Comments

By Komen Denver, March 2, 2010 2:01 pm

No matter our background or culture, every woman is unique and different. So, when it comes to our health and how we care for ourselves, not all women can be approached the same way. For more than a decade the Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® has provided education, access and invaluable life-saving services to some of Colorado’s most underserved populations by hosting the Multicultural Conference.

This year’s conference had an amazing turn out of 300+ vibrant people from different ethnic backgrounds. The conference featured culturally appropriate workshops aimed at specific ethnic groups, informational sessions with medical professionals and food and entertainment – also offered the opportunity to understand our similarities and differences, share information, learn more about breast health care and meet women of diverse cultures and backgrounds.

The Multicultural Conference is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Women’s Wellness Connection and the Comprehensive Cancer Program.

Other members of the Conference’s planning committee included: the Asian Pacific Development Center, the Breast Cancer Network of Strength, the Center for African American Health, Clínica Tepeyac, the Colorado Cancer Research Program, the Colorado Asian Health and Education Promotion, the Deaf Community, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Jewish Family Services, Native American Cancer Research, the Philippine Nurses Association, Salud y Vida, and the Thai Buddhist Temple.

Take a look at images from the Multicultural Conference on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/komendenver

Comments

By Komen Denver, December 23, 2009 12:30 pm

Pink Yoga was created two years ago in order to create a safe and healing space for women with breast cancer to practice yoga and find community.

My name is Buffy Barfoot and I am a yoga teacher in Denver, My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all had breast cancer. When I began the process of creating this class, I could not have imagined the beauty and rich community that would unfold. The women who came quickly knitted into a supportive and diverse kula (community of the heart), and brought a current of vitality and wisdom into every class. They truly love, help and support each other without the heaviness and sedentary effects a support group can sometimes have. They are moving together, creating beauty together, and finding such nourishment as individuals within the fabric of a bigger garment.

My intention in creating Pink Yoga is to weave a space for these amazing women faced with this terrible disease to come together and harness their beauty and power and potential to heal. Pink Yoga addresses the needs of women at any stage of breast cancer, from those currently in treatment to those years into their remission.

The weekly practice includes meditation, breathing techniques that open energy channels in the body and encourage healing, and yoga postures designed to strengthen and free the upper body and open the heart. Every student is honored at the door, regardless of her experience, abilities, or limitations. The themes and contemplations offered for each class are built around issues related to breast cancer.

Pink Yoga provides a safe place to nourish all women, and allows the vibrant and positive healing to begin. Anyone is welcome, including those who do not have cancer but would like to support and be a pearl in this luminous strand of women.

Some key benefits to a regular yoga practice include:

-Increase in energy
-Heightened awareness and clarity
-Deeper sense of joy and connection to a larger current
-Proven decrease in menopausal symptoms sometimes induced by cancer treatments
-Increase in flexibility and muscle strength and decrease in joint pain
-Therapeutic benefits related to post-surgery
-Overall increase in health and well-being
-Increase in personal empowerment and self esteem

The important details:

Vital Yoga (Cherry Creek location)
2727 E 2nd Ave
Denver CO

2-3:30 p.m. every Saturday
For more information or questions contact Buffy Barfoot at 720-212-9191 or buffymiranda@gmail.com

Here’s what a few of the women who have participated in Pink Yoga have to say about their experience:

“It has been a gift to practice yoga with women in various stages of breast cancer treatment and survival. It feels like a very authentic way to share and grow a friendship. Who knew that taking Pink Yoga ‘for my friend with breast cancer’ would turn out to be one of the most enriching experiences of my life.” Nancy

“What Pink Yoga Means to me…
a community of like-minded women
some of us fight breast cancer in our bodies
others of us help in the fight by being…present and being strong.

Pink Yoga means reaching out to another being who is afraid and showing her that things might just turn out OK. Pink Yoga is also being the one who is afraid, and sharing the fear with the others, whose love and strength are palpable. Pink Yoga is being present in my own life and in the life of the community.” Sheila

Comments

By Komen Denver, September 2, 2009 12:10 pm

by Jane Lorimer

Having breast cancer is not an easy diagnosis to hear. The “C” word alone is a daunting hurdle to overcome under any terms.

Breast cancer comes in many forms—from stages to types of cancer and related types of treatments.   It assaults our physical health, our self image and our mental well-being.  When treatment requires more invasive treatments such as breast removal and /or chemotherapy – it takes yet another toll.

During these times especially, it is helpful to have a support network to help you through the treatments and keep you going.  I have no family to support me, so I turned to a local area breast cancer support group made up of women who were in various stages of diagnoses and treatments. These women come from diverse backgrounds and in all shapes and sizes. The common threads were we all have breast cancer and to me, they are all beautiful people.

My support group became my security blanket—a place to share my fears, tears and celebrations.  They helped me through chemo and radiation and the sheer emotional drain.  I could be myself and not feel I had to put on a happy face all the time.  Friends are great to have and believe me, they helped me through some tough times, but my support sisters were my greatest support – still are.

The bottom line is that family and friends can only listen to so many words – they need a break from the drama and the worry.  In support groups, we can laugh, talk and cry together about the same things over and over, and we understand why we need to do that.

Most oncology clinics can route you to a support group.   My regular group is at RMCC Aurora.  The biggest support group of all is through the Susan G. Komen Denver Affiliate.  They bring us education, financial aid to underserved women, opportunities for health fair access and research to help us survive this insidious disease.  It is an international bond of women fighting together for a common cause.