Dr. Pennebaker discussed why expressive writing works:

• It helps us translate an emotional experience
• When people write they have to tie things together and create a more coherent story
• Writing helps improve executive functioning, memory, and sleep
• Writing can also help you become a better listener because you will be more engaged and focussed. 

If you do not like writing, even speaking to yourself out loud can have a similar benefit.

Write in a personal tone and have the intention to destroy your writing after. Do not write as if you are writing for an audience. This will change the way you write and make it less therapeutic. 

Dealing with something traumatic in your life? Give journaling a shot! It may help you place value in trying to understand and get through a trying time.

I knew I didn’t fit exactly in my old life but I wasn’t exactly sure what my new life looked like. The pre-cancer me would have started to panic and plan. But I knew I was living life with a different perspective. My life with cancer exposed me to my spirit in a way where I trusted that I would be guided, supported, and inspired as to what my next steps were. While I didn’t know a lot during this transition time, I knew that the one constant in my life before cancer and after cancer was my meditation practice."

Speaker’s Bio:

Kelly Theesfeld has worked with Wonders & Worries, a local non-profit organization that works with children to provide professional support throughout a parent’s illness, for over 5 years. Prior to coming to Austin, she was the Program Director at Angel Foundation in Minneapolis, where she specifically worked with teens who had a parent with cancer. She also conducted research on resiliency in cancer patients at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. Kelly holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  

Bio for Dr. Christine Fisher

Breast reconstruction specialist Dr. Christine Fisher is inspired daily as she works with her patients on their journey to recovery. With two grandmothers who survived breast cancer, Dr. Fisher strongly believes in the value of emotional and practical support when facing such a diagnosis, which is why her patient care team includes breast cancer survivors. She established her practice after graduating medical school with honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completing her training in plastic surgery and advanced reconstructive surgery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She also studied microsurgical lymph node transfer to treat upper extremity lymphedema in Paris, France. Upon return home to Austin, Dr. Fisher developed a practice focused on reconstructive plastic surgery for women. She serves on the Medical Advisory Committee for the Breast Cancer Resource Center and is a bra designer with Kendra Scott for the organization’s signature fundraiser, Art Bra® Austin. She is also on faculty at the University of Texas Dell Medical School.