Elana Rosenbaum, MS, LICSW
When Elana Rosenbaum, MS, LICSW, a meditation instructor with Dana-Farber's Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrated Therapies, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1995, practicing meditation and other stress-reduction techniques helped her through her chemotherapy, subsequent stem cell transplant, and lymphoma recurrence a few years ago.
At the time of her diagnosis, Rosenbaum was teaching stress reduction at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare, and Society in Worcester. After her successful treatment, she wrote and published a book for other cancer patients titled Here For Now: Living Well With Cancer through Mindfulness, which was published in April 2005.
"I was so grateful to be well," says Rosenbaum. "I wanted to give back and show other patients it is possible to be well, even with cancer."
Rosenbaum's book combines narrative with various mind-body exercises, such as "Letting Go" and "Stress Hardiness," as well as meditations including "Awareness of Breathing Meditation" and "Awareness of Thought."
"Meditation is about being in the present moment," she notes. "It's about facing what arises with greater acceptance. This helps you focus on what you can do, rather than what you can't. As a result, you bring out your personal strengths."
According to Rosenbaum, patients attest to the benefits of this ancient practice. "They tell me how much meditation has made a difference in their lives; how it calms them and helps them focus on their priorities," she says. "My years of teaching stress reduction showed me how well we can be, even in the midst of adversity. Illness may be inevitable, but suffering is not."
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