A newsletter of hope and connection for the Cancer Community.

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Sunstone Update
monthly newsletter
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Leadership Message
It's Not Too Late to Buy Your Toast to Hope Tickets
News and Events
Don't Dread the Holidays
Healing Touch
Cancer CAREx
Volunteer
Thank You to Our Donors
Speaking of Sunstone....
Sunstone Gift Certificates
End of Year Giving
Wish List & Opportunities

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Leadership Message

Hello!

Happy Holidays to you! I find that I cannot resist the metaphor of darkness and light as our winter in the desert approaches. It’s the twinkling of the winter lights that is the best. A tree or a string of lights on a house, a menorah, or candlelight at a family dinner gathering––all seem to be beautifully, even urgently, responding to the winter darkness. Perhaps one of the loveliest aspects is that almost everything looks beautiful shining in the darkness—much more so than in the brightest of lights.

Winter can be seen as a time for preparation; the season for resting and slowing down. This is particularly important when we are stressed. We live in a culture that is very commercially oriented toward the holidays with the pressure for everything to be just perfect. When we’ve been touched by cancer, we sometimes feel this even more because of our fear of the future.

I’ve got an alternative for you to consider: being in the now, the this of each day instead of the chaotic busyness of holiday perfection.

If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you have been touched by cancer. That means you are a survivor, a loved one, a caregiver or a friend of someone who has cancer. At Sunstone, we have a way for you to appreciate others and yourself while contributing to a good cause. We recently noted that there is some confusion about who is eligible to access our touch therapies and classes. If you've been touched in some way by cancer, you are eligible. Take the time during the holidays to enjoy one of our treatments; while you are giving yourself the gift of peace and good feelings in your body, you are supporting Sunstone.

Winter brings more candlelight. When we light the candle, it can be seen as hope––sometimes large and sometimes flickering––that we as co-survivors and survivors feel on this journey called cancer. The darkness cannot put out that light. It inspires awe: the ability to see the sacred in the everyday because we are truly tending to it.

I wish you a season of awe and wonder.

Patricia Harmon

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It's Not Too Late to Buy Your Toast to Hope Tickets

This event will be held on November 6th at Skyline Country Club. This will be a black tie (admired but not required) affair, ladies and gentlemen, so get out your tuxedos and gowns, dust off your tiaras and prepare for the festivities! Entertainment will include vignettes from The Rogue Theatre and jazz by the Friends of Sunstone. Also on the menu: wine tasting and superb cuisine! Tickets are $150 per person. To purchase tickets, call Anne Clark at 520-749-1928.

And don't forget the Pick A Prize raffle! For more information about our fabulous gift packages to be raffled off on November 6th, get on our Web site and check it out! Even if you can't make it to the event, you can still win.

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News and Events

Sunstone's calendar is now available for download and print.

Simply click here for the
November / December 2009 calendar
in pdf format.

Caregiver Gathering

It can be very difficult for caregivers to take time for themselves. It is very easy to get caught up in the demanding routine of making appointments, doing chores, driving back and forth to treatments, and daily care. Caregivers often forget about their own needs, or put them on the back burner. It's also easy to become isolated and cut off from other people, and Sunstone is looking for ways to help. So, on the third Tuesday of each month, over the lunch hour, we offer a gathering just for individuals who are caregivers. This is an informal group where we will share information with one another, provide support, and just be together.

The next gathering will be held at TMC on November 17th from Noon to 1:30 p.m. In December we will meet on the 15th. Please take some time for yourself, bring a bag lunch, and join us!

Yuma News

Our Ask The Doctor About Naturopathic Medicine, presented in Spanish, was a big success. We had 33 people in attendance at Dr. Margarita Hernandez Guzman's program on September 24th. Dr. Hernandez Guzman specializes in helping cancer survivors with naturopathic approaches as part of their treatment. We congratulate her on recently opening her own clinic in the Foothills area of Yuma, and our supporters look forward to her next presentation!

The Yuma Resource Center and Francisca Montalvo, one of our volunteers, were nominated for the Heart of Yuma award, which was presented by the Yuma Community Foundation on October 27th. Sunstone was nominated as Outstanding Nonprofit and Francisca was nominated as Yuma's Outstanding Volunteer. All nominees of the Heart of Yuma receive a beautiful gift, and enjoy a wonderful evening of recognition, fun, and delicious desserts at Yuma's Civic Center.

We will be welcoming new visitors to the Resource Center on December 5th with our Saturday morning Sunstone Sampler. We will introduce newcomers, winter visitors and permanent Yuma residents to Sunstone's various programs and services, and let people sample some personal touch therapies from our practitioners.

