Cancer as a Healing Journey
Body-Mind Integrative Approach
My name is Vicky Lefelman. In March 1975 I was diagnosed with stage 4 Adeno Carcinoma. I was given 3 months left to live, and maybe 6 with chemotherapy. More than 35 years later I am happy to share this with you in person.
I was treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and endured a long journey until July 1978 - which included chemotherapy and an operation. At the same time I went through many different kinds of body-mind work. At the end I was declared healthy.
After 2 years of being in a passive role, with people taking me to hospital, first on a wheelchair and later on my own legs, through the shock of discovering that I had cancer, something in me rebelled against the environment that didn’t provide me with the information I needed. With this rebellion an inner strength came to the fore. For the first time since becoming sick I became active and took responsibility for my life and my death. Slowly, I became fully conscious and owned the different layers of feelings and beliefs that inhabited me.
Back then, integrative medicine wasn't even a dream. A congress like this would have been considered science-fiction. And here we are, trying to integrate the different aspects of the being towards a more complete concept and experience of health.
Today, I am the director of Alma, a center for body-mind balance located in Jerusalem. I also co-direct, together with Dr. Shachar Lev-Ari, a program for cancer patients.
I discovered through my journey that my body was the scenario of my inner conflicts and unexpressed emotions. Through Therapeutic Touch, movement and breathing techniques I discovered a new world inside my body. Besides the conflicts, there were solutions and I could develop a new domain of balance.
I would mainly like to share with you the idea that every person can partake in a process of moving away from a 'victim' perspective to becoming a 'co-creator' in all situations.
Vicky Lefelman
Body- Mind Psycho Therapist D.M.T
Director and Founder of "Alma"- Interdisciplinary Center for Body- Mind Balance
