Hi Guys! It’s Karen from Wellness Works NW! I was just thinking the other day about when I came to Washington State in September of 1988. Isn’t that amazing! I remember getting off the plane and breathing in the air and thinking it smelled right, it looked right…You know how sometimes you just know this is right. That is when I decided to settle here. I was coming to Fort Lewis, now called Joint Base Lewis–McChord, the army has combined with the air force base. I am really getting old; I am like a walking history book!
When I got here I was living in Tacoma and I decided it was too big for me. I had met a friend from Longview and she invited me to come home with her. Her family was great and the people were friendly and it reminded me of being back in High Point, North Carolina. After awhile it was clear that I wanted to stay here, but in Longview and not Tacoma.
As an end result, I got involved in a lot of volunteer opportunities because I love to volunteer. There is something about volunteering that makes you feel good. One of the first things I volunteered for was Relay for Life. Relay for Life, if you didn’t know, is about cancer advocacy. We didn’t have Relay this year because of COVID-19, but when we do get together, we stay awake all night long and take turns walking a track or the lake in memory of someone you lost because of cancer or someone who was striving and survived. It is just a great time! So I did that for about 10 years and I really enjoyed it.
Cancer is one of those nasty diseases, speak about helping the chronically ill, I had a friend of mine, Crickett Botero, who passed away about 20 years ago and she had leukemia. Today we are talking about Lung Cancer. Can you believe, it is the leading type of cancer? There are many types of cancer but it is the most deadly. Already this year, over 75,000 men have died from Lung Cancer and over 60,000 women have died from Lung Cancer.
Most of the time we think that just people who smoke get Lung Cancer, but that is just not the case. You can get Lung Cancer just breathing in and out. Sometimes when people are diagnosed with cancer they feel guilty because they feel like they could have done things better, but please don’t feel that way. Cancer happens. The most important thing you can do for yourself, or a loved one, is to learn how to survive and thrive through it.
That is what we are all about here, taking a chronic illness, and making it happen! Bam!
Once you find out your diagnosis, you want to find out how to treat it. You will have to create your team of people who are trying to help you. You will have to find out what kinds of meds you will need to take, if you will need chemo, all kinds of things that are amazing! When I was researching this, I rely heavily on Jamie and Summer to research topics for me, and Jamie wrote a wonderful article on our website I would like to encourage you to read. We also list references where you can go to learn more.
>>>Read: Learning About Lung Cancer
One of the major thing you can do if you are diagnosed with cancer is to not panic. Some of the things that will happen if you have cancer are: chest pain, headaches, difficulty breathing, continuous coughing, difficulty or pain and swelling around the neck or face and sometimes your voice even goes away. So if you get that diagnosis make sure to get your team together and try to stay as positive as you can. There will probably be many choices of treatments and your team will help you make those choices. If you have a question, ask them. Get an answer to your questions. Somebody knows out there. There are all kinds of support groups out there. You also want to learn to relax.
What I want to do with you today is practice breathing from you diaphragm. A lot of time it calms you and a lot of times it helps your diaphragm instead of your chest. You can do deep breathing from a chair or if you are in bed you can sit up or you can practice your breathing in a supine position. Put your hands on your abs. Then breathe in, while pushing on your abs with your hands. Then breathe out, nice and easy, while pushing on your abs. You will find that when you are breathing like that it helps your abs and it makes you feel better because you are making your body get the oxygen it needs. Sometimes your lungs are a bit weak. Don’t be afraid to do this. Try something new.
Of course you need to strength train. You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?
I am going to grab a medium weight band and while sitting I am going to bring it up on my knees together. Next we are going to do that Clam Shell. Bring your knees over to one side while breathing in and then while you come over to the other side, breathe out. Then repeat. This is also a great exercise for your hip flexers. You can do about 10 of those, while holding in your abs. Just know that everything is going to be alright!
If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email or you can call or text me at 360-447-8061!
I am sending you all kinds of wonderful vibes and positive prayers.
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Karen G. Clemenson is not a doctor or a scientist. She is a real person that eats too much sometimes and misses her workout on occasion but is mindful of her path toward wellness, all the time.
Karen understands that your physical wellness does not begin and end with your membership to a local gym. She knows that weight loss management begins with steps; some small and some large. These steps include diet, physical activity and retraining of the thoughts and habits that keep you from being successful on your path toward wellness.
