.
For me, the most inspirational video comes from a speech by former champion basketball coach Jim Valvano. He gave the speech at an ESPN ESPY award ceremony shortly before his death. As noted on YouTube: “The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano with one goal in mind: to achieve victory over cancer. Since its start in 1993, the V Foundation has awarded over $170 million in cancer research grants nationwide. What stands out and inspires me every day is this Valvano quote from that speech: “To me there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think – spend some time in thought. And Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears. If you laugh, think, and cry, that’s a heck of a day.” Here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/HuoVM9nm42E
Also, check out the inspirational speeches by Jobs (https://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc) and Pausch (https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo).
To read more, click on the image.
