I share my blogs on Facebook as well and that is generally where I get the most comments. Per my previous blog and the dream about the woodpecker, my friend (and fellow lung cancer patient) Dora Medina-Flagg had this to say: ‘Interesting dreams- especially about the woodpecker. It gave me chills, because as part of my Native American healing, I was given a woodpecker feather and told to hold it near known tumors and focus on the Creator removing my cancer in the same way a woodpecker gets rid of rotting wood while looking for bugs.’
Well, Dora’s comment gave me chills as well. I decided a bit back that I would begin practicing my own form of immunotherapy through visualization. I mean, why wait for Western medicine to come up with a way to ‘harness my immune system’? It’s mine, right? My mind, my body, my cancer, my immune system? Who better than me to initiate healing?
Of course, I’ve been talking to this body of mine all along. However, I’m not sure I could see the trees for the forest.
Cancer has the advantage for a multitude of reasons. And certainly foremost is its ability to spread on a microscopic level. Not only is it difficult to detect, you can never be sure if you’ve gotten all those little malignant cells out of there.
Previously my visualization was rather vague and it occurred to me that maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention to detail. Thinking of the whole tumor instead of those individual cancer cells.
Well, now I’m weeding the garden. Going after every little invasive seed and sprout. And it works like this:
I visualize a single cancer cell (this is going to be an ongoing project). And then I choose my mode of destruction.
Sometimes I pop them between my teeth, like a tapioca pearl. Scoop them out (hey, Woodpecker) like punky wood. Squash, smash, pry, burn. Stomp. Rip. Pinch, Pull. Pick. Tear, toss, turn inside out. Annihilate. One–at–a–time.
Think of it as a pseudo Buddhist (if also violent) form of practice. A meditation of sorts but with a let’s blow this place to pieces bent.
It might just work.
*News Flash! Dora just wrote me this: ‘Woodpeckers are significant to Native Americans because they signify purification of the object upon which they are feeding.’
Absolutely perfect. Cancer, be gone. I’m going to purify the shit out of you.
🙂
life and breath: outliving lung cancer 
I LOVE THIS! Thank you for sharing! I am in the same boat right now and have not been doing visualization like I used to, this has motivated me to get going! I have several new mets and am not sure the chemo IM Power 150 is working like I had hoped. I’m going to crush these suckers today and every day moving forward.
Sending healing vibes your way,
Dawn
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
Crush em!
xo Linnea
I like to visualize the cancer cells returning to healthy cells. Win-win.
You are a kinder, gentler, person than I. I don’t trust the little buggers but I am happy to replace them with less aggressive cells. The kind that don’t greedily grab space in my lungs 😉
xo Linnea
5 years ago this week I was diagnosed with what they thought would be stage one lung cancer. I am a very strong minded woman and have always believed mind over matter. For some reason it didn’t scare me because I had an odd thing happen 4 months before. In 2011 my heart went crazy I died a couple of times and ended up with a pacemaker. Terrible AFib the type that can kill you. So I am going along for two years with the heart medication doing its job! But then for some reason in Oct of 2012 my pacemaker started to hurt! After waiting for a couple of weeks I called my cardiologist and he said go to the hospital and let them check it. I did and it was fine and the pain stopped right after the X-ray! I thought hmmm that’s strange. Then in Feb of 2013 itvstarted to hurt again but this time it turned red and was hot to the touch. After a week went back in the hospital to check and it was fine and it quit hurting immediately however I got the call the next morning at 7 from my regular GP who said I had to come to his office immediately and refused to tell me why until I got there. I walked in at 7:45 and he said, “Deb you have lung cancer”! I thought God really loves to mess with me and these odd yeas were killers for me. Since a series of events that are what books are made of I ended up with a fabulous and best Thoracic surgeon in the Washington DC, Northern Va, Md area! We met several times before surgery and he said to me! “I want to explain to you that a one centimeter tumor has 1 billion cancer cells. Whether removed or chemo or anything else, that thousands scape and hide and that you will always get cancer again. Might be a years, 5 years 20 years but t it will come back because they are smart and they hide!”
I said to him,”How old are you?” He said 42! I laughed and said you have never been sick have you? He said no! I then told him that he should be ashamed of his himself tellng patients that garbage even if it’s true? I said I am strong so it doesn’t bother me but there will be those that will die because of lack of hope. He promised not to do it again?
Knock on wood it isn’t back in my lungs yet. I hope know where else but I am back in an odd year so you never know. But what I do know is that the mind is a strong tool! Use it against cancer…..it can help you.
Best of luck to you and everyone fighting this miserable ass disease!
Deborah
No one should take away your hope. Ever. Good luck to you as well ❤
xo Linnea
I too am trying to get back to meditation. I am scared in a way I have never been before. I have made it 4 years but had to take a break from treatment that was working in order to treat my brain with radiation. Patient heal thyself is all I can manage to say sometimes. Peace and so much love to all of us.
Yes, Regina, yes. And I am sorry that you are scared but I totally get it too. Go after those cells one at a time. Like knitting only un-perling.
xo Linnea
When I was in pre-surgical chemo treatment for my stage III lung cancer I was going to spinning class regularly – where I received so much positive support. The one really strong memory I have though is I would close my eyes and literally race against cancer – and always win!! It gave me such a sense of strength and hope. Best wishes Linnea and everyone else in this race/battle! XO Karen