Cancer Fighters Thrive

SUMMER 2015

Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.

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our hearts and minds if we make our requests known to God." Jehovah's Witness patients who adhere to the Bible teaching that blood transfusions are not permitted can request help from a Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) member; HLC members serve as liaisons between patients and physicians to facilitate discussions about alternatives to blood transfusions. "Many bloodless surgeries are successfully performed at CTCA and other hospitals around the world as doctors use their skills without transfusions, and I help patients understand their options," says Gordon Slomba, a member of the HLC that works with patients at CTCA. While certain groups of patients may have questions about how to follow traditions within the walls of a hospital, almost all are eager to connect with spiritual leaders who will listen, explains Reverend Homer Walker, a Baptist minister in Hammond, Indiana, who has learned from the pastoral care team at CTCA in Zion, Illinois. "Death and dying are tough issues, and I really try to be more of a listener than a talker because I don't have the answers," Rev. Walker says. "I try to just make myself available and present for them." One of the ways he facilitates conversations is by fnding ways to talk to patients alone and vice versa. "Sometimes patients may want to discuss an issue that they do not want family members to hear, or loved ones may share privately with me that they do not understand why the patient is angry and lashing out. In both cases, they usually just need someone to listen." Although delving into situations like this may seem daunting to many people, Rev. Walker believes he is the lucky one. He is continually inspired by the people he visits who fnd the courage to keep praying in the midst of sufering. "It is easy for people who are healthy to talk about how much they love God and how faithful they are, but I have a chance to be with people who are facing potentially life- threatening illnesses and still talking about the goodness of God," Rev. Walker says. "Tat blesses me. Tey lif me up because I know their faith is real, and I want to be there when I am facing the same circumstances someday in the future." T A K E C O N T R O L O F Y O U R L Y M P H E D E M A stop M a n a g e y o u r l y m p h e d e m a w i t h s t y l e , g r a c e a n d c o n f i d e n c e ! Ly m p h e D I VA s a r m s l e e v e s , g a u n t l e t s a n d g l o v e s a r e f a s h i o n a b l e , c o m f o r t a b l e , b r e a t h a b l e a n d d e s i g n e d t o p r o v i d e t h e s t a n d a r d g r a d u a t e d 2 0 - 3 0 m m H g a n d 3 0 - 4 0 m m H g c o m p r e s s i o n u s e d t o m a n a g e l y m p h e d e m a . I n a w o r l d o f b e i g e , w e o f f e r c o l o r, c r y s t a l s a n d a v a s t s e l e c t i o n o f p a t t e r n s . O u r g a r m e n t s a r e n o t o n l y b e a u t i f u l b u t t h e y f e e l g r e a t t o o ! E a c h g a r m e n t i s k n i t w i t h 3 6 0 ° s t r e t c h , i n f u s e d w i t h A l o e Ve r a a n d i s m o i s t u r e w i c k i n g f o r t r u e c o m f o r t & f i t . D o n 't c o m p r o m i s e y o u r s t y l e , t a k e c o n t r o l o f y o u r l y m p h e d e m a t o d a y ! W W W . L Y M P H E D I VA S . C O M

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