Mar 12 2024
How One Woman’s Breast Cancer Battle Led to the Self-Care Movement
To say Dr. Sean Fitzpatrick helped The Rose navigate the pandemic would be an understatement.
As the Executive Director of The Jung Center, he’s not only given our community hope in the darkest of times, but he’s also done so for countless others in the Houston area.
During this conversation, Dorothy and Dr. Fitzpatrick talk about the past four years and how they’ve impacted the breast cancer community. He’ll talk about the need for caregivers to embrace self-care and encourages breast cancer patients to engage in self-acceptance.
But back to self-care.
We get a brief history lesson when Dr. Fitzpatrick discusses Audre Lorde, poet, author and professor. He describes how she was a black woman, single mother, uninsured, trying to make the difficult decision of whether she was going to continue serving her values, specifically serving the needs of black women, or if she was going to take a step back to seek breast cancer treatment and share her experience with others.
Learn more about Sean’s work and The Jung Center at www.junghouston.org.
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Please consider supporting us at therose.org. Your donation could help save the life of an uninsured woman.
Key Questions Answered
1.) Why is must we nurture our well-being, especially in the face of adversity?
as the isolation brought on by the pandemic.
2.) How is breast cancer tied to the origin of self-care?
3.) What can we do to foster better support networks in our community?
4.) What are Dr. Fitzpatrick’s tips for managing self-care?
Chapters
00:00 Self-care in pandemic: simplified approach for all.
03:51 Infants have instinct to notice surroundings instinctively.
07:47 Paying attention to body signals for calm.
12:55 Well being defined as happiness and contentment.
15:04 Well-being through relationships, including self and community.
18:38 Commute time transformed during pandemic, newfound appreciation.
23:46 Audrey Lord, influential writer, faced cancer decision.
24:48 Self-care as political act for black woman.
28:11 Recognize interdependence, create spaces for connection.
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