tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:30:12 +0000VISIT MY NEW SITE: https:/bonniegintis.com/blog and sign up to be notified of blog entries, as well as my schedule of workshops and other offerings. You can no longer subscribe to this blog, but it will be archived here. I was diagnosed in October of 2009 with metastatic breast cancer. This blog is an exploration of my relationship to life and health from 2009-2022. Join me and dive deeply into the mysteries of embodied life. http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)Blogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-9147639530755137577Sat, 06 May 2023 14:37:00 +00002023-05-06T07:37:41.975-07:00I am delighted to announce that I have created a new website and blog!You can find my new website at the same old address: BonnieGintis.comMy blog is now an integrated part of the new website.&nbsp;This will be the last blog entry on this blog platform. This blog will remain posted here as an archive of what I wrote from 2009 - 2022.&nbsp;Please continue to read my updates at the new site.There'shttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2023/05/announcing-my-new-website-and-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-8799573075887521695Sun, 05 Mar 2023 15:01:00 +00002023-03-05T07:01:08.979-08:00I have been exploring the poem, "Adrift" by Mark Nepo lately. I began hearing it in my head when my friend Robert's wife, Nell died a few weeks ago. And then as I pondered the "duet of wonder and grief" in my own life, I continued to contemplate the poem, line by line. I juxtapose the paradox of that which, "no one can take away and all that we’ve lost" and then loop back to the line about, "how http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2023/03/audiobooks-pet-scans-podcasts-and-trust.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-5926055553826812783Sat, 27 Aug 2022 13:32:00 +00002022-08-28T04:11:25.849-07:00“Cure is the prerogative of the organism.” These are the words of G. D. Hulett,&nbsp;Osteopath and nephew of Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of&nbsp;Osteopathy.&nbsp;Hulett lived, practiced, and taught in Kirksville, Missouri and wrote these words in 1904.When I first read this quote in the late 1990s, I was both inspired and relieved. I didn’t have to be a miracle worker. I was never http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2022/08/where-does-healing-unfold.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-4261923787711798141Wed, 13 Jul 2022 18:26:00 +00002022-07-13T14:14:51.928-07:00After 25 years of being together, Steve and I decided to have a podcast. We've named it "Osteopathy Unplugged" because the type of Osteopathy we practice doesn't require electricity.Over the years, we've explored all sorts of philosophical issues over what we call our "morning hot brown liquids" (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc.) and we realized that rather than write it all down in a book, that http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2022/07/introducing-osteopathy-unpluggedand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-9007163455364384270Sun, 20 Mar 2022 13:07:00 +00002022-03-20T06:07:47.231-07:00You can learn a lot about life by acquainting yourself with death. Pause now, and notice if you are triggered by my opening sentence. If you aren’t, that’s very encouraging. If you are upset by this sentiment, let’s explore what that’s about. Did you assume this means I have bad news about my health? Relax. I don’t. Are you squirming in your seat with the uncertainty towards which this opening http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2022/03/learn-about-life-by-acquainting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-2569708235787830771Sat, 06 Nov 2021 20:16:00 +00002021-12-31T12:59:21.952-08:00This is the longest I've gone between blog posts. What a year! We all have stories from the past year about how we were distracted from our usual priorities. Our lives have all been touched by something: Covid, cancer, Zoom calls, or some other ordeal. I hope to get back to writing more regularly in the coming months and I hope sharing my experience enriches all of our lives. We are in this life http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2021/11/we-are-in-this-fabulous-leaky-lifeboat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-6132020577651400906Thu, 17 Sep 2020 13:31:00 +00002020-09-17T06:36:47.241-07:00Life moving forward needs to be different. This is always true, but now, more than ever, the necessity to change some of the ways we live is evident. Whether it’s Covid, fires, drought, hurricanes, politics, racism, or cancer, we are being called upon to live differently.&nbsp;&nbsp;I ask myself each day what I can do to bring balance and connection to this disconnected world. I begin with my ownhttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2020/06/life-moving-forward.