HEALTH & FITNESS
wellness
Still A Battler
'Ellyn Davidson and he
husband, Jon
Thanks to a survivor, new state tax form
checkoff supports women's cancer fight.
E
Ilyn Davidson of Huntington
Woods has always been very
active. She has been a room
mom at her kids' school and has
an endless calendar.
She's a partner at Brogan & Partner's
Convergence Marketing in Birmingham
where she's been developing marketing
strategy for healthcare and social market-
ing clients for 15 years. She skis, likes to
hike and is an avid photographer.
But in August 2007, Davidson became
an active member of a group that she
never wanted to join when she was diag-
nosed with stage 2 breast cancer at age
36. Her activity list changed suddenly
Today, she's still battling cancer as an
active player on the Survivor team. Back
to work at Brogan and feeling great,
Davidson recently found that her breast
cancer world and her professional world
were colliding in a very meaningful way.
Davidson enlisted the team at Brogan
& Partners and its sister company, Ignite
Social Media, to launch the Breast
Cancer and Prostate Cancer Tax Check-
Off Initiative for her longtime client, the
Michigan Department of Community
Health.
of Michigan tax forms. Dollars collected
for the Breast Cancer Prevention and
Treatment Initiative, called Amanda's
to the best treatment," Davidson said.
"I want to do everything I can to make
sure that all women have access to early
To generate enthusiasm about the ini-
tiative and spread the word, Davidson's
detection and excellent care."
Davidson has piled her plate full with
team developed a social media cam-
Fund, go directly to the Michigan Breast
and Cervical Cancer Control Program,
which provides free breast and cervical
paign at michigancancer.org/taxcheck-
off.cfm . Visitors can sign a pledge, grab
cancer screening services to low-income
women in our state.
and drastically for the next year as she
underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy
and reconstructive surgery.
a badge for a Facebook/MySpace page,
Besides actively battling cancer, she
continued with activities that revolved
Web site or blog and share with friends,
and become a fan on Facebook.
around her family life with husband Jon,
daughter Lacey, 8, and sons Brett, 6, and
Seth, 2.
The program adds the two new funds
to the Voluntary Contributions Schedule
(Form 4642) associated with 2008 State
Donations designated for the Prostate
Cancer Research Fund will be used to
support prostate cancer research in
Michigan.
"I consider myself incredibly lucky that
I found my cancer early and had access
activities again as a local outreach coor-
dinator for Facing Our Risk of Cancer
Empowered (FORCE), and fundraising
with her breast cancer 3-Day team.
She's also on the host committee
for Camp Kids All Together and the
Bear Hug Foundation's Hibernation
Celebration. ❑
alternatives
Manage Stress,
Tough Times
M
any people in our life and in
our community are facing
difficult times. Bracing for
a new year in an uncertain
economy with several winter months
still ahead can be a source of great
stress for many people.
Studies have shown that stress can
have a direct impact on many areas of
our health and well-being. Please take
a deep breath, relax and read the fol-
lowing suggestions for stress reduction.
• Mindfulness Meditation. It helps
have effects on the body that are in
the direction of greater health and well-
being."
Mindful breathing is the core of
his brand of mind-body medicine.
Meditation is a simple technique that
can be practiced with little prepara-
tion. Simply sit in a comfortable, seated
position and, with the eyes closed,
focus on the breath. Practicing as little
as five minutes a day can help reduce
stress and increase relaxation.
• Yoga. It provides the combined
the heart rate and breath slow down. It
can help reduce strain on the adrenal
system and enhance immune function.
benefits of breathing exercises,
stretching and fitness programs,
meditation and guided imagery, all
John Kabat-Zinn, M.D., author of Full
Catastrophic Living, writes about using
the mind to heal the body:
combined in one practice. Through a
series of gentle stretches and move-
ments, yoga can help reduce stress,
improve sleep, lower blood pressure
"Mindfulness is a way of living your
life and holding all of your experience,"
he says. "These kind of practices —
mindful yoga and meditation — actually
A32
February 26 • 2009
and reduce cortisol levels. There are
many qualified yoga centers in the
Detroit area that teach beginning yoga
for all ages and physical
abilities.
• B complex vitamins.
centrating and anxiety are
common stress-related con-
ditions that acupuncture can
These represent a group
of 12 related water-soluble
help minimize.
• Compassion. Now more
substances that are needed
than ever, we need to tap into
our own sense of community
and open our heart to oth-
for metabolic processing.
B vitamins help support a
healthy immune system and
ers. How many times do we
adrenal function in the body.
Adequate amounts of B vita-
mins are needed on a daily
basis to insure the proper
function of many systems
Julie Silver
Colu mnist
in the body. Stress, whether
mental or physical, can cause
recognize suffering in others
and, despite our own situa-
tion, are grateful for what we
do have.
Opening up our hearts to
others can have a profound
vitamin B deficiency.
• Acupuncture. It effectively treats
effect on our community.
Forgiveness and gratitude are important
actions that heal the body and reduce
stress and many stress-related health
disorders. When we are under stress,
the free flowing of our life force energy
stress. In addition, there are many vol-
unteer opportunities within the Jewish
community for us to help those not as
(known as qi), becomes obstructed.
Stagnant qi in our bodies is similar to
the effects of a pressure cooker — the
fortunate as us.
more "stuck" our energy becomes, the
more our body is unable to manage the
stress related symptoms.
Symptoms such as becoming short
fused and irritable, suffering from pain
and tension, difficulty sleeping and con-
Cl
Julie Silver, MSW, Dipl. Ac., is a National
Certification Commission for Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine board-certified
acupuncturist and owner of Acupuncture
Healthcare Associates of Michigan, a West
Bloomfield holistic health clinic. Her e-mail
address: acuhealer@sbcglobal.net .