About 300 people heard Dr. Astrid Pujari’s talk at Centennial Hall on Saturday during this year’s Cancer Connection Health Forum. The Seattle-based doctor spoke about mindfulness being both a way to prevent and live with cancer.
“Stress is a fear response to life and we have a choice about how we react to an event; we don’t have to automatically react with fear. Mindfulness is the process by