Guilt-Free Self-Care: Making YOU a Priority during Cancer
by Healing Garden Staff
“It’s cancer” is something you never want to hear. For some, it comes along on top of life challenges like unemployment, single parenting, and financial instability. Not only does it take a toll on your body, it affects your finances as well. Taking care of your physical health is a priority, whatever the cost. But what about your social, emotional, and spiritual needs? When faced with the financial burden of cancer, patients may feel that focusing on self-care falls into the category of “guilty pleasure” … Or is it?
Medical professionals and scientists know that stress, anxiety, depression, poor sleep, lack of exercise and poor nutrition play a role in our own biophysical environment. Stress from any of these factors activate an inflammatory process that can inhibit our immune response. Stress management can be instrumental for cancer patients needing to conserve energy to tolerate challenging treatments and side effects. Herein lies a way for patients to take back some control, and to have a way to push the odds of the best quality of life they can have.
Taking control of your quality of life during cancer should not be a “guilty pleasure” – mind/body therapies such as acupuncture, massage, shiatsu, lymphatic drainage or even a personal therapy session can help clients regain control of their lives and optimize your body’s ability to process medical treatment and remain resilient.
Still, many clients may feel guilty paying for a service that falls outside of oncological treatment. And that is totally understandable.
Taking the time to make YOU a priority will not only help you regain control, but can help lead to healthier outcomes.
Since we opened our doors nearly 20 years ago the Healing Garden has been dedicated to helping clients manage their quality of life during cancer treatment and beyond. We understand the difficult financial impact of cancer. That is why we offer a host of free services from support groups, to individual and family counseling, to group programs and individualized work with our in-house social workers.
But we also want our clients to access other mind/body services, guilt-free. In order to make hour-long mind/body therapeutic services accessible, our practitioners offer their services at whatever cost you can afford on that given day, on a sliding scale of $35-$75 – you choose what works for you. Each of our practitioners have joined the Healing Garden knowing that they are providing discounted therapeutic services and they are happy to do so. In this way we invite you to experience a session of Reiki* or one-on-one yoga guilt-free, and judgment free; if you chose to sign up for another session, pay what you can on that day. For those that qualify, we also offer a special program called Fund-A-Need that covers the cost of care for our most financially burdened clients.
Addressing your emotional, social, and spiritual needs are part and parcel of managing your cancer diagnosis. At the Healing Garden we are here to help you alleviate the burdens of cancer – guilt free.
*This article from the Mayo Clinic called “9 Facts About Reiki,” discusses how this alternative therapy uses “laying of hands” to help the body relax, enabling the body systems to move into a state of balance and harmony. The Healing Garden offers individual Reiki sessions to help alleviate pain, nausea, and anxiety and to help support the immune system. Email kelly@healinggardensupport.org to set up an appointment.