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Welcome to the eleventh episode of Care Partner's Compass: Navigating CRC where I talk with my best friend for over 30 years, my wife Kristine about healthy distractions.
Kristine was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on her 49th birthday in July 2021. We have had to come up with a lot of coping mechanisms to deal with this cancer diagnosis, and we have a number of healthy distractions. From walking, puzzles, dancing, doing fun spontaneous things, exercise, meditation, and sometimes just being silly.
Full transcription can be found on the website (http://carepartnerscompass.transistor.fm)
Host, producer/editor, and composer: Elsa Lankford
Kristine - You are incredible 💙
Please remember to share, subscribe, like, and rate the podcast.
Helpful links related to this episode:
Kristine was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on her 49th birthday in July 2021. We have had to come up with a lot of coping mechanisms to deal with this cancer diagnosis, and we have a number of healthy distractions. From walking, puzzles, dancing, doing fun spontaneous things, exercise, meditation, and sometimes just being silly.
Full transcription can be found on the website (http://carepartnerscompass.transistor.fm)
Host, producer/editor, and composer: Elsa Lankford
Kristine - You are incredible 💙
Please remember to share, subscribe, like, and rate the podcast.
Helpful links related to this episode:
- Cancer and Careers - an organization who works to empower and educate cancer survivors about how to thrive in the workplace
- www.eventbrite.com - Easy way to find in-person and online classes, workshops, and events all over the world. You can sort to find free and online.
- MSK Integrative Medicine at Home - Meditation and exercises classes online (more services are available if you can be in person). This is a low cost membership for live online classes or you can do the free classes that are posted on the website.
- Wellness House (Annapolis, MD) - Offers both in-person and online exercise and art classes for free.
- Wellness House (Chicago, IL) - Offers both in-person and online exercise and art classes for free.
- https://www.hirschwellnessnetwork.org/#Classes - Offers both in-person and online exercise and art classes for free. The in-person classes are extensive if you live nearby.
- www.Open.Spotify.com - Listen to Kristine's playlists or create your own and dance!
- (01:15) - What is a healthy distraction and why are they helpful?
- (02:39) - When Kristine started adding in healthy distractions
- (04:53) - Healthy distractions as exercise for the mind and body
- (06:58) - Distracting sports of one sort or another
- (07:54) - Spontaneous Fun map
- (08:55) - Work can be a distraction, but if you do stop working, try one new thing a day
- (11:39) - Music and dancing as a healthy distraction
- (14:45) - The importance of meditation
- (16:15) - Healthy distractions can involve friends and family. Offer to do fun and distracting things with your people in cancer land
Creators & Guests
Host
What is Care Partners Compass: Navigating CRC?
A podcast for care partners, cancer patients, and anybody who knows or loves somebody with cancer, particularly colorectal cancer (CRC). Care Partners Compass is told through the lens of a Stage 4 CRC care partner with occasional guests.
Season 1 will be primarily from my personal experience as a stage 4 CRC care partner. Topics will include diagnosis, biomarkers, clinical trials, second opinions, finding hope and joy, and more.
The podcast trailer is out now. Please listen and share widely.
Logo design: Kristine Dunkerton
Episodes will be dropping in March 2024 - Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
If you are 45 and older, or are any age and are experiencing anemia, unexplained weight loss, or other symptoms, please schedule your colonoscopy.
Disclaimer:
This podcast and its content is for entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by any hosts or guests on this podcast are their own personal opinions.
Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation.
This podcast does not contain medical or legal advice. Please consult your medical professional about any medical questions or concerns.
S1Ep11 Healthy Distractions
Elsa Lankford
Elsa 0:01
Welcome to Care Partners Compass Navigating CRC. My name is Elsa Lankford. I am the care partner to my incredible wife, Kristine, who has stage four colorectal cancer. As a disclaimer, this podcast and its content is for entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by any hosts or guests on this podcast are their own personal opinions. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. This podcast does not contain medical or legal advice. Please consult your medical professional about any medical questions or concerns.
Elsa 0:49
Welcome to episode 11. This is going to be the last regular weekly episode of the season, but look for a few over the summer. Question Mark, I have been looking forward to doing this episode all season. I have with me my wife, Kristine. Who is going to join me talking about healthy distractions?
------ What is a healthy distraction and why are they helpful? ------ 1:16
Elsa 1:16
we're going to kick it off with the first question, what do you think of as a healthy distraction and why are they helpful?
