WRITING THROUGH CANCER

Welcome to WRITING THROUGH CANCER,
A month of writing prompts for men & women living with cancer

Why write from the pain and struggle that comes with cancer?  Studies have shown it can actually be good for you.  When you repress emotions and silence your stories, your ability to heal is weakened.  Writing offers you the safety to unearth and express all that you think and feel.  And when you begin to shape those thoughts and feelings into story, it helps you to make sense of things and to cope more effectively with the emotional roller coaster that a cancer diagnosis can trigger. 

Writing is also a form of creative self-expression that is readily available to anyone who wants to do it.  You don't need a special place or a lot of special materials.  You can write almost anywhere:  at home, on the train, in a waiting room, or at a cafe.  All you need is a pen, paper or a laptop and the freedom to express what resides in your heart and mind.  

Writing Through Cancer was inspired by our "Words That Heal" writing series at Stanford Cancer Center (http://cancer.stanfordhospital.com/forPatients/services/supportiveCareServices/WordsThatHeal).  It is a website designed for anyone whose life has been touched by cancer.  If you've accidentally stumbled onto this site and are struggling with some other serious illness or painful situation besides cancer, and you're wanting to write about it, many of the prompts are easily applied to any difficult life circumstance.

Here's how it works:  each week, I post a writing prompt, one designed to inspire you to write from your cancer experience.  Each prompt is available on the site for one month.  You'll also find writing from other cancer patients and survivors from my various writing groups (click here to read writing from the group at Stanford Cancer Center.)  Whether through the prompts I provide or the words of others who have written with me, I hope that you'll find this site a source of inspiration and encouragement, a place that offers you a gentle nudge to write and discover its wonderfully healing benefits. 

Best Wishes from SHARON BRAY, Ed.D.

(To learn more about Sharon, click here.)