Adventures with Scars

There is a difference between a cure and being healed. 

A cure ensures no further damage is going to be done to your body or mind. A cure is what research creates and what a pink ribbon represents; it is what we think we want. 

Healing reverses all the damage, brokenness, and scars. Healing is what we need.  In this episode Lauren discusses how we need healing physically, but equally important is the emotional healing that needs to take place for each person that has been impacted by cancer, and that includes family and friends.

A cure is necessary to stop the cycle of destruction cancer creates, but healing will ensure the emotional impact of cancer does not continue to haunt us for generations. The legacy of cancer will be found in this generation and the next’s emotional, rela- tional, spiritual, and mental health. 

Take a listen and let us know what you think.

During the global pandemic, we all experience the impact of isolation. As humans, not only do we need social interaction and physical touch, but our mental health is also dependent on relationships. We are happiest when we live in community.

When cancer treatments end, our mind is exhausted. We are physically tired, relationally stretched thin and might feel completely helpless to make meaningful decisions about who we want to be. 

After cancer and its treatment, there is a void. During this season all the roads of life seem to have disappeared. Those you love and who love you can't really understand what you have been through, and it feels isolating. It is during those moments when we need others, it is hard but so worth it, let people in, let them help. 

How much thought do we give to protecting our true identity? Just as we would take time to purchase identity theft insurance, shred all personal documents or create unique and elaborate passwords for virtual interactions, we must develop rituals in life that preserve and protect our most authentic identity.

Identity is the set of expectations, strengths, and weaknesses that we possess. It also encompasses how our expectations and strengths relate to each other.

A pre-cancer identity is created in a state of innocence. It involves 25th anniversary trips to Hawaii, retirement plans that include cruises to Alaska and the weddings of our children. These life priorities are often set in the future, and our life is something we spend working toward such moments.

A post diagnosis identity is much more likely based on the present. It is no longer sufficient for life's great moments to be found in the distant future. We want to value today, the people we are with today, and how our life impacts the world today. Our perspective shifts to ensure we live our values in the present rather than experiencing some idealistic milestones in the future.

In this episode Lauren talks about identity and how going through cancer we often shift and can even lose our identity. She gives her experience and various pointers on how to establish a healthy identity, even going through cancer.

To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.

To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com

To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

Most would assume that courage is the opposite of fear, but that is not so. Fear is a constricting emotional response to an expected negative outcome in the future.

The opposite of fear is joy. Joy is an expansive emotional response to an expected overwhelmingly positive outcome in every future situation. Lauren calls this irrational optimism.

In this podcast episode, she discusses fear and how to live in a perspective filled with curiosity and wonder using our imaginations to consider the best possible results instead of the worst.

In cancer we must increase our capacity to live with uncertainty. The first step is recognizing that some questions must go unanswered for a season, but we must still ask them. Questions unasked take route and turn the fear.

So take a moment and write down your questions. When you write them down they will no longer fill your mind. If there is one question that comes up over and over, write it down over and over. Some questions will be answered, and some won't.

Don't spend life full of uncertainty because you're waiting for an answer, write your questions down, and relieve that pressure in your mind. They don't have to be cancer related, just any area of life that feels uncertain, listen to your mind and write down the questions.

To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.

To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com

To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

We get manuals listing what to expect from the physical side effects of cancer and any medications or treatments we are on. There is so much information about the physical part of cancer, but nothing about the emotional toll cancer takes on the individual and the loved ones involved.

It is vital that we start recognizing the common emotional side effects of cancer so that those that are diagnosed in the future will be more prepared to heal from BOTH the physical and emotional.

Listen as Lauren talks about the three emotional side effects that are most common to the cancer journey.

To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.

To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com

To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

In this episode Lauren shares about how the language we choose around cancer is important and it needs to address the person not just as a patient.

To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.

To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com

To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

The intention of this podcast is to tell the story of cancer.
Not just my story, but the many others that have impacted the world.
We must not only heal physically from cancer, but emotionally as well.
The emotional side effects of cancer are never talked about and that needs to change to bring total healing to a person and their loved ones.

So come on this adventure with Lauren as she begins to change the cancer culture from the inside by facing the fear, abolishing the isolation and healing the broken identity that are the emotional side effects of cancer.

To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.

To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com

To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com

In this episode, Lauren shares her cancer story.
It was a bittersweet experience to be diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at the age of 37 for Lauren.  The thought of her young children and what that label would mean to them overwhelmed her. At the same time, she felt empowered, in a way she says, she had waited to be empowered her entire life.  She knew she had a cause to fight for. She knew there were hurting people, people who did not have the tools to escape the pain of their diagnosis, and because of her diagnosis, she fully understood what was needed to serve, support, and encourage them.

As a young mother with metastatic cancer, she understood the emotional burden that cancer brings into the life of a patient and his/her immediate family. Spouses carry a burden equal to that of the patient, while children analyze every stressful moment filled with fear. Cancer doesn’t just weaken a body, it takes a significant emotional toll on family members, and Lauren wanted to help.

In 2017, Lauren founded Adventure Therapy Foundation, a nonprofit that exists to give families impacted by cancer the opportunity to find healing through cancer coaching and emotional release in outdoor retreats. Since then, the nonprofit has helped hundreds of families deal with the emotional side effects of cancer and make memories.

If you would like to find out more about Lauren, go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com or about the nonprofit she founded www.adventurefound.org or about the cancer resource platform, go to www.risefound.org.