"You have lung cancer." My surgeon had just called to tell me this after reading my chest x-ray taken in preparation for a scheduled breast lumpectomy. I remember standing all alone in my condo holding the phone, in shock, having my first out-of-body experience, thinking this isn't real, this isn't happening to me! I am a non-smoker, there was no family history of lung cancer, and I had always lived a healthy lifestyle (or so I thought). In this book, I share with you all the (shocking) lung cancer facts that I have learned. There are numerous posts on nutrition espousing the importance of eating a plant-based, sugar-free diet for prevention and healing. I discuss stress management, risk-taking, alternative healing modalities, and the joys of travel. I share my experiences dealing with medical/surgical treatments, and managing medication side effects. I also share my fears and challenges, my feelings and values. I offer my learnings and "coachable moments." I delve into my spiritual quest and share my thoughts on death and dying. I acknowledge my wonderful support system and how important they are in helping me get through it all. Mostly I explain why and how I am "Dancing Through Cancer." This book will be helpful to cancer patients, their caregivers, and to anyone who wants to learn how to prevent cancer from happening to them.
About the Author: Laurie grew up in La Jolla, California, where she spent most of her time at the beach - swimming and watching surfers. She also loved to spend time at her aunt's ranch in Alpine where she would ride horses and climb rocks. Besides California, she has lived in Mexico, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Virginia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and now Massachusetts. She has traveled to China, Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Morocco, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. Laurie attended Mary Washington College, then the University of Virginia where she graduated with a B.S. in Education. Later she attended Boston University, graduating with an M.Ed. (Masters in Psychological Education). Much later she became a Professional Certified Life Coach (PCC). Professionally she has taught high school English and Spanish and been a guidance counselor. For years she was an instructor for Outward Bound Professional Programs and for the Appalachian Mountain Club's Leadership School; she has been a career transition specialist for Lee Hecht Harrison and Right Management; she developed numerous community education programs for the Cape Ann Mental Health Center. She is a consultant and trainer who has developed many diverse programs/workshops over the years. Bi-lingual, she has taught and consulted in Spanish. Besides dancing, Laurie loves to ski, hike, bike, kayak, windsurf, and sail. Now happily single, Laurie was married for 28 years. She has two sons and three grandchildren with whom she tries to spend as much time as possible. She lives in Gloucester, MA, overlooking the ocean where she has time to write and reflect and "dance through cancer."