Kristine 1:23
Well, for me, healthy distractions became something that I found necessary to get myself out of what I came to call worry loops. I would get really worried about an upcoming test or surgery or test results or, you name it, or I would just feel awful. And that was all I could think about. And I should say upfront, too, that sometimes you're just going to feel awful And there are times when I'm just going to be worried and that's all I can think about, and that's just the way it is. But I am trying real hard to recognize these worry loops and get myself out of them as soon as I do recognize that, that is where my head is. healthy distractions for me can be something real simple, just to reframe my mindset and how I'm thinking about things to get me on a different track. And sometimes it's easier than others, sometimes it just doesn't really take very much
------ When Kristine started adding in healthy distractions ------ 2:39
Elsa 2:39
When did you notice that you were incorporating healthy distractions
Kristine 2:46
Yeah. So I think probably pretty early on I recognized that I would get stuck in these worry loops and that it was not helpful for me to worry about things all the time and to try, early on in my diagnosis. if you have listen to this podcast, you know a lot about me and my diagnosis already. So, you know, I did a lot of chemo. You know, I've done a lot of surgery and those things can just consume you, thinking about them, worrying about them, reacting to them, and, you have very little control over so much, but, you can control how you respond to things. recognizing that I'm in this situation and worrying about it is not going to help that I can do something to reset my thinking. So early on, we picked up, I think, a lot of little tips from COVID and being stuck in the house and trying to find fun little things to do here. know, one of those things, as simple as it is, was doing puzzles and like jigsaw puzzles physically something that we did together in the house as well as online puzzles, different word puzzles in particular. We would just have fun doing them. There would be a challenge and there would be something that we could do, immediately from our phones that would didn't take an time to set up or go somewhere to do it. we were able to just get on a different mind track or get in a different mindset and then go forward from there and not return back to whatever it was that was causing all the worry to start with.
------ Healthy distractions as exercise for the mind and body ------ 4:53
Elsa 4:53
one thing I was thinking about is the word healthy being in there with distractions. And it seems like, some of what I found that you do as healthy distractions is exercise related. but when you're talking about puzzles, also it's exercising the mind,
Kristine 5:09
I think certainly exercising your mind is important and I am someone who actually likes to exercise. another thing that I've done for my healthy distractions is to take a lot of online exercise classes, and I found that they really help just stretching and moving and getting my blood flowing has really helped me feel physically better in that moment. It's helped me a lot with getting rid of fatigue, nausea and, just sort of general feeling crappy as well as just helping me, feel like I'm doing something to improve my health. So, again, you know, a little control, but trying to be as healthy as I can be is something that's been important to me. I've done classes through a number of different cancer survivor support organizations and as well as other places, and we'll put links up for these places. when I see something new, I try it and I do a lot of them and I put them on my calendar and if I am home and available, I will do them. I've got everything from chair yoga to mat yoga to tai chi Qigong. Kickboxing Pilates is aerobics, core, strength. I'm forgetting some, but you get the idea. It's a little bit of everything and I enjoy it. I enjoy doing the exercise. I enjoy working up a sweat and I enjoy trying something new and challenging myself so they have been really good for me.
------ Distracting sports of one sort or another ------ 6:58
Elsa 6:58
So I know we've also done some exercise, sport, like things, things like roller skating and pickleball we did a little disc golf some of that is with friends and some of that is, by ourselves. you had mentioned about getting outside and some of that is outside. Yeah. being with the world and, and, and playing.
Kristine 7:24
Yeah. And I love to walk and I'll say Elsa does too.
Elsa 7:30
I do
Kristine 7:30
so, so we do a lot of walking. I love to find parks that we haven't been to and go on hikes as well as walk around cities and neighborhoods. for me, getting out in the world is a great thing, as well as just getting that exercise off of walking.
------ Spontaneous Fun map ------ 7:54
Elsa 7:54
when you mentioned about different parks and trails, I think that I started it I think it was after your diagnosis, the spontaneous fun map list. And when we find something new, which could be restaurant or a bakery.
Kristine 8:12
A park, a museum.
Elsa 8:14
Then we add that in
Kristine 8:15
yeah. Having our spontaneous fun list that we are constantly adding to gives us a bunch of options when we are somewhere out in the world and we want to see, Hey, did we put anything in the spontaneous fun list near here and we'll just go do it if we can, or if we have a day where we can just go out and do stuff. We'll look on the list and see if there is anything that makes sense to do that day. So that's been something that has been a nice little treat for finding new and fun things to do and just sort of having that at the ready.
------ Work can be a distraction, but if you do stop working, try one new thing a day ------ 8:55
Elsa 8:56
And I'm going to circle back for a second just to mention that, between Kristine's work and my work, these are things that we did not do before cancer
Kristine 9:09
The we did the walking, okay.
Elsa 9:11
I will circle back to my circle back
9:16
the work was a distraction.
