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Applegate�s Barbara Finley will tell local seminar about how she came to see cancer as ... A Journey of change By John Darling As incredible as it may sound, cancer can be a gateway to life�s real riches, say organizers of an April 27-28 conference. Patients and survivors are using the disease as a catalyst for change in their lives, the organizers say. They�re doing what they love, realizing the preciousness of each day, going on the daring adventures they�ve dreamed of, and saying "I love you" to those around them. "Cancer as a Turning Point" celebrates this new approach to life-threatening illness � and teaches coping skills that take survivors beyond the role of patient. Sponsored by Asante Health System and in its third year, the conference will be held at the Dubs Cancer Center at Rogue Valley Medical Center. The seminar is free and features speakers, health professionals and performing artists who involve cancer survivors and their loved ones in such activities as visualization, drumming and dancing. Presenters include noted author Jeanne Achtenberg ("Rituals of Healing"), Dr. Joy Craddick of Ashland, Dr. Bruce Bartlow of Redding, Calif., naturopath Tori Hudson of Portland, singer Beth Baker of Jacksonville and African folk music specialist Linda Tillery. Getting a cancer diagnosis is "such a devastating experience," said Barbara Finley, 60, of Applegate, a speaker at the conference and member of the board of Healing Journeys, which stages the conference in many West Coast locations. "When I was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram in 1996, I thought it was a mistake. I had no cancer history in my family. I ate better than anyone I knew. I hiked and biked. I never thought it could happen to me," she said. Finley became a good patient, doing everything her oncologist told her to do, she said. The disease had spread into her lymph system. She went through chemotherapy and dozens of radiation treatments. Her husband and children rallied to support her. "But something was missing," she recalled. "I needed more. I saw my life was never going to be the same as it was and I needed to find the reason for this. I needed the spiritual side." The pivotal event for Finley was attending her first Healing Journeys conference at Stanford University in 1997. "I was at once filled with hope and optimism that there could be life after cancer. It was about cancer, but it was about life, about celebration." Finley took up yoga, meditation and doing physical challenges, like walking across a log 30 feet in the air. She created a healing circle made of tokens � acorns, pebbles, shells � sent to her by dozens of friends. "I was terrified most of the time and lonely for my family and friends who lived far away. I would place the tokens in a circle and sit in the middle. I felt surrounded by love and strength. It was a very powerful and healing experience." Last summer, Finley climbed all 12,389 feet of Japan�s Mount Fuji with 78 other American cancer survivors and health professionals to raise $900,000 to fight breast cancer in Japan. They also carried prayer flags to the top, each bearing the name of a cancer survivor or victim. Finley carried 56. "It was hard. I had to have oxygen all night when we camped at 10,500 feet. But it was about joy," she said. "It expressed the strength we found working against the disease. And it was a metaphor for how we confront cancer, one step at a time � and with the support of others. It was my way of saying to cancer: You had me, but you didn�t get me." The greatest challenge of cancer is the emotional impact, said Asante oncological social worker Lori Worden, a coordinator of the conference. "Patients are so overwhelmed by the diagnosis. It�s so foreign," she said. "It�s easy to be passive and just do what you�re told. But you have to get assertive and realize you�re part of the team fighting this thing and you can have a big effect on the outcome." Presenters at the conference are up front that some attendees will die, Worden said. "But you also learn you can live life to the fullest or you can practice dying till you get there." Worden said she�s seen many people at the conference get past the isolation of cancer and find comfort and empowerment in realizing they�re not alone. "People say it was profoundly life-changing," she said. "It complements the medical community wonderfully. We have great doctors, but there was a big void around the emotional part of a person. They (attendees) say they felt like they were starving and now they�re being fed." Patients and their families can learn to actually see cancer as a "blessing," said Worden. "I�ve heard a lot of people say they quit their lousy job, they�re telling people they love them and they�re focusing on the true meaning of their life." Finley agrees. "One day the earth opens up and things are never the same. You realize that life is terribly fragile. My relationship with my children and husband is all different. No one can tell you how sweet life is until you�ve faced this." To register for "Cancer as a Turning Point," call Lonnie at the Dubs Center, 541-608-5006. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.