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Don't Dread the Holidays

I remember a very depressing Christmas when I was a little girl. My mother was hit with an attack of intense pain from gall stones. I remember her sister, my Aunt Pat, came to our house and helped my brothers and me with meals, etc. I have such a dark, sad memory of that particular Christmas, because we were used to the traditional ones with a big tree, lots of presents, great food, and family visits. Poor Mom lay in her bed in pain, and I just wanted to celebrate Santa's arrival! These same expectations at holiday time can cause us stress and anxiety instead of joy.

Many experts have suggestions for getting through the holidays, and some are specific to cancer survivors.

1) Recognize your limits, and stick by them. Your loved ones will understand if you cannot make all of the social gatherings. You might have to prioritize what, where, and with whom.

2) Shop online. What an easy way to deal with gift giving. You can avoid crowds and still get the job done. And don't forget how wonderful gift cards are.

3) If you want to decorate, recruit help. Family, friends, or a neighbor can help you so you can reserve your energy.

4) Don't be too proud to cater instead of cooking. Some supermarkets prepare the complete holiday meal, deliver it, and charge reasonable prices.

5) Give a donation to your favorite charity. Your generosity to a homeless shelter or food bank can give you a great sense of happiness and fulfillment.

6) If this is your first holiday dealing with cancer, find enjoyment wherever you can today, and don't dwell on previous celebrations when you had perfect health.

7) Embrace your emotions. Having cancer can make you feel depressed, fearful, and isolated. Recognize that these feelings are normal, and don't force yourself to be happy just because it's a holiday.

8) Celebrate life. You know you are a cancer survivor as soon as you receive your diagnosis. You are living with cancer each day, and you still can find hope and joy in your relationships, your faith, and your plans for a healthier future.

Mary Monk, Yuma Resource Center

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Healing Touch

Healing Touch is a biofield therapy, an energy-based approach to health and healing. The non-invasive technique employs touch to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields to promote physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing.

We are deeply appreciative of our Healing Touch volunteers who provide this touch therapy to survivors and their loved ones at our Resource Centers and in the infusion room where survivors are receiving chemotherapy. We've recently clarified our policy for Healing Touch volunteers.

Volunteers are welcome who are at the Apprentice Level of Healing Touch (having completed Level IV), actively pursuing certification, and receiving supervision by a mentor.

Please consider this wonderful modality as part of your healing plan.

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Cancer CAREx

Sunstone Cancer Support Centers is in partnership with FitCenter, a speciality fitness center, to provide an exercise rehabilitation program for cancer survivors when their treatment is complete.

The objective of CAREx is for survivors to get to know their bodies after diagnosis and treatment and build endurance, strength and confidence. Each participant begins with a one-hour fitness assessment/personal training session to establish baseline health and fitness status, review treatment history, and define personalized goals. A customized exercise prescription is then designed including cardio conditioning, strength building, core conditioning, flexibility, and joint range of motion. The trainer provides personalized instruction, supervision, and motivation during each small group session.

For more information, call the FitCenter at (520) 571-7000.

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Volunteer

Volunteer Spotlight

Penny Offholter––You may see her smiling face at the TMC reception desk or filling in at our NE center, or––on a Saturday––managing the wig washing activites. No matter where she is, Penny wears many hats for Sunstone.

Penny moved to Tucson from Northern California in January 2007. Being new to an area is always a challenge, but Penny knew that she wanted to get involved with something, she just didn't know what. Then a friend who was a cancer survivor told her about Sunstone and the many services she'd utilized, and suggested that Penny l volunteer for Sunstone.

Having a daughter-in-law and a brother who had battled cancer and survived, she thought working with Sunstone just might be a good way to give back. She attended Breakfast at Sunstone and has been actively involved with us ever since as a resource center receptionist. In addition, Penny was recently asked to be the wig washing coordinator, a position she graciously accepted.

In her spare time (and we don't leave her much!), Penny enjoys quilting, gourd art, stained glass crafts, and painting. As with all of our volunteers, we are truly blessed to have her as such an integral part of the Sunstone organization.

Volunteer Holiday Party

The holidays are just around the corner and it's the time of year for reflection on all that has been accomplished and thank all who have helped us along the way. And in that spirit, we will be hosting a Volunteer Holiday Party on December 8th at our NE resource center to say thank you to our volunteers for all they have given us throughout the year. They are truly amazing people and our heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of them.

