This manual was an important part of the program taught (and experienced) at the Cancer Support and Education Center – the second cancer support group center in the world, and the first offering training for health and helping professionals. An overview of the course and interviews with former cancer survivors who took the training can be found on Confronting Cancer – Facing, Embracing, and Thriving.

This course is designed for self-help.  The degree to which this course will be able to assist you is substantially dependent on your willingness to work hard and enthusiastically utilizing the concepts and techniques taught in the course.  In particular, you will be taught a visualizing technique that you will be asked to practice three times a day, once before breakfast, once at noon, and once before you go to bed.  Each practice session is approximately 15 minutes.  In addition, you will be asked to keep track of your imagery and evaluate it so that you create a positive expectancy of health.  It is essential to your success in this course that you establish a discipline of utilizing the visualization technique three times a day.  Your visualization communicates your beliefs as to the outcome of your cancer, and, as you will be learning in this course, your beliefs significantly contribute to your health.

This manual/workbook follows the guidance presented in Confronting Cancer – Facing, Embracing, and Thriving and is designed to provide you with practical tools to assist you in applying effective tools of Mind-Body Medicine.

The Chapters of the Manual are as follows:

1. Mental Imagery Techniques
2. Criteria For Effective Mental Imagery
3. The Role of Stress in Illness
4. Participating In Your Health
5. Assuming Responsibility For Your Recovery Program
6. Psycho Kinetic
7. The Secondary Gains (Benefits) of Illness
8. Beliefs, Expectancy & Self Image
9. Early Life Decisions
10. Family Sculpture
11. Developing an Internal Guidance System
12. Exploring Beliefs about Death and Dying
13. Establishing Goals
14. Using Mental Imagery to Reinforce Goals
15. Review of Mental Imagery
16. Letting Go of Stress
17. Recognition of Individual Emotional Realities
18. Active Listening
19. Congruent Sending