January 2025, Issue 46

Reset for 2025


Elgrie J. Hurd

Welcome to 2025! A new year! We are gonna stay away from the cliché of a new year, a new you! Do you really need to reinvent yourself? Nah! But, let's consider resetting instead.


Do you think about what you didn’t do in 2024? Does it irritate you? Does it make you sad? Whatever you feel is how you feel. Emotions are important to validate. At the same time, we should proceed with caution on letting emotions lead the decisions we make. If we keep a record of everything we didn't do, it can hold us hostage from having better days in the future. I recommend we all consider getting free and finding ways to reset.


If you are a pet owner, you have probably experienced your pet forgetting about what happened yesterday and getting a fresh start for the current day. Most of our pets don’t spend all day worrying about what did not happen yesterday. I think there’s a good lesson in that. For those of you who are gamers, when you restart a game, everything starts over. There is no need to bog yourself down with what you didn’t do. You get a clean slate to make your gaming experience better than the last time you played the game. The focus is on what you can do, not what you didn’t do. Reset from your what-ifs…reset from the disappointments. Cancer may influence aspects of our lives, but we have to remember we are more than our cancer stories. Everyday we have breath, we have a chance to find a way to reset.


2025 has just started. Fill it with new possibilities. Fill 2025 with new perspectives. You don’t have to become your own version of a Disney princess and sing your own version of “Let it go!” (However, if that’s what it takes for you to push the metaphorical reset button at the beginning of each day, I’m here for it!) We may not have the ability to get do-overs are things we experienced. We do have the ability to break the shackles of yesterday by resetting for the possibility of a better day. Resetting with a little hope can go a long way. Happy New Year!  

YACS End-of-Year Celebrations

We wrapped up 2024 with some fun festivities! As has been our tradition, we gathered with friends and family to knock down some pins at Bowlski's! The retro bowling alley was outfitted with fantastic holiday décor and supplied us with salad and pizza to fuel our hopes of getting a few strikes on the board.





At our last support group meeting of the year, Tia doled out kisses under the mistletoe. The photos captured the loving slobbers she bestowed on the checks and ears of her sweet friends.


Tia also helped pass out our 5th anniversary t-shirt. This awesome design by Jay Carter lists all of the activities and events our program has held throughout the past five years. If you didn't have a chance to pick one up last month, please contact Alex- we have a few left!

Nathan's Joke:


What do computers eat for lunch?


*Answer is at the end

Slice of Life


How Extraordinary the Ordinary Can Be!

Kelsey Lofink


Hi, YACS! I am an Ovarian Cancer survivor/fighter and was diagnosed September 2023. Last month, I had my third and LAST surgery! This holiday season, I have been recovering from surgery, but that has allowed me to slow down and spend more intentional time with my kids. Watching the Christmas Joy through the eyes of a 6 and 3 year old is pure magic! This holiday season, I have been reflecting on what a year it has been, and I keep coming back to being blessed.

I am blessed to continue to watch my kids grow, to be done with surgeries, to be on maintenance treatment (to keep me stable), and blessed to have found this community that I truly cherish! Keep on fighting the fight YACS!!

Share your Slice of Life with us! Send photos and write-ups to

Alex Huffman.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, January 25th, 4pm- Discover the therapeutic power of safe demolition and destruction at The Break Out Smash Room in Mansfield!



Tuesday, January 28th, 6pm- YACS Yoga at the Cancer Center


Tuesday, January 28th, 7pm- In-person support group meeting at the Cancer Center

RSVP

If you haven't seen your birthday in a newsletter, it is likely because it's not on our directory. Please take a minute to complete the survey below to be added.

Alex's Meditation Moment

Loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta meditation, is an ancient practice taught by the Buddha to cultivate positive emotions. The story is that the monks were having trouble concentrating when they tried to meditate in the forest fearing they were at the mercy of many dangers, including tree and earthly spirits. The Buddha taught them this practice to generate goodwill toward all beings, banishing fear because fear and loving-kindness cannot coexist. And because this is a story with a happy ending, the spirits once thought to be dangerous were pacified by receiving goodwill and ended up protecting the monks during their practice in return.


Metta meditation is physically and mentally protective. Given that it is an active meditation as we direct good will, it can increase energy and cultivate resilience by connecting us to our best selves in any situation. The word “well” in the meditation does not mean without disease but rather in a state of ease and comfort. When you’ve decided on a supportive posture for this practice- seated or lying down- do a quick scan of your body to detect any areas of tension. 


Take a few deep breaths, and relax. Scan your body again to be sure you are relaxed and alert.


Imagine a dearly loved person sitting opposite you and that a white light connects you heart to heart. Connect with the feelings of affection and warmth you have for them.


Enjoy the feelings as they fill your body.