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Thank You to Our Donors

Adeline Baker Arizona Oncology Associates Deborah Barajas Stephanie Bianchi Robert & Marilyn Billups Christa Bol Terry Branz Colleen Carlson Laurie Chen Sharon Combo David & Marcia Davenport Beverly Davies Debra Davis Terry Lee Davis Nelson & Shannon Dexter Kathleen Donnelly-Welsh James & Faria Dretler Sandra Ellis Thomas Figueroa Marilyn & John Gourley Ruth Hammell Mary Harrington Vade & Thomas Henderson Alice Hinton Margaret Hoeft Marlene & Douglas Hunt Barbara James Christina Johnson Richard Jones Lisa Koltun

Nancy Lanham Patty & Robert LeCompte Elaine Litvack Gloria & Bob MacDonald Ronald & Carol Menier Mary & Derek Monk Nadzieja Family Trust Herman Nickel Glenda Parrott Judith & Gene Paul Pima County Ecap Aida Quiroz Jose Riojas Dolores Rivas Alice Rose Ellen Ruark Theresa & Edward Saltzman Constance Sarther Jere Schultz Deborah Selover Andrea Simons Elizabeth Spengler Thomas Stefanek Ann Stein Marcella Thompson Town West Design Development Inc. Arianne Vanderklooster Oscar & Maritza Villasenor Gloria Wedlake Priscilla Williams Helga & James Withers

Thank You to Our Toast to Hope Sponsors Arizona Oncology Associates Jerry Cohen and Mel Zuckerman Jim Click Automotive Team Long Realty Cares Foundation

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Speaking of Sunstone...

On October 13th, Sunstone launched Speaking of Sunstone..., a monthly, one-hour program that highlights our history, programs, services, and our plans for the future! We want to make sure that Sunstone will continue to provide hope and healing for those who are touched by cancer for generations to come.

Please invite anyone you think would benefit from learning about Sunstone. This is an opportunity to meet staff and volunteers, to learn about Sunstone, and to tour our facilities. Let us share our passion about Sunstone with you and your guest. For more information about times and locations, please call Anne Clark at (520) 749-1928.

Save These 2009 Dates: October 13 • November 10 • December 1

Spread the Word: Help Sunstone Grow

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Sunstone Gift Certificates

If you would like to give a unique gift to someone you care about, how about a massage, or a series of yoga classes, or a meditation workshop? Sunstone offers all of these services to anyone who has been touched by cancer.

You may not believe that you are included, but when we say touched by cancer, we mean anyone who has ever been diagnosed themselves, anyone who has had a family member or loved one diagnosed, and anyone who has taken care of someone diagnosed with cancer.

When you really think about it, haven't we all been touched in some way, at some time in our lives? The gift of touch or healing movement is a wonderful way to honor that experience.

From a quality standpoint alone, our practitioners are second to none. We say that with confidence, because staff receive audition treatments from practitioners before they are accepted as Sunstone volunteers. (It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!) We are consistently in awe of the extremely high calibre of practitioners that offer to volunteer their services at Sunstone.
Sunstone has gift certificates available at any of our centers.

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End-of-Year Giving

This has been a challenging year for everyone. At Sunstone, we understand that. The economy has suffered, people have lost jobs, and 401k plans have diminished. But cancer has not, and people continue to be diagnosed every day. Their lives, as well as the lives of those around them, continue to be deeply affected by the disease.

We now serve over 700 people each month; survivors, their caregivers, their sons and daughters, their friends, and their spouses come to Sunstone for touch therapy, for movement classes and for support. They come to find the hope and healing that all cancer patients and their loved ones deserve. Because we strive to serve everyone that we possibly can, whatever their economic situation may be, at any given time we have 100 people on our discount program, receiving services that they would not otherwise be able to afford.

When you make your end-of-year gift this month, think about Sunstone. More importantly, think of the woman with ovarian cancer who really needs a massage to help with her stress, but lives on $700 a month, and can barely afford to pay her rent. Think about the father who has lost his medical insurance and cannot pay for his treatments, and is using acupuncture treatment from time to time to help keep his immune system strong.

These are the people who need us. We want to be accessible to them, to provide them with hope and healing. We don't want our hard times to prevent them from receiving the programs and services they need and deserve. They are the very reason Sunstone needs your donation this year more than ever.

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Wish List & Opportunities

If you have any of the items listed below, or are willing to purchase them, please call (520) 749-1928 and ask to speak with Lubeth Pflum at Ext. 11.

• Black Wigs
• Table Cloths - card table size OR 81" X 50" - Purple, white, or teal
Phone Cards
• Large, heavy duty shredder
• Large wooden storage cabinet with shelves and doors
• Electric Staples
• Remodeling of the kitchen at NE Center
• Copier with collating and stapling capabilities
• White Copy Paper
• Gift Cards for Office Depot
• Plumbing for our NE Center
  
  

  Thank you to all who respond to our Wish List!

Remember....
Other opportunities to give include books for our resource libraries. Book plates (which will be engraved to your liking) are $25.00 each, and we'll purchase the books on our library list.

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