Ep #41: Cancer at Christmas

Today on the Truth & Dare Cancer podcast I’m talking about gifts to give yourself this Christmas. The holidays can be a strange time of year when you have cancer. Culture is telling you that Christmas is sparkles and twinkly lights and perfectly wrapped presents, which is totally not the case. Especially if you are going through or living with cancer.

What You’ll Learn From this Episode:

+  Why practicing the art of receiving is important for your healing

+  How to prioritize your time and money for gifts to give yourself

+  How to reach your highest healing potential

+  Why transforming your life through cancer is essential for your healing

+  Truth & Dare Quote: By not paying attention to what your cancer is teaching you, how else are you paying?

Featured on the Show:

+  Registration RE-OPEN as a gift to you for DARE Cancer coaching program: December 22-26, 2019

+  Episode TDC #37: Part 1: Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: Self-Love

+  Episode TDC #38: Part 2: Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: Self-Care

+  Episode TDC #39: Part 3: Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: Self-Heal

+   WANT TO CREATE A LIFE YOU DESERVE? Whether your goal is to get healthy, change careers, improve relationships, focus on self-care… You can create whatever you desire. If you need help figuring it out, it's time for private coaching, no more waiting for Monday.

Full Episode Transcript:

Welcome to Truth & Dare Cancer, the only podcast that teaches you how to supercharge your self-healer, navigate fear, and recalibrate your life by using cancer as a powerful catalyst for change. On this show, we get real about all things cancer. And now here’s your host, cancer survivor, mathematician and certified life coach, Ceca Mijatovic. Hello and welcome back! You are listening to the episode number 41 of the Truth & Dare Cancer Podcast. If you have not yet done so please subscribe to us on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast, and like us on Facebook. To access the show notes for this episode go to truthanddarecancer.com/podcast and select episode number 41. I’m your host Ceca Mijatovic - Merry Christmas! This podcast episode comes out on Christmas Day. I hope you’re able to enjoy taking care of yourself and spending time with your loved ones this week! I’m recording this episode 10 days in advance, as I’ll be with my loved ones in Florida, celebrating Christmas at the beach! A few years back my nieces and I even made a little snowman out the Florida’s powdery white sand, and it looked pretty amazing! I’m looking forward to the long strolls on the beach and taking it easy for a week or so of just relaxing, reading, spending time with family and staying in the continuous creative response, where you have full freedom of spontaneity to follow just the next best thing you feel like doing and not worrying about anything else at that moment. I love that so much – that’s the best gift I can give myself! I’ve been talking a lot with people this month about gifts you are giving yourself this Christmas. We often think of gifts as something you can wrap and put under the tree. And we spend so much time and energy in December choosing gifts for others. We may have trouble receiving gifts from others - much less from ourselves. We say things like, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” or “You didn’t have to do that.” Practicing the art of receiving is crucial when you have cancer. A lot of us are very bad at receiving! But we need to be open to the energy of receiving in order to receive treatment. We need to receive treatment in order to heal. Speaking of healing…There is not much talk of “healing” in the cancer world. There is “treatment” (surgery, chemo, radiation). There are scans and tests to check the presence of cancer. There is medication and side effects. And if you are cancer-free or should I say NED for five years, you are “cured.” There is no talk of healing. But in my own cancer journey, I crave healing. What makes you feel healed? What makes you feel whole and healthy again? Is it a snuggle with your cat, when all seems right with the world? A long heart-to-heart conversation with an old friend? A sitting by the fire and reading alone in the house? I want you to really think about this question. What simple joys make you feel whole and one step closer to healed? Now - once you have your answer - I want you to give this gift to yourself this week. Receive the wisdom of this answer and then create it for yourself. Give yourself the gift of that snuggle with your cat, that long phone call, that bubble bath - whatever it might be. Carve out the time and make it happen. Then consider giving yourself the gift of activating your own highest healing potential through my structured coaching community, DARE Cancer. When I was first diagnosed with uterine cancer, I was desperate for clarity. I longed for a group of people to share my anxieties and hopes with. I wanted some kind of framework to help me make meaning of