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Welcome! This is the place where you will find lots of helpful and interesting information about I Had Cancer events, member spotlights, and featured connections. You will also find guest blogs, editorials about current news and much more.

We hope that what you find here will bring you closer to finding Health, Hope, and Happiness.

May 24 2013 - 1:42pm | by Lockey
Exercise And Cancer Part 1 Do you take the time to check in with your body and identify where any pain or discomfort is coming from? In part 1 of a four-part series, Lockey shares advice on how to rekindle the mind/body connection so that you can begin a successful exercise program.

When your body is experiencing chronic pain (and/or side effects of cancer treatment), the brain changes. We start focusing on the pain, the fear that the pain will be permanent. Chronic pain causes stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety can show up in the body as pain, insomnia, eating too much or too little, and changes our breathing patterns...
May 22 2013 - 2:00pm | by LotsToLiveFor
Keep Track of Health Whether you are currently healthy or managing a chronic illness, you should be keeping track of your personal health records. In this guest blog post, Margot shares some tips and resources that can help you ensure that your records are thorough and up to date.

Did you know that medical errors are the third largest cause of death after heart disease and cancer? Whether you are currently healthy or managing a chronic illness it is always the right time to create a thorough and up to date personal health record. Create or update your personal health record now to give yourself and your loved ones peace of...
May 20 2013 - 3:01pm | by mailet
Putting The Patient Back Into The Treatment Plan Mailet's trip to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Blogger Summit in Arizona caused her to think a lot about the current state of cancer treatment and the importance of patient-center care. Read more to find out what CTCA is doing to take a pro-active, patient-first approach to cancer care.

At the end of March, I participated in the Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Blogger Summit in Arizona. I was excited to see familiar faces and to meet an incredible group of bloggers from the...
May 10 2013 - 9:41am | by tambre
Cancer In One Word: Fear Let's face it, when you are faced with a cancer diagnosis, you learn a lot of new words - and old words take on a whole new meaning. In a new series of guest blog posts from cancer coach Tambre Leighn, she will be exploring many of these words that we all can associate with. Read more to find out what she says about the word "fear."

What could possibly be good about fear?

Simple: Fear can keep us safe. When we consciously take fear out of the dark corners and throw light on it, we can determine if we are in danger. Some fear is an instinctual response...
May 5 2013 - 1:19am | by Annmarieg
What do you think about before you go into surgery? It makes your mind race. You have random thoughts that combine with scary reality of the surgery itself. Ann Marie shared her raw, unedited thoughts with us in this guest blog post...

I had already had an ablation, lumpectomy, mastectomy and was about to have the implant surgery. I felt like a pro but at the same time scared like a newbie, but I couldn't control my rambling, pre-surgery thoughts...

So here's every thing I was thinking:

After a great night's sleep (BLAHAHAHAHAH), I am ready for a coffee or surgery. I wish I...
May 2 2013 - 11:13am | by sedonawoman
Despite their good intentions, other people don't always know what to say to cancer fighters so they end up saying something that comes out wrong. But how should you respond? Read on to find out how Helen dealt with situations like this while she was battling colon cancer.

"You Look Good"

This was the response I received numerous times while undergoing six months of chemotherapy treatment for Stage III Colon Cancer. This spontaneous compliment came after someone would ask me how I was doing. Although I sincerely appreciated the genuine concern for my well-being, I couldn't help but...
Apr 26 2013 - 10:30am | by TeamIHadCancer
Ovarian Cancer: A Visual Guide Do you want to learn more about Testicular Cancer but you don't know where to start? We've worked with Healthline.com to create an infographic that gives you the vital information you need all in one image.

There's a lot of information out there.

When you google "cancer", there are more than 3 billion results. Even when narrow your search, you're still left with millions of pages to sort through. That's why we wanted to make it easier for you to find the information you're looking for. With the help of editors from...
Apr 24 2013 - 1:08pm | by tambre
Cancer In One Word: Grief Let's face it, when you are faced with a cancer diagnosis, you learn a lot of new words - and old words take on a whole new meaning. In a new series of guest blog posts from cancer coach Tambre, she will be exploring many of these words that we all can associate with. Read more to find out what she says about the word "grief."

It's not news that our modern culture still has not integrated strong tools or processes for grieving. We often don’t know what to say or do when someone is grieving. We hope they'll get over it quickly and mostly the concept of grief is related to losing someone we care for....
Apr 18 2013 - 2:15pm | by TeamIHadCancer
What Is A Real Community? For the I Had Cancer Team, our Webby nomination isn’t about winning; it is about bringing awareness to the cancer community. We wanted to take this opportunity to reflect and remind you of what “community” means to us.

For the second year in a row, I Had Cancer has been nominated as “Best Community Website” at The Webby Awards. If you're not familiar with it, The Webby Awards is the “Oscars of the Web.” When we won last year, our founder Mailet, a breast...
Apr 10 2013 - 12:03pm | by HVSJ12
The year 2005 was both the best and worst year of Heather Von St. James’ life. Her first and only child, Lily, was born. Three and a half short months later, Heather was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer and told she only had 15 months to live if she did not start treatment immediately...

My Daughter Saved My Life...

Anytime you ask my 7-year-old daughter about my cancer, she always says the same thing, “I saved my mommy’s life.” It’s the way she says it, as if it’s as simple as saying, “Yeah, I had bacon for breakfast.” Some people may not take what she says seriously or...