Self-Care is the New Health Care

Tamarindo Beach - Costa Rica 2025

At the very beginning of Living Life Over Cancer, I wrote about the importance of foundational lessons. Any good teacher knows that learning requires repetition. Lessons need to be revisited, reflected upon, and lived in to take root. These five foundational practices continue to guide me. They can support anyone seeking optimal health or navigating a health challenge.

Living with stage IV breast cancer has required strength, resilience, and a willingness to learn and adapt. While many who read this may never face cancer, the lessons I’ve learned are universal and apply to how we all live our lives.

One of the most important lessons has been embracing an integrative approach to care. Medication is essential, but true well-being is through nourishment, movement, and practices that care for the whole person, mind, body, heart, and spirit.

Self-care has become non-negotiable. Whether through time in nature, meaningful connection, or quiet moments of rest, caring for oneself is not indulgent. It is necessary.

A strong support network matters deeply. Being surrounded by people who listen, encourage, and understand makes even the hardest days more manageable.

Mindset plays a pivotal role. Fear and sadness are part of the journey, but gratitude, perspective, and hope help sustain resilience. Finally, self-advocacy is essential. Asking questions, staying informed, and remembering that your voice matters can shape the quality of care and life itself.

As I prepare to take leave for Costa Rica, I hold these lessons close to my heart. Costa Rica is not a vacation. It is a life choice, rooted in honoring my needs and practicing self-care. While I will be in Costa Rica, I will continue to share reflections through Living Life Over Cancer and remain connected to my community through writing, consults, and ongoing support.

Self-care is the new health care.

What would it look like for you to honour your self-care in 2026 through your actions, your thinking, and your choices?

For Belinda, who walked beside me with honesty, tenderness, and light.

Some people come into our lives quietly and leave an imprint that never fades. Belinda Gramonte was one of those people.

We met through a shared journey of stage IV breast cancer, one none of us would choose, yet one that brought us into trusting friendship. Across miles, oceans, and time zones, we walked alongside one another with honesty, tenderness, and a commitment to finding light, even on the hardest days.

As I was writing RISE, Belinda was one of the voices who walked with me. Our daily check-ins became a place of truth. There was no need to show strength or offer reassurance. We showed up as we were, two women living alongside uncertainty, choosing connection over isolation.

Belinda had a way of seeing the world that continually reminded me to stay human, to lose my teacher voice, and to remain vulnerable. She challenged me to think beyond my own surroundings, to consider those living without access to nature’s comforts, and to remember that resilience does not always look like rising, but often looks like resting, trusting, and loving.

What I will carry forward is not the loss, but the gift. The gift of being seen. The gift of shared courage. The gift of friendship that knew no borders.

Though Belinda no longer walks beside me in the way she once did, her presence remains. In the work I do to live life over cancer. In the words I write. In the way I continue to seek pockets of light and love.

May her journey now be free of pain, fear, and struggle. May she be held in peace, and may her light continue to watch over all who loved her.

God speed, dear Belinda.

RISE: Bringing Women Together Through Book Clubs and Conversation

I had coffee and a chat with a friend this morning, and she brought along a hard copy of my book. Her first words echoed what so many readers have shared in reviews of RISE. This is not a book just for those living with cancer or cancer survivors. It is a book every woman can relate to as she builds a life rooted in resilience, hope, and joy.

She shared that she has encouraged her friends to buy the book, and plans are now underway to include RISE in their Book Club selections. What touched me most was seeing her copy filled with large sticky notes, each one holding reflections and insights. She chose the larger notes, she said, because this is a book you return to, a book for reminders, reflection, and even recipes.

I left that conversation feeling deeply grateful. Not only was she supporting the reading of my book, but she was also using it to build community and foster meaningful conversations among her friends. One of the main reasons I turned my research into a book was to offer something living and practical. A book you can write in, return to, and make part of your everyday life.

For those of you who belong to Book Clubs or are thinking of starting one, consider RISE as part of your shared reading. It can be a way to support one another in cultivating optimal health, connection, and a sense of joy in living.