Commonweal Organization

Saturday I spent the day "in retreat" at the Yoga Healing Center in San Francisco, sponsored by the Commonweal organization for cancer patients. Among other things, Commonweal runs the Cancer Help Program, which addresses the unmet needs of people with cancer. I first heard about the center from reading Rachel Noami Remen's book, Kitchen Table Wisdom, back in 1997. It told the stories of those affected by cancer and how with the aid of Dr. Remen, they were able to connect to aspects of themselves that allowed their healing to unfold, whether that meant living longer or living more fully with the time they had left. That book, along with Stephen Levine's Healing into Life and Death, was a book I felt compelled to gift to people many times. I now realize I need to find another copy and re-read it.

The day was guided by the experience and love of the Commonweal staff and attended by a handful of other women affected by cancer. Sharing my story and hearing theirs, was poignant and touching. One of my challenges is to balance hope for the future with the threat of recurrence. Some women have been revisited two and three times, a devastating blow. The possibility is real and always hanging over one's head. We did yoga and had a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by Rebecca Katz. She joined us for a discussion of foods and recipes and we were all given her book, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. It was inspiring. At the end of the day, after a guided meditation, I left the center and walked along the streets of the Marina district to the water at Crissy field. I felt strong and warm (with blustering winds, fog rolling in and my jacket wrapped around my head) and hopeful that cancer won't define my life.