Seeds for Change Wellness
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Kelly's Story
Kelly's Story...
I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in February 2005 - almost 3 months after giving birth to my first
child. The cancer had already spread to my bones & liver and the prognosis was not good. I immediately
began chemotherapy. I was 30 years old, had a newborn daughter and a husband that needed me so I
wanted to do everything I could to beat this disease. I was not going to let it get the best of me. I started
reading, surfing the internet, doing research, talking to other cancer patients --- I quickly found out I needed to
be my own advocate. The oncologists and chemotherapy, I believed, could help but they certainly weren't the
only weapons I needed to fight this disease and change the long term prognosis.
I began making lifestyle changes --so I started working on my diet - after a lot of research I found the one that
made the most sense for me and I became an organic vegetarian -- I also ate fish and on rare occasion,
organic chicken. I quit drinking alcohol except for the occasional glass of red wine. I became very conscious of
every thing I would put into my body and wanted to make sure what I was eating and drinking was actually
helping fight my disease.
A couple months into my chemo treatments, I was exploring other alternative treatments and started hearing
about Reiki. My hospital breast cancer coordinator referred me to a woman who was a Reiki practitioner, who
in turn,referred me to Susan Anderson, who she thought could help me. I placed a call to Susan, who ironically
told me she had just opened a wellness center and was having an open house the following day. I really
believe timing is everything!
My husband and I went to the open house and got to learn a little more about Reiki. Susan gave me a
demonstration. I walked away feeling so relaxed, I gave her a call after the open house and scheduled my first
reiki session. I really didn't know what to expect. All I can say is that I left that session feeling like I had more
energy and just more relaxed. If I really wanted to get the maximum benefit from the reiki sessions, Susan told
me that I would need to come 1-2 times a week at least for the beginning. I was not working during my chemo
treatments so money was a bit tight but I was very fortunate when my father and stepmother gave me a
wonderful gift of unlimited reiki sessions for the next 6 months.
Over the course of the next 6 months, I saw Susan 1-2 times a week for Reiki. Reiki helped in so many ways - it
taught me to focus on achieving balance -- not to just worry or think about the physical body but also to work on
the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects and to maintain a balance among them all. And, Susan, was such
an invaluable resource not only through the reiki sessions but she provided guidance on nutrition, research on
supplements, provided CDs and books on cancer and healing, on meditation & visualization. I walked away
from every meeting with her learning something new about myself and learning new tools that I could implement
in my daily life.
The most important thing I learned is that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we react
to the situation and we can take control of our own healing by balancing the mind, body and spirit. Reiki along
with some other tools like meditation, yoga and visualization has really helped me work on my "whole self".
On October 8, 2005, eight months after my initial diagnosis, test results showed the cancer was in remission.
We were in shock and disbelief - my doctors couldn't believe it either. Our prayers had been answered and I
felt so blessed that I was going to be able to enjoy the upcoming holidays with my family. I truly believe Susan
and the reiki sessions were instrumental in becoming healthy again.
Will I ever be able to sit back and not worry about the cancer coming back? No, of course not. I will have to
fight this for the rest of my life, but now I have the tools and will continue to work on balancing my "whole self"
and reiki will always be a part of that for me.
Kelly Pomrinke, 12/05
I was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in February 2005 - almost 3 months after giving birth to my first
child. The cancer had already spread to my bones & liver and the prognosis was not good. I immediately
began chemotherapy. I was 30 years old, had a newborn daughter and a husband that needed me so I
wanted to do everything I could to beat this disease. I was not going to let it get the best of me. I started
reading, surfing the internet, doing research, talking to other cancer patients --- I quickly found out I needed to
be my own advocate. The oncologists and chemotherapy, I believed, could help but they certainly weren't the
only weapons I needed to fight this disease and change the long term prognosis.
I began making lifestyle changes --so I started working on my diet - after a lot of research I found the one that
made the most sense for me and I became an organic vegetarian -- I also ate fish and on rare occasion,
organic chicken. I quit drinking alcohol except for the occasional glass of red wine. I became very conscious of
every thing I would put into my body and wanted to make sure what I was eating and drinking was actually
helping fight my disease.
A couple months into my chemo treatments, I was exploring other alternative treatments and started hearing
about Reiki. My hospital breast cancer coordinator referred me to a woman who was a Reiki practitioner, who
in turn,referred me to Susan Anderson, who she thought could help me. I placed a call to Susan, who ironically
told me she had just opened a wellness center and was having an open house the following day. I really
believe timing is everything!
My husband and I went to the open house and got to learn a little more about Reiki. Susan gave me a
demonstration. I walked away feeling so relaxed, I gave her a call after the open house and scheduled my first
reiki session. I really didn't know what to expect. All I can say is that I left that session feeling like I had more
energy and just more relaxed. If I really wanted to get the maximum benefit from the reiki sessions, Susan told
me that I would need to come 1-2 times a week at least for the beginning. I was not working during my chemo
treatments so money was a bit tight but I was very fortunate when my father and stepmother gave me a
wonderful gift of unlimited reiki sessions for the next 6 months.
Over the course of the next 6 months, I saw Susan 1-2 times a week for Reiki. Reiki helped in so many ways - it
taught me to focus on achieving balance -- not to just worry or think about the physical body but also to work on
the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects and to maintain a balance among them all. And, Susan, was such
an invaluable resource not only through the reiki sessions but she provided guidance on nutrition, research on
supplements, provided CDs and books on cancer and healing, on meditation & visualization. I walked away
from every meeting with her learning something new about myself and learning new tools that I could implement
in my daily life.
The most important thing I learned is that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we react
to the situation and we can take control of our own healing by balancing the mind, body and spirit. Reiki along
with some other tools like meditation, yoga and visualization has really helped me work on my "whole self".
On October 8, 2005, eight months after my initial diagnosis, test results showed the cancer was in remission.
We were in shock and disbelief - my doctors couldn't believe it either. Our prayers had been answered and I
felt so blessed that I was going to be able to enjoy the upcoming holidays with my family. I truly believe Susan
and the reiki sessions were instrumental in becoming healthy again.
Will I ever be able to sit back and not worry about the cancer coming back? No, of course not. I will have to
fight this for the rest of my life, but now I have the tools and will continue to work on balancing my "whole self"
and reiki will always be a part of that for me.
Kelly Pomrinke, 12/05