The Spirituality Corner, located at the Levit Learning Center in the Ambulatory Care Building is featuring a new addition to its library, entitled: Why Not Me? Oh God Why Me?, written by M. D. Anderson Cancer Center cancer patient survivor, Sue Teall. In coming to terms with her diagnosis, she accepts that she is not sheilded from illness - hence the first part of the title, "Why not me?" The second part of the title, "Oh God Why Me?" is her response that signifies receiving the good news concerning the success of her treatment and her wonderment as to why she has received good news when so many others do not. Teall includes vignettes that offer insights into a number of life's issues, including: the power of prayer, God's tapestries of life, the unfairness of life; joy amid the struggles, obedience and self-doubt, and other topics. This is very much a story of cancer survivorship and should resonate with many of our readers.

The article is entitled" Cancer Doctors Dodge the Death Talk" published on the CNN.com/health website. Citing recent research, the authors highlight four points:
-Most cancer doctors do not discuss end-of-life care
-Those who had end-of-life talks are less likely to be on breathing machines
-About 7 percent of all patients in the study develop depression
-Sometimes doctors have trouble accepting that the end is near

The research supports the efforts being made to encourage doctors and patients to have end-of-life talks as early on in the treatment process as is possible and appropriate. From the perspective of a chaplain, I believe it would also be important for doctors to suggest chaplaincy resources to the patient and caregivers, so that they can receive the benefits of holistic care in the context of advanced care planning.

The CNN artcle can be viewed at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/06/15/cancer.talk.ap/index.html

My interest in this book stems from the fact that, with Dr. Lois Ramondetta, we co-authored a chapter entitled: "Spiritual Care of the Cancer Pain Patient". Our intent was to describe spirituality, and spiritual care in the context of the cancer patient's journey. We've included a number of referrals to various models of spiritual care, including assessment and interventions, with a focus on the multi-disicplinary context at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. We also included case examples to help illustrate the value of proper assessment of spiritual needs with the patient. We believe our contribution may be useful for clinicians, as well as chaplains, social workers, nurses, caregivers, and patients suffering from cancer. The name of the book is: Cancer Pain Management, by Michael J. Fisch and Allen W. Burton.

Having recently reviewed the book, Good Mourning: Getting Through Your Grief by Allan Hugh Cole, Jr. PhD, I offer the following recommendation:

By distinguishing between grief and mourning, this book serves the purpose of taking the reader on a journey through one's own grief, with its seemingly conflicting myriad of feelings and thoughts, gradually emerging so as to enter the process of mourning. This ritualistic process incorporates spiritual practices, integrating the loss to eventually enter a new phase of one's life. This is the transformative journey, according to Dr. Cole, which links our suffering with the suffering of God, as we give our pain to God and rely on the healing presence of the Holy Spirit. I highly recommend this book as a guide and devotional resource for the grief-stricken soul.
...Rev. David Jenkins, Director of Chaplaincy

Spirituality and Medicine: Frontiers of Care is a free forum open to the public. It will take place on Sunday April 27, 2008, 2:00 - 5:00p.m. at St. John's Persbyterian Church, 5020 W. Belfort Ave., Houston, TX (just off Loop 610). Forum panelists include: Phil Johnson, Memorial Herman
Susan Lange, Interface Samaritan Counseling Centers
Cheryl Smith, First United Methodist Church, Pasadena
Steven Spidell, Prebyterian Outreach to Patients
Pamela Taylor, texas Children's Hospital

For more information, call Rev. Dr. James S. Curie, associate dean of the Houston Extension Program at 713-965-0766.

A web-based educational program is available through EndLink, as a resource for end of life care education. Sponsored by the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, the site was developed with funding from a National Cancer Institute Grant. Rather than providing answers, the site attempts to offer frameworks for thinking about caring for the dying individuals and their families. The content of the site was written primarily for health care professionals who work with the dying patients and their families. The material presented encompasses the complex, multidimensional considerations involved in caring for individuals at the end of life. You can reach this site through the following web address: http://ednlink.lurie.norhtwestern.edu/index.cfm

In an article entitled, "Exposing the Spiritual Crisis of Modern Medicine", Dr. Rachel Remen offers these words for reflection: Over time an illness can become a spiritual path. If one genuinely and unflinchingly meets the difficulties of an illness, especially a serious illness, the person you are at the end can be larger than the person you were going in, and all those around you can become larger people and live deeper lives as well. This is possible even in the absence of cure. We can't cure everything or even most things. Cure was the great hope when the age of scientific medicine burst in on us - we were going to be able to fix it all. We now know that a great many things can't be fixed, but even so, the possibility of growing beyond our limitations, of becoming able to live more deeply and passionately with greater meaning is always there, even in the absence of cure. It's possible to live a good life even though it is not an easy life. Dr. Remen speaks from her own experience as one diagnosed with Crohn's disease fifty-two years ago...

You are welcome to join us on our community forum message board to discuss and reflect upon Dr. Remen's words of wisdom.

The Annual Loving Hearts Caring Hands Awaards Dinner is sponsored by the Chaplaincy Fund Inc. for the purpose of financially supporting various programs of the Chaplaincy Department at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

This year's event will take place on Tuesday, March 25, 6:60-9:30 p.m. at the Houstonian Hotel, 111 North Post Oak Lane in Houston. We will be honoring The Honorable James A. Baker, III and Susan Baker. Honorary Co-Chairs are Dr. and Mrs. John Mendelsohn.

For more information call 713-862-8482, or visit our web-site at: www.chaplaincyfund.org.

In her book, "Broken Yet Beloved", author Sharon Thornton describes the gift of healing in these poignant terms: "Healing does not come from outside the individual like a kind of application, nor is it drawn up from the inner resources of an individual. In distinction to this individualistic notion of personhood is the growing recognition of the social nature and construction of the self and its corporate dimension. In this view autonomy is not absent, it is contextualized; to be a person means to be part of a people. The contextual self that is formed, nurtured, and revealed in relationship finds its first and final referent in what we call God. This understanding does not disregard human agency, but it also considers men and women as receivers. In this view healing is a gift. Healing is something to be received, not something to be grasped or engineered. From this perspective healing comes not from inner strength and self-understanding alone, but through just relationships that are hospitable to the healing presence of the holy. The reign of God, the realm of the holy, is the locus of healing..."

In reponse to this entry, I invite you to join us in a discussion on our community message board, this entry will be under the heading: "Something Worth Considering".

Chaplain and cancer survivor Debra Jarvis provided the Texas Medical Center chaplains with her insights, many of which she has included in her recent book, It's Not about the Hair. Jarvis provides a unique perspective as one who provides pastoral support to those who are ill, and has faced a life-threatening diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. I found her to be engaging, humorous, and insightful. I've included below a few of her insights which I jotted down during her presentation. You can also join me in a discussion on our community forum, where I have a message tree entitled: "survivor vs. pilgrim".

".....the medical aspect is such a a small part of the cancer experience."

" ...we connect through our vulnerabilities."

"...be alert to the gifts in the cancer experience - no one can tell you what they may be, or when or where they will show up - just be alert."

" ....in terms of transformation in the context of a life-threatening illness like cancer - people are tempted to go back to the way it was before the illness, which is to lose the precious opportunity to learn and grow from adversity."