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-3486136715911017321Wed, 06 May 2020 17:02:00 +00002020-05-06T10:02:48.338-07:00Everything is unfolding slowly these days: the opening-up of society in this middle stage of the pandemic, my tulips, the plot in the book I'm reading, my own writing, and my ongoing relationship with cancer. I had a PET scan last Friday, and as is usual these days in so many aspects of life, the information it provides is not great and is somewhat confusing.I got a preliminary result by email http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2020/05/wisdom-arrives-on-warning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-2530821629867566027Tue, 31 Mar 2020 01:52:00 +00002020-03-30T18:52:23.259-07:00I ventured into the bowels of my local hospital this morning, Monday March 30th, for my 6-month follow-up scan. It was eerie being that out in the world, as if the zombie apocalypse had already passed and all that was left were a few abandoned cars scattered about in empty parking lots. I descended into the depths of the massive medical complex to the corner where cancer patients are injected http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2020/03/radical-embodiment-in-time-of-covid-19_30.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-6281482637131402484Sun, 27 Oct 2019 11:23:00 +00002019-10-27T04:23:32.047-07:00September 29, 2019I thought I was no longer going to report my health status in my blog, thinking that my many subscribers don't need or want this much detailed information, but so many of you protested when I announced this, that I will continue to let you know what’s up with my health. To fill in the blanks, I am posting 2 emails I sent out to a few close friends, colleagues, and loved ones http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2019/10/my-real-life-radical-embodiment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-8588457403308405827Wed, 25 Sep 2019 17:51:00 +00002019-09-25T10:51:55.229-07:00I have a visceral memory of my 53rd birthday. It was 2009 and I was at an Osteopathic continuing education course on “The Anterior Midline” taught by Elliot Blackman, DO in San Mateo, California. Ironically, my anterior midline, my sternum, to be exact, was red hot and bulging. I could barely move my arms. I couldn’t carry my treatment table or my suitcase. I ached all over. I was severely http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-decade-of-unexpected-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-5789108165608159751Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:47:00 +00002019-03-05T07:47:22.225-08:00In 2010, shortly after being diagnosed with breast cancer, I found myself having hand surgery. I had struggled with numbness and tingling in my hands since age 10, and it only got worse as I got older, especially after 30 years of practicing hands-on Osteopathy. I assumed that I had carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive microtrauma and overuse of my hands. I had tried everything alternative, andhttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-handless-maiden-has-foot-surgery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-3521419892982735819Wed, 26 Sep 2018 19:23:00 +00002018-09-26T12:23:15.871-07:00It's been 6 months since you've heard from me and since today is my 62nd birthday, I thought I would write&nbsp;a blog entry and let you know how life is unfolding. I am alive and thriving, even though it's not necessarily&nbsp;easy or always "going well." But that's the reality of life, and I'm so happy to be alive that I am quite content. The things that are important to me these days are http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-3-anatomies-of-embodied-experience.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-2624269068929947494Tue, 06 Mar 2018 20:39:00 +00002018-03-06T12:39:34.491-08:00I'm not sure why I keep growing breast cancers, but at least I know how to shrink them. My original crop in 2009 involved 9 tumors, which are all completely gone. The one that showed up last fall is my 10th! I had my follow-up ultrasound today and my newest "breast buddy" is smaller in all dimensions. It's a full centimeter smaller at it's largest point. 4 months on a new estrogen-blocker seemshttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2018/03/honey-i-shrunk-tumor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-504724190549968154Tue, 07 Nov 2017 14:59:00 +00002017-11-07T06:59:28.720-08:00Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it has saved my life…more than once. A few weeks ago, during the week of my 61st birthday I received a message from my bones. My sternum and 3rd rib began throbbing, broadcasting a message of the return of cancer. Although the exact content of the message was somewhat cryptic, it’s general theme was perfectly clear. In 2013, I wrote, “I promised to listen, http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2017/11/curiosity-saved-my-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-5016952385996888119Thu, 26 Oct 2017 18:53:00 +00002017-10-26T11:53:41.863-07:00As always, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is what I have known deep down since my rib started throbbing a few weeks ago – the biopsy showed that it is breast cancer. I already