To say cancer is a huge concern for many of us today is a tremendous understatement. Many have friends and family with some form of cancer or we may have had cancer ourselves. Everyone is touched by it in some way.
There are many decisions we make every day that affect our health directly, several we don’t even think about. Every time we eat or drink, we are either feeding disease or fighting it. When we exercise, we are fighting disease. It may not show today but, over the long haul, we are making a difference in our bodies. Remember, we are given one life, one body, CARE for it!
As I work with cancer survivors, I am struck by their perseverance, hard work, faith, positive attitude and support and encouragement for one another. These are tremendous characteristics to have in a battle against cancer. Several survivors come to mind but I want to focus today on one in particular. She is an amazing woman and a survivor in every sense of the word.
Nita put herself through college on a tennis scholarship, so she’s no stranger to hard work. Now she has survived ovarian cancer and her husband’s passing from a sudden heart attack just months after her surgery. I first met Nita when she went through our Small Group Training for Cancer Survivors. She has persevered through much prayer, strong faith in Jesus Christ, exercise and helping others, both clients in her psychology practice and the survivors of the Gatlinburg fires. Nita has also cleaned up her nutrition by eating organic “clean” foods and eliminating sugar wherever possible. So she no longer eats fast food or 95% of convenience foods. They are heavily laden with harmful additives and dangerous chemicals. Nita has lost nearly 50 pounds because she knows that excess body fat increases the risk of cancer. She also uses safe skin care and cleaning products. You can check http://www.ewg.org/skindeep and http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners to ensure the products you use are safe.
Nita is a very giving person and knows that in giving she receives. She collected coats for the victims of the Gatlinburg fire and volunteered in the animal shelter there as well. She connects with and helps other cancer patients in her practice. Her encouragement and sage advice are invaluable. In exercise class and in personal training, she works tirelessly with a smile on her face and takes care of her body and works to strengthen what’s weak and stretch what’s tight.
We can all benefit from following Nita’s attitude and lifestyle.