all the darkness and uncertainty. So when I was designing DARE Cancer, my structured coaching community, I decided to build the program that I wish I’d had. The goal of DARE Cancer isn’t to tell you what to do, but to help you learn the tools that will support you throughout your cancer journey and long after. Past clients tell me that they’re living richer, most honest and more fulfilling lives because of coaching with me during their cancer journey. I hand picked and developed all the DARE Cancer lessons and tools based on my clients’ results as well as on my own cancer experience. I reopened the doors to DARE Cancer just for a few days this week, so you can give yourself a gift this holiday season. The doors close again on December 26. Today I want to talk about the biggest questions I’ve gotten from women interested in DARE Cancer. The first question is, “Ceca - I’m not working right now - how can I afford this membership fee plus all my medical bills and other expenses?” Here’s the way I look at it: DARE Cancer is an investment of $97 a month. THat’s about $3/day, or less than the cost of a Starbucks latte. If you’ve ever gone to therapy, or are in therapy now, you know that therapists charge anywhere from $125 to $500 for one hour. Seeing a therapist once a week for one month can cost from $500 to $2,000. DARE Cancer provides hours of content and support for just $97 a month - or less than the cost of one hour of therapy. (Now, I know that therapy is often covered by insurance - but if you’ve ever benefited from therapy, you know that the gains you can make in your mental health are PRICELESS. Coaching provides a similar return on investment, helping you to create and plan for the future, healing your body, mind, and spirit.) Another question I often ask potential clients is, “By not paying attention to what your cancer is teaching you, how else are you paying?” Without someone to coach you supportively through your healing journey, you may just be going through the motions: doctor’s appointments, scans, treatments. When you have no one to help you decide what kind of healing and what kind of life you want to intentionally design, you may just let life happen to you - instead of you designing your life. Another question women have been asking me is, “With family life, the work I can handle right now, and cancer treatments, how will I find the time to commit to the program?” I love this question, because it shows me that these women are taking their commitments and their energy levels seriously. Here’s what I want to offer: we make time for what we value. If you want to heal from your cancer - truly heal your body, mind and spirit from this ordeal - you need to invest the time to do that. Would you ask your doctor, “How will I find the time for chemo treatments?” probably not, if you believed that chemo was going to save your life. What could possibly be a better way to spend your time, than a few hours a month invested in healing your body, mind and spirit? This time will ensure that you are at your best for your loved ones - now AND in the future. Here’s the final thing I want to offer - if DARE Cancer has been calling to your soul, give yourself this gift. You may not even know the deeper “why” of why you need it. Here’s an example of that in action: A few years ago, I had read all of Martha Beck’s books and was Googling online for more to read. I came across her coaching certification and signed up immediately - without even knowing why I had done it. I went through the whole coach certification year, still not truly knowing *why* I was doing it. Then I got cancer, and started using all of my coaching tools to help me deal with it. Only then did I realize why I had signed up for coach certification - more than a year afterwards! You have to commit first to see the change you want to see. You have full control over your life and your level of happiness - regardless of your circumstances. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you, my dears. Give yourself the gift of healing this season with DARE Cancer - doors close tomorrow and then I’m off to focus on teach and supporting the clients who joined us. Join DARE Cancer today by going to www.truthanddarecancer.com/darecancer. The link is also in the show notes. Be sure to tune in to our next podcast episode in two weeks - I’m going to be talking about the concept of cancer as a metaphor for other toxic, invasive forces in your life. Let me know “What simple joys make you feel whole and one step closer to healed?” Just tag me on Instagram or Facebook using @truthanddarecancer handle -- I’d love to hear from you and I’ll be in touch. If you got value from this episode and know someone else that would get value from it as well, please share it with them. And in the meantime, I dare you to find the truth in your cancer! Thanks for tuning in. If you want to stop identifying with your cancer, you can download a free “You Are Not Your Cancer” guide at www.truthanddarecancer.com/podcastfreeguide.

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