Moms Alive!

Debra Lynn Dadd has been proclaimed by The New York Times to be “the queen of green,” but she wasn’t always so environmentally aware. It wasn’t until Dadd, a trained classical musician, was diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivities in the late 1970s that she began cleaning house. After removing the toxic chemicals from her home found in everyday products such as cleaning supplies and pesticides, her symptoms—including depression, fainting and headaches—disappeared and she regained her health. It was a process that took seven years.

During her recovery, Dadd conducted extensive research to uncover indoor contaminants and identify safe, effective replacements. The results of her efforts can be found in her book, “Home Safe Home,” which she wrote to help other people wanting to eliminate toxins in the home for health or environmental reasons.

I feel that as in-treatment or post-treatment cancer survivors, we can use all the help we can get in reducing the toxic burden on our bodies, and I was delighted when Debra agreed to speak with me about how we can clean up our own indoor environments to create healthier homes for our families and ourselves.

I’ve included links to further reading where I’ve felt it would be helpful or appropriate, and many more details about toxins and their alternatives can be found on Dadd’s Web site.
More…

Bonnie Moore is a Los Angeles–based licensed social worker who specializes in helping families deal with the impact of cancer in the home. She runs her own private practice as well as facilitates a children’s support group at the weSPARK cancer center in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

I recently spoke with Bonnie about how mothers with cancer can talk to and support their children during this trying time. One’s initial instinct might be to sugarcoat the situation or offer up assurances of health that cannot be guaranteed—to protect them, of course—but she invariably emphasizes the importance of delivering frank, accurate information to children of all ages. I found her advice to be illuminating—and sometimes surprising. More…

Losing a valued breastfeeding relationship can be one of the many tragic fallouts of a cancer diagnosis, but it is also, unfortunately, one of the least socially recognized and supported. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cynthia Good Mojab, a clinical counselor and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, about the process of grief that women must move through when they are suddenly and unexpectedly unable to breastfeed their child.

If this is a topic of concern to you, please note that in the upcoming months I will be posting the second part of this interview, which will focus on the practical information mothers with cancer should know about their breastfeeding options. More…