Periodically I hear about someone new in my circle of friends who has been diagnosed with cancer. Everything I have read and experienced leads me to believe three things about surviving cancer:

1. That the patient needs to feel like an important member of the health care team. His or her satisfaction with the treatment plan works as well as any medication.
2. A patient needs to take charge of the healing process (mentally and spiritually, and not just physically.)
3. He needs to embrace a lifestyle that cherishes and encourages the immune system (the act of choosing what that means for each individual--diet, meditation, massage, music, yoga, etc.--is as important as any of the adjunct therapies he picks.)

Personally, my diet was good before I was diagnosed. I have added yoga and therapeutic journaling. Both comfort me. Both help me move to a climate of health. When you hear of someone who received bad health news, share the four E's with them. They need to

• Embrace a healthy lifestyle.
• Enhance their immune system.

Help make these goals a reality by:

• Expressing deepest

Emotion, either by talking about these deepest experiences with someone who allows you to be totally open, or by journaling. Putting those feelings down on paper has a healing quality, which is hard to understand until you try it.