Next, slowly focus on the phrase, “May I be well, happy, and peaceful,” feeling the warmth of loving-kindness filling your body.


And send these feelings to your friend. “May you be well, happy, and peaceful”


Breathing naturally… As the light connects you, heart to heart.


“May I be well, happy, and peaceful”

“May you be well, happy, and peaceful.”


Feel yourselves bathed in the warmth and light of loving-kindness while repeating these phrases.


Remember to breathe naturally, as the white light connects you both, heart to heart, and continue. “May I be well, happy, and peaceful. May you be well, happy, and peaceful.”


Next, remembering to breathe naturally, imagine the white light between you becoming a circle of light around you both.


The light is bathing you in the warmth and peace of loving-kindness that you radiate out to your surroundings.


Including all beings, from the smallest insect to the largest animal … and out into the universe.


See yourself and your friend radiating the light of loving-kindness out into infinity. “May we be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.”


Breathing naturally, repeat these phrases, silently. “May we be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.”


Now, enjoy the feelings of warmth and expansion in your body. Recognize the feelings that flow from your heart out into the universe … and the universal friendliness reflected in your own heart.


“May we be well, happy, and peaceful. May all beings be well, happy, and peaceful.”


As you continue to bathe in the warmth of loving-kindness, turn your attention to your body and notice your feelings and sensations. Notice ‘what’ is observing your body and recognize that awareness … a peaceful, still part of you, that witnesses everything, without judgment.


Breathe naturally.


And slowly open your eyes.

 

Sam's Writing Prompt


As 2025 begins, think about the kind of energy you want to carry into the new year. What is one thing, no matter how small, that you hope to experience, try, or feel in the months ahead? How can you create space for yourself to move forward, even if it’s just one step at a time?

Dr. Samantha (Sam) Dean is a metastatic melanoma survivor and former patient at UTSW. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a BA in English in 2012 and went straight into working with college students facing academic dismissal. She used her writing & speaking skills to mentor these students in asking questions, composing professional emails, using resources available to them, etc. Sam went on to receive an M.B.A. with a focus on both Sustainable Business and Marketing, then a Ph.D. in Public Policy & Political Economy. While working her way up in academia and getting all these fancy letters behind her name, Sam was doing freelance writing work. It wasn’t until after her melanoma diagnosis in 2020 that she decided to use all these skills to cope. She started freeform writing about what it felt like trying to survive as a 30-year-old woman in a male-dominated world while literally trying to survive. Since going into remission in May 2021, Sam has quit working full-time in academic administration. She now owns a full-service marketing agency, has authored a guided journal for cancer patients and survivors, published a children’s book, and teaches cancer survivors and teenagers how to express themselves through writing, whether via poetry, journaling, or creating a bomb resume to switch careers. When Sam isn’t working (which is hard to imagine because she has too many jobs), you can find her snuggling with her dogs, spending time with her nephews, or reading what she will undoubtedly claim is the next Great American Novel. 

Cooking with Chris!


Black-Eyed Pea Soup


Howdy, Dallas YACS fam! Happy New Year- we made it to 2025! Hope you have a prosperous year full of health and happiness. This month, I'm featuring a traditional New Year's recipe with a southern twist- black-eyed pea soup. This recipe has pork in it, and in case you don't eat pork, I posted the recipe with and without it. Cheers to 2025, y'all!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb, dried black-eyed peas (about 2 1/2 cups)
  • 5 slices of thick-cut bacon
  • 2 Tbsp, oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen collard greens or spinach, thawed and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 smoked ham hock
  • 1/2 cup rice blend
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions with Pork:

  • Sort through the peas, and pick out any pebbles or debris. Rinse the peas under cold water. Put the peas in a 5-quart Dutch oven, and cover with 5 cups of cold water. Place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and let peas soak for 1 hour.
  • Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. When cool, crumble the bacon and set aside. Add the oil to the skillet with the bacon fat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the collard greens and garlic, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add the vegetables to the Dutch oven along with the chicken broth, ham hock, crumbled bacon, rice, and 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook covered until the peas and rice are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Remove the ham hock from the Dutch oven. Discard the skin and bone. Chop the meat into small pieces, and return it to the Dutch oven. Season the soup with salt and pepper.


Directions without Pork:

  • Sort through the peas, and pick out any pebbles or debris. Rinse the peas under cold water. Put the peas in a 5-quart Dutch oven, and cover with 5 cups of cold water. Place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and let peas soak for 1 hour.
  • Add the oil to the skillet. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the collard greens and garlic, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add the vegetables to the Dutch oven along with the chicken broth, rice, and 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook covered until the peas and rice are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Season with salt and pepper.


Enjoy!

Joke Answer


...Microchips!

Facebook  Instagram  Web  Email