Women Of All Faiths At The OLCC Retreat Center

To say we got more than we expected is an understatement when reflecting upon the healing retreat at the OLCC Retreat Center in Corpus Christi Texas this past week.
http://www.ourladyofcc.org/adoration-chapel/the-history/

Women of all faiths came to hear the comforting words of Sister Anne Marie Walsh, a S.O.L.T. Sister who has twice survived cancer. Her message provided great relief from the deep darkness that can come with having lived with cancer.  She reunites us with Christ via the Spiritual Exercises created by St. Ignatius of Loyola.  Using the practical exercises in combination with intercessional prayer to our Queen of Peace, Mary the mother of God,  Sr. Anne Marie gave us a way to recreate our relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.

How we see ourselves, how we see God, how we relate with God and with others, how we see the future and heaven directly effect how we deal with suffering.  There are beautiful graces obtained in suffering, and at the retreat, we learned what this means. My eyes are lifted up, my hopes are great and all the sweet ladies attending OLCC received special Blessings from Father Dan Estes. Those ladies are lights of hope and beacons that guide others to Jesus' great and eternal love for us, His children.  Jesus does not intend for suffering to be. This retreat provides much needed answers to the spiritual questions that arise out of learning we have something like cancer.

The campus in and of itself exists as a gift from God.  The beautiful Perpetual Adoration Chapel under the spectacular Blue Dome joyously invites everyone to enter and experience the Love of God. In the retreat center we experienced mass in a chapel built with the love of Father Dan and his brother. The meals are made with a most kind and generous spirit by a woman named Delores and her very friendly staff. Sr. Laudem Gloriae, a special angel on earth, attends to our every comfort and need with great enthusiasm, attending to all the details necessary to make us feel at home. Sr. Anne Marie Walsh comes to us with having had real life experiences with cancer, wisdom, a deep sense of compassion and inspiration to lift us out of the darkness in this most peaceful and serene setting.

Truthfully speaking there is no one way to summarize the message or the gifts received at the OLCC. Each woman had their own individual needs and questions.  Each woman went home with more than what was asked for and each face had a beautifully brilliant smile.  They were beaming with joy and because of that I know it was a great success.

We will be continuing this very special retreat in the future.  Sr. Anne Marie Walsh has the abundant love of Christ in her heart and in her voice.  I, along with the others, truly did not want the event to come to a close.  But with us we take these teachings and prayers to carry home with us for our benefit and the benefit of others, so that cancer is not a message of death but a gateway to living the Life and Love of God through Jesus. Remember, women of all faiths were in attendance.  My vision was and is for any woman with cancer who seeks comfort and grace from Jesus to come to the OLCC for the sake of their relief from fear and anxiety.

Please remember to share and save this page for future reference.  I will be announcing soon the upcoming schedule and am praying that all of the ladies who were in attendance will continue to experience the joy received at the OLCC and that their renewed relationship with Jesus stays most evident in their daily lives as they live their beautiful lives.

God Bless Father Dan Estes, Sr. Anne Marie Walsh, Sr. Laudem Gloriae and Delores, their staff and all the beautiful ladies who attended this retreat for you are witness to the breath of life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here is a Facebook Link to the OLCC:
https://www.facebook.com/OLCCBookstore?fref=nf

Here also is a link to a blog written by Sr. Anne Marie Walsh:
http://missionaryinthemodernworld.blogspot.com

Peace and Blessings,
Denise Archuleta
Servivorgirl

"What Every Woman Should Know" video link

The message here is that if your body is experiencing problems outside of what you normally (baseline) know to be true, talk about it with your doctor.  My two cents: if your doctor is not listening, either find another way to communicate with your caring doctor or get another opinion.  It is ok to do that too.

This video is a fantastic one to share with other women who want to learn more about the possible symptoms of ovarian cancer.  Please send this to them.  It could save a life.

This link can also be found at http://www.foundationforwomenscancer.org/educational-materials/ovarian-cancer/

Peace and blessings,

Denise a.k.a. Servivorgirl

NASCAR And The Race To End Ovarian Cancer

Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Go-Teal link

"The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation raises awareness, advocacy & research funding for cancer initiative specific to ovarian and childhood cancers.

A little over a year ago Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, we are driving awareness for symptoms and raising funds through this online auction and the sale of Never Give Up bracelets to benefit treatment research."  courtesy of The NASCAR Foundation Website.

Danica Patrick is joining forces with Martin Truex Jr. to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and to support fundraising efforts that further ovarian cancer research.  

We pray for Sherry Pollex to continue to be healed as our cause is rallying support from NASCAR this September.  The NASCAR Foundation is launching their auction on September 6, 2015.

To find out more, link to http://www.nascarfoundation.org/Go-Teal

You can also find more information via the following FACEBOOK Pages:

Martin Truex Jr : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Truex-Jr/467830453284122

Danica Patrick : https://www.facebook.com/DanicaPatrick?fref=ts

Peace and Blessings,

Servivorgirl

Women's Cancer Awareness Month Begins

Foundation for Women's Cancer 2015-Fact-Sheet

Please visit to this most comprehensive link on women's cancers from the 

Foundation for Women's Cancer

When I was diagnosed with high grade serous cancer, stage IIIC, I also had concurrent high grade cervical cancer.  I moved to Seattle AFTER diagnosis and surgery to receive better care.  

My care team in Seattle means the world to me.

I am not an advocate exclusively for ovarian cancer awareness.  I advocate that women learn about all female cancers.  Ovarian Cancer needs the most support and awareness, but no cancer is more important than another.  All cancers are a cancer in need of a cure.

Please share the link to the http://www.foundationforwomenscancer.org with every female in your life because we need to take care of our bodies and we need to know what to expect when things start to go wrong. 

Peace and Blessings,

Servivorgirl

Finances and How Spiritual and Religious Beliefs Help Us

Hello Everyone,

I want to share two important articles about living with cancer. The first is another wonderful article I located on http://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/article/50346.htm?c=NL20150812

Cancer Compass is a valuable resource for everyone with cancer.  Below is the first quote from the article: 

"MONDAY, Aug. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Spiritual and religious beliefs may benefit cancer patients' physical and mental health, researchers say.

They conducted three reviews of all published studies on the topic, which included more than 44,000 patients. However, none of the studies were able to show a cause-and-effect relationship between spirituality and better outcomes, only an association between these factors."  

The timing for this article could not be more perfect as I have about 5 or 6 spots left at the upcoming retreat for Women With Cancer at the OLCC Retreat in Corpus Christi, TX. Please link from the above image, off to the right, to register for our event taking place September 17-20, 2015.  It is free and if you want to donate, they accept donations upon conclusion of the retreat. Rooms are private/bath with meals included. I have done several posts about my amazing experience at the OLCC.  Please attend if you are able.

The second topic is finances.  We are in great need, as a community of people with cancer, for financial resources. Cancer uproots people and generates a tremendous number of bankruptcies due to job loss and costs associated with cancer care, side effects and extra expenses needed for managing life in general. Research money does not go to daily living and medical expense needs.

Linked below is an article written by one of our lovely ovarian sisters published in Kevin MD.  Many people work with cancer, but not all of us can, especially people like me.  I am hard to employ because I can only work when I am feeling good.  That is not predictable and it varies so much, my fatigue remains extreme. But maybe I could do a small project here and there. Project work is probably ideal for people like me, project work with no tight deadlines.  HA. I will figure it out eventually but please read this article so that you can get this perspective from someone other than me.

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/08/this-is-what-its-like-to-face-recurrent-cancer-while-going-broke.html

Peace and Blessings, 

Servivorgirl

South Lake Union. Seattle, Washington