Kristine 9:18
Yes. it was really difficult for me to leave my job, but when I was considering doing that, I did a webinar through a group called Cancer and Careers, they had a suggestion about, if you do decide to stop working to do or try something new every day and that stuck with me 100%. Ever since that day, I have really made an effort and I think I have done it every day since then. It's been over a year and a half now, where I will do or try something new every day. And those can be really little simple things like trying a new recipe or buying something new at the grocery store that I've never seen or tried before to taking an art class I've tried to do things that when I was working, I never took the time to do or never felt like I had the time to do And for me, I do enjoy being creative and doing art projects. So signing up for pretty much anything and everything that is free and offers me the opportunity to try to learn something new. I'm all for it. I'll put these links up as well for for where I take these classes. But one tip I would say is I really found Eventbrite to be super helpful for me before I really discovered a lot of the cancer support organizations I found just by putting in free and online art workshops in Eventbrite and I started doing different types of drawing and painting classes from artists all over the world and I found it really fun and something that was challenging and interesting and new.
------ Music and dancing as a healthy distraction ------ 11:40
Elsa 11:40
I was just thinking as you're talking about how this is almost a continuation of the just say yes episode because it's about saying yes to things. I mean that yes, they get your mind off of cancer, at least temporarily, but they're things that you wouldn't have done necessarily beforehand.
Kristine 12:01
Yes, absolutely. There are a couple of other things that we haven't talked about yet that I found really important. One is music and that has really become important to me and I'll say to us. in a number of different ways. So I know Elsa has mentioned in other podcasts that I am a 15,000 step a day person with my Fitbit, and sometimes you can't always get all those steps from walking. So a lot of those happen dancing. And whether that is dancing around the house or dancing in the infusion room, I make sure that that is something that I do. If I am just really in a funk and upset Elsa knows which songs to put on to get me moving and it works every single time. I don't know. I'm predictable, I suppose, but just dancing. Listening to silly songs is really my go to. I'm not a serious, sad song kind of person. I am definitely the sillier, the better. I have no dancing skill whatsoever, so it is just enjoying the music and just pure silliness. I also have a mini trampoline here at home that for exercise I enjoy my dance music. we're fortunate enough to have the space for such a thing, and I do enjoy that. actually more recently, even though we have done this for years but a little more regularly now, is karaoke at home.
13:56
Again, nothing fancy, but it is something that will make us laugh and
14:03
distract from, whatever it is that might be causing me to not go to sleep. It's usually at night.
Elsa 14:14
Yeah. I'm going to add in a secret. A secret ingredient to the dancing is that we have some dancing ribbons.
Kristine 14:21
Oh, yes.
Elsa 14:22
That get incorporated and disco lights. So.
Kristine 14:26
And a disco ball.
Elsa 14:27
And a disco ball.
Kristine 14:28
We are well-equipped. Yeah.
Elsa 14:30
Does everybody need these? Yes. Yes. You thought I was going to say no, but I'm going to say yes. But it just. It just is a way to really just get your get your mind off of things and and move. Moving is great.
------ The importance of meditation ------ 14:46
Kristine 14:46
Yeah, I, I really feel strongly about that. And I think the last thing that I haven't mentioned yet that has really been a game changer for me has been meditation. And I have never been a person who meditated or understood meditation at all before this diagnosis, but it was actually after my liver resection that I was really introduced to it. And it really and truly was a game changer for me in terms of being able to sort of calm down, refocus and be a more patient person overall. So I can't say that I do it every day. I definitely don't. Even every week I would say I am not that great at it, but there are some weeks when I do it more than others, and I'm at a point now where I know that I can pull it out whenever I need it. So it's a tool in my toolbox that I'm just extremely grateful to have and am hoping to, continue to refine.
------ Healthy distractions can involve friends and family. Offer to do fun and distracting things with your people in cancer land ------ 16:15
Elsa 16:15
So maybe I'll mention one more thing that I don't think that we really talked about,
16:24
which I think are related, the idea of a routine maybe being part of a distraction, but also that the distractions don't need to watch me pull this one out. The distractions don't need to necessarily come from inside the house. they can involve friends and family. And for those of you who are listening, who aren't directly in cancer land, this is something that you can help your friends and family by being a healthy distraction, by offering to do some of these things, offering to do, sending fun things along, offering to go on hikes and walks and that kind of thing.
Kristine 17:07
Yeah. Going out to eat, coming over to play games, just hanging out, just even talking on the phone. it is always so nice to have people contact you and just say, Hey, I've been thinking about you.
Elsa 17:24
leave those lines of communication open because sometimes it's too distracting to get back to the person just, ping them again later. If, if you don't hear from them. it just really helps.
Kristine 17:40
Yeah. Yeah. I think the bottom line for healthy distractions for us really are just things that make us smile. Things that make us happy, things that make us laugh.
Elsa 17:51
thank you to Kristine for joining again. Listen out for some irregularly offered podcast episodes over the summer. But thank you so much for listening
Narration 18:07
Thank you for joining me for this episode of Care Partners Compass: Navigating CRC.
18:15
If you subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app, you will know exactly when the next episode comes out.I hope that you'll share the podcast with your friends and family.
18:28
The transcript of Care Partners Compass: Navigating CRC and additional links can be found on our website
18:40
Carepartnerscompass.
18:42
transistor.