by Joe Birch | Mar 13, 2023 | The Battle with Cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer severely tests and challenges your body, mind, emotions and spirit – your very perception of who you are. With Pancreatic cancer, there is an urgency. From point of diagnosis, you are jet propelled into a whole new world – a...
by Joe Birch | Mar 10, 2023 | Miscellaneous
This is a “call out” for people living with cancer, anywhere in the world, any type of cancer, to register for the 17th Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer on March 11, 2023. Free of charge, you will be able to virtually attend the Symposium from the comfort of...
by Joe Birch | Feb 9, 2023 | Miscellaneous
Here’s the back story: In 1976, after 7 years as a poor, single mother of two small children who put herself through graduate school and entered the work force with an MSW, I was overwhelmed, depressed, and reached out to God to help me. He entered my life and...
by Joe Birch | Jan 25, 2023 | Miscellaneous
Today my CT scan results were released: THERE IS NO CANCER IN MY BODY!!! I am officially 27-months free of Stage 1 Pancreatic cancer. I am also fully recovered from COVID. I dedicate this art therapy painting to The Holy Trinity, who have guided and comforted me...
by Joe Birch | Dec 28, 2022 | Miscellaneous
I am posting this video to celebrate my recent birthday. To understand why it is important to me, I will share a brief history: Twenty-six months ago, I had major surgery to remove a Stage 1 Pancreatic cancer tumor. The surgeon removed 40% of my pancreas, all of my...
by Joe Birch | Nov 8, 2022 | Miscellaneous
Each of us has our own process of dealing with loss. No two people are alike. What we have in common are the emotions and behaviors attached to loss: profound sadness, devastation, pain, depression, anxiety, overwhelm, guilt, anger, disorientation, grief, loss of...
by Joe Birch | Oct 19, 2022 | Miscellaneous
“When you have cancer, you learn to live in the moment, take things slowly, appreciate the small things, listen to your body, keep things simple, rest, relax, let go of outcome, celebrate the small things, appreciate what comes your way, find peace in the...
by Joe Birch | Jun 13, 2022 | Miscellaneous
by Saul Rubin, Santa Monica NEXT The death of the printed book—you know, those bound volumes of static pages that you have to manually flip through to read—has been foretold for years. But like some creature from gothic literature, printed books refuse to die. And now...
by Joe Birch | Mar 20, 2020 | Miscellaneous
As humans, we are hardwired with an automatic response to emergencies. The body is the first responder: With cues of danger in the environment, the sympathetic nervous system releases bursts of adrenalin and stress cortisol into the blood stream – to give us energy...
by admin | Mar 17, 2020 | Miscellaneous
There is no doubt that we are living in an historic time – filled with fear and uncertainty. Life as we know it around the world has been turned upside down. Much like the beginning of another world war, this is a war with an invisible enemy that brings death and...
by admin | Sep 27, 2019 | Miscellaneous
You know you are living in a STATE OF GRACE when all the parts of your day or your life fall into alignment. I am blessed by two passions: gardening and providing psychotherapy. It’s interesting because they have much in common: As a gardener, my creations are...
by admin | Jun 11, 2018 | Finding and Nurturing Your Spirit
When my beloved Brutie Boy died on September 29, 2017, my heart was broken and I did not know if I wanted to continue living. The loss of a loved one envelops the survivor in a spiral of emotions: sadness, despair, abandonment, anger, fear, self-doubt, hopelessness,...
by admin | May 10, 2018 | Miscellaneous
In 2013, I sold Polish translation rights of my book CREATING A HEALTHY LIFE AND MARRIAGE to Purana Publishing. They changed the book cover and gave it the title WOUNDED HEARTS to appeal to the Polish people and culture. Although it was my heart’s desire to bless the...
by admin | Mar 20, 2018 | Lessons From Brutie and Hope
“Today we lost the heart of our family. We are struggling to recover our breath.” I want to thank God for giving us 14 wonderful years with Brutie. We adopted him in November 2003 and he blessed our lives beyond our wildest imagination: He brought us his boundless joy...
by admin | Mar 10, 2018 | Lessons From Brutie and Hope
For the last year-and-a half, I had the honor and privilege to focus the bulk of my time and attention on caring for my aging Brutie Boy. I had no idea that God would use those experiences to teach me lessons about myself and principles of life, love, hardship, death,...
