Woven with words and woven within the space between the words of her journey, are answers and questions without
answer, history and inequities, ancient wisdom and exquisite insight, grandmotherly vision and a healer's spiritual
touch. Kara Briggs, Yakama journalist, is a breast cancer
survivor chronicling her struggle to survive and understand breast cancer; remember the old ways with the new ways; and
speaking out against the challenges of a government health system and medical funding crisis that does not seem to care
when it is their job to take care of its people. In her latest column, she speaks of Dr. Bernie Siegel, who wrote in ''Love, Medicine and Miracles'' that medicine - and, in our time, health insurance - primarily exists to keep us alive until we find our individual path to healing our minds and bodies. Ms. Briggs speaks of Joseph Campbell and recovering the power of story. Because we are story, we begin as story, and it is our story that can lead us to healing.
Photo credit: Kara Briggs, Yakama journalist, former president of the Native American Journalists Association and winner of the 2004 Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism.
1. Breast cancer is a terrible thing to go through .. it's very hard on families.. I lost my sister last Oct. after a 5 yr battle.. it wasn't just her battling it.. it was the ones that cared the most that were there with her .. every chemo every radiation.. all the way.. I thought we were invincible.. and I truely believe that cancer can be beat with the right attitude ..and right nutrition.. I always told her it's mind over matter.. just think we only use 1 tenth of our brain imagine what the other 9 tenths is capable of .. with the right attitude.. she was somewhat of a negative person always giving everything the analysis.. that's fine but not everything is bad.. and sometimes good things happen.. sometimes miracles happen.. but she couldn't get to where she needed to be .. there was always an obsticle.. and the battle was lost.. but I told her as extensive as her cancer was .. she had beat all odds .. and it was possible to go all the way.. but we lost..
Posted at 3:17PM on Mar 14th 2006 by dee