Stories and updates for patients, family members, friends and colleagues.
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More Life
When we opened The Ghosh Center, we committed to a new model of care, one that puts patients first in everything we do. What does this look like in practice? We care for patients as people, learning what they value, giving them choices and letting them lead. It includes:
- Connecting with each individual and the people they love
- Offering free therapies like guided meditation, chair yoga and Reiki
- Providing nutritional guidance
- Managing complications the day they arise
- Relieving the burden of prescription costs
- Celebrating the gift of life
We have proof that our approach yields powerful results. Our five-year survival rate for patients with metastatic cancer is nearly five times greater than the national rate.
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Time to live. Time to thrive. Hear what the gift of more time means to our patients.
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2018 Blesie Tree Walk
Saturday, September 15
8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Noelridge Park
Mark your calendars for the sixth annual Blesie Tree Walk. Your participation helps the
Blesie Tree Foundation
pay it forward to local patients with cancer. Since the first walk, nearly $11,000 has been used to lighten the lives of patients and their families.
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2018 Celebration of Life Picnic
The warmth filled the air during our seventh annual Celebration of Life picnic. We felt it on our shoulders and saw it in the faces of so many special people.
Nearly 500 current and former patients, family members, friends and colleagues joined us at Squaw Creek Park to mingle, share a meal and make memories. It was a treat to be together.
Here are a few of the friendly faces from the event. To see more, click the button below.
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The Healing Energy of Reiki
Reiki is one of the holistic therapies we offer to patients and caregivers to help restore energy and relieve stress. Sessions are offered on Thursday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. at the office free of charge.
Reiki is a gentle, respectful practice that takes place in a peaceful setting. During Reiki, practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the recipient, moving through each of the seven energy centers and quietly sensing and invoking energy. People report that Reiki feels like a warm, glowing feeling that radiates peace. Reiki promotes relaxation, which in turn facilitates the body’s natural healing response. Some people are so relaxed they fall asleep and awake feeling renewed.
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In April, we shared Laurie's story of her second chordoma diagnosis (a very rare form of bone cancer), subsequent surgery and road to recovery. Four months later, she's come to a new chapter as she sets new goals and scales new heights. Here, Laurie shares her plans and invites you to join her on the journey.
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Climbing Above and Beyond Cancer
As some of you may know, I will be taking a Journey to Tibet in September. I will be traveling with fellow cancer survivors and caregivers with Above + Beyond Cancer, a nonprofit group based out of Des Moines. Over the course of three weeks, we will be hiking the Himalayas and doing mission work at two hospitals in Kathmandu.
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The Mission
Above + Beyond Cancer has been taking survivors and caregivers on amazing journeys since 2009! Part of their mission is to continue to elevate the lives of those touched by cancer.
Prayer flags are another aspect of Above + Beyond Cancer’s mission. You may have seen Buddhist prayer flags in someone’s office, on a bike or in the great outdoors. Each color signifies an element. Blue represents the sky, white represents the air, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water and yellow symbolizes earth. All five colors together signify balance. The hues also represent directions – North, South, East, West and Center.
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Honoring Someone with Flags
On Above + Beyond Cancer journeys, we carry flags to honor people affected by cancer. The flags are decorated by those going through cancer, those who have survived cancer, or those left behind by someone who has passed away from cancer.
If you would like to create a flag, I would be honored to carry it for you. I will put the flags I receive in my backpack and think of each and every one of you on my daily journey. The flags will provide me with the inspiration and hope I need to make it to the top!
Releasing Your Prayers to the Wind
My destination on this trip to Tibet is to complete the Kora around Mt. Kailash, the most sacred mountain in the world. It is a 32-mile trek, which reaches an elevation of over 18,000 feet and takes three days to complete. That’s where I will unfurl the flags I’ve received from people like you. I will string them up and fly them high at Mt. Kailash to carry your prayers on the wind
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Creating
Your
Flag
I have flags for anyone who wants one, and they can be decorated any way you choose. I’ve seen flags with simple words and elaborate ones with pictures and stories. Anything goes.
If you’d like to pick up a flag for decorating, stop by the office anytime between 8-4:30 Monday through Friday. You can also email me at
[email protected]
.
Please have the flags back to me by August 20
th
so I can include them on the trip.
Laurie
“Everyone has a story, this just happens to be mine. And I won’t ask “why.” I’ll just ask “what am I supposed to do with this?”
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The Ghosh Center for Oncology & Hematology
1951 51st St. NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-294-1899
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