knew that, so I’m not in shock or upset – mostly disappointed.The good news is that it is still highly estrogen-positive and HER-2 negative (for you non-medical types, that means it’s less aggressive and http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-transformation-isnt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-9071250153769835098Sun, 22 Oct 2017 21:31:00 +00002017-10-22T14:31:14.526-07:00While living with the uncertainty of my pending biopsy result, Steve and I decided to immerse ourselves in the mountain air of the Laurentians (technically, the northern extension of the Adirondacks into Canada, an hour and a half north of Montreal). We have a fabulous little place we like to visit on la ”Rivière du Nord,” the North River. We hike on Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord, which wehttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2017/10/lean-in-and-listen-closely.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-6377068420238642052Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:01:00 +00002017-10-22T14:34:22.617-07:00I consider it a healthy sign of life that I have somewhat abandoned blogging. It's been 10 months since my last entry and I realize that I associate this blog with cancer updates, and until this week, I haven't wanted to post anything. A few weeks ago, out of nowhere (that's where all cancer seems to come from), I began feeling a disturbingly familiar throb in my chest at that place where my http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2017/10/an-unexpected-blip-on-screen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-8833571446451826282Sun, 04 Dec 2016 20:58:00 +00002016-12-04T12:58:21.794-08:00I had my annual PET scan last week, and the good news is that cancer has not taken up any new residences within me. How miraculous to be entering my 8th year of life post-diagnosis!I had a challenging week after an overly casual radiologist over-interpreted my scan, which gave me the impression that cancer had reared its ugly head again. My wonderful oncologist, Kim went over my films with the http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2016/12/cancer-scans-mystery-worry-practice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-1311396746558229331Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:17:00 +00002016-10-31T13:20:36.402-07:00Once again, I have gone so long between blog entries that people are starting to contact me to see if I'm ok. I am. I'm fine, although I'm still having a great and challenging adventure living in my body. I have been sorting out my priorities, and I'm posting this notice to let those of you who also follow my Tango Provocateur blog that I am shutting it down. I will still write occasionally abouthttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-provocateur-is-undergoing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-2586753179189722548Sun, 24 Apr 2016 13:40:00 +00002016-12-13T13:12:35.959-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 14 85 Bonnie Gintis, D.O. 1 1 98 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2016/04/courageous-hospitality-towards.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-7705869109071927982Sat, 05 Dec 2015 13:36:00 +00002015-12-05T05:45:45.913-08:00 <!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 138 789 Bonnie Gintis, D.O. 6 1 926 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2015/12/introducing-tango-provocateur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-7552702445769408570Wed, 09 Sep 2015 21:47:00 +00002015-11-25T05:19:28.215-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 120 685 Bonnie Gintis, D.O. 5 1 804 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2015/09/im-great-but-my-body-is-having-hard-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-4193548616114272751Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:25:00 +00002015-04-16T07:25:07.609-07:00 “Why me?” is a common outcry of the newly diagnosed. As I have sat with this question for more than 5 years, I have explored many alternative answers, and they all lead me to the realization that I don’t take my life so personally. This doesn’t mean that I am in any way detached or not caring, in fact, this underlying assumption allows me to thrive within the limits imposed upon me. My cancerhttp://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2015/04/why-me-versus-why-not-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494583210352611053.post-3095260982076172843Thu, 12 Mar 2015 01:53:00 +00002015-03-12T04:57:11.177-07:00 Being confronted with the impossible&nbsp; makes us ask unexpected questions.&nbsp; Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum Movement I did not think I'd live long enough to ask some of the questions I'm asking these days. It's been five years and a few months since I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I would most likely die within two years. I'm living outside the realm of probability http://bonniegintishealth.blogspot.com/2015/03/confronted-with-impossible.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bonnie Gintis)