Cancer Messed with The Wrong Girl!

“Wait, what? How could this be possible, you just gave birth to your baby boy? This isn’t fair!” were my exact words to my best friend of 35 years, Chantal. She had just given birth to her baby boy, Nicholas. She went for a check-up because she felt pain and a lump in her left breast. We’re thinking, maybe it had something to do with her breastfeeding, something was blocked. But sadly, no. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. I could not believe it and you can imagine how she must have felt. Long, story short, cancer messed with the wrong girl. With a will stronger then a bull to be there to raise her son, Chantal pushed through hours of chemotherapy, radiation, and countless doctors’ appointments and eventually beat this nasty disease. Cancer touched her boob, so she kicked its butt! Chantal has been cancer-free for over 15 years now and I’m overjoyed to see her live life to the fullest with her family, friends, her husband, and her wonderful son.

This shows the power of will and the mind. Could this have been prevented? Yes, but during pregnancy, there are so many changes in the body coupled with the excitement of being a mom, the last thing on your mind is cancer.

Prevention. Prevention typically consists of methods or activities that seek to reduce or deter specific or predictable problems, protect the current state of well-being, or promote desired outcomes or behaviors. Yoga is an activity that does all that, and more. While many associate yoga with new age mysticism or the latest fad at the gym, yoga is an ancient practice that connects the mind, body, and spirit through body poses, controlled breathing, and meditation, all of which can prevent further development of “dis-ease”. “Dis-ease”: an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant: a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally. Aside from the physical benefits, one of the best benefits of yoga is how it helps a person manage stress, which is known to have devastating effects on the body and mind. Yoga’s incorporation of meditation and breathing can help improve a person’s mental well-being. Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention, and sharpens concentration, and can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.

Yoga is a fairly inexpensive way to start preventing. Get on your mat today!