"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

-Victor Frankl

jennifer turner M.A.  

Cancer Coaching strives to empower people to enhance their own well-being by providing hope, information and support. 
Coaching  creates a powerful and effective framework which uses the client’s experiences, definitions of health and well-being, and unique needs as the starting point for providing INFORMATION, SUPPORT AND PRACTICAL SKILLS to enhance quality of life and re-gain a sense of autonomy and control.  Navigation services support people to understand their options, make decisions, find out how to access second opinions, and work effectively within the realms of their personal lives, communities and healthcare system. 

Integrative counselling respects the interaction between mind, body and spirit and integrative cancer care is care of the entire human being and is about more than physical survivorship, which is not always possible.  I strive to support survival of integrity, autonomy and dignity - which is always possible.

Our culture often fails to support the space and opportunity to consider the full continuum of life and death - with all the sacred meaning, joy and grief that this often entails.  Illness and death are  not a failure - they are  a part of the poignancy of life and people deserve to be supported along the entire spectrum of living and dying.   Being able to talk freely about life and death issues can significantly reduce feelings of stress and isolation - for both patients and caregivers.  

For Individuals: 

Individual coaching sessions provide one on one personal and private time to deal with often unspoken fears and concerns.  Cancer patients often find great comfort in being able to speak freely about what their life and death means to them - without protecting everyone around them.  Loved ones also benefit from the opportunity to explore and find peace with their role and how to love and care for someone with cancer without feeling they need to rescue them.  Supportive care is fundamentally about respect and courage - courage to walk with our clients and to be present for the full range of their experience  

For Health Professionals and Caregivers:

Those of us who are committed to providing care for cancer patients and their families do so in the context of a culture that does not usually equip us to deal with the emotional and spiritual dimensions of life and death, and where death is often equated with failure.    We are often deeply affected by the challenges and loss inherent in working with people who often die.  We also need the opportunity to develop awareness around our own personal and fears, in order to fully support those we care for. Integrative coaching provides skills to enable caregivers to be fully present with those they love and to provide effective, compassionate care.  

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