Cancer: an avenue to ‘The Joy of Living’

In learning to deal with cancer with a diary, a book was born.

Story: Barry Eaton and Anne Morjanoff

When Barry was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and thyroid, our joint effort evolved slowly. Due to the bombardment of medical information, Barry made audio recordings. There was so much information, it became overwhelming. Using an audio diary proved indispensable. With it, we revisited the consultations or differing advice for clarification.

The diary became a weekly update of Barry’s experiences as he recounted the physical effects of treatment or noted responses to emotional ups and downs through various stages of therapy. Anne kept notes for follow-up on reactions Barry had to treatment or to help him process issues such as blistering skin on his neck during radiation.

Barry navigated hurdles with everyone from practitioners to oncologists to dentists and dietitians. Eventually, Barry opted to combine mainstream and holistic methods. His saving grace was a program of meditative practices and natural healing therapies, including hypnotherapy, visualisation, and frequent sessions on a crystal healing bed (loaned to him from a member of the John of God Centre in Brazil).

“The Joy of Living: Postponing the Afterlife” wasn’t in our thoughts until much later. Our main objective was full attention to the treatment process and significant events. At first, they communicated with Skype and phone, but when treatment began in earnest, Anne went to be with Barry.

Her role came to the forefront when Barry couldn’t think clearly. She knew the bigger picture and kept him on track. While he dealt with everyday effects of his condition, she helped with decisions, such as whether to remove the other half of his thyroid.

Personality foibles came into play and had to be handled. Writing from personal viewports helped us compare notes and clarify memories. We included post-cancer activities such as dietary changes and a much-needed holiday. When it came to jotting down important issues, and recording our experiences, however, we understood the far-reaching potential of passing on useful hints to others on a similar path.

We found a way through this life crisis—from facing initial fears to recovery. Also important was getting back to our “normal” routine—though we wondered if anything would be normal again. We are now writing about travel and cancer together.

About The Writers

WELL-KNOWN RADIO AND TV personality at ABC and commercial stations in Sydney, Australia, Barry Eaton also is an author, journalist, and documentarian. Anne Morjanoff was a caregiver for her mother and father and eventually made it a career. A student of numerology and symbolism, she

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Whenever most of us hear a sneeze, we have an urge to say, “Bless you.” It doesn’t matter if you know the other person, it’s an unwritten rule you must say it. There are several theories on how that practice got started.

One is it came from a time when people thought the soul was formed of air residing in the head. According to the Everyday Mysteries website, “a sneeze, therefore, might accidentally expel the spirit from the body unless God blessed you and prevented this from occurring. Some ancient cultures also thought sneezing forced evil spirits out of the body, endangering others because these spirits might now enter their bodies. The blessing was bestowed to protect both the person who sneezed

Again, this was rejected, particularly by people who use lots of pepper and wanted to keep their souls.

A more recent idea is your heart stops and “Bless you” gets it going again. That doesn’t happen, either. Scienceabc.com says. “However, it feels like the heart has stopped because immediately prior to the sneeze, a great deal of pressure builds up in the chest, and that short-lived spike affects the rhythm of your heartbeat…it certainly doesn’t keep the heart from beating.”

There are many other fun facts about sneezing or “sternutation” if you want to impress somebody. For example, sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 mph and the wet spray ve feet. Also, many of us sneeze when exposed to sudden bright light.

Back to the practice of saying, “Bless you.” It goes back to the sixth century from Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great). At that time, bubonic plague (the Black Death) was rampant and claimed an estimated 25 million to 50 million people. rst symptoms of Black Death was coughing or sneezing, so Pope Gregory I suggested people say, “God bless you” or “Bless you” in the hopes the sneezer would not succumb to the disease. Or, maybe it was t of sternutation, your soul won’t escape and your com/32306-does-your-heart-really-stop-when-you-sneeze.html

“Does Your Heart Stop When You Sneeze?” scienceabc.com, July 2017. scienceabc.com/humans/does-your-heart-stop-when-you-sneeze.html

“True or False: Your Heart Stops Beating When You Sneeze (and Other Common Beliefs About Sneezing,” Health Library, Winchester Hospital, Winchester, Massachusetts. winchesterhospital.org/health-library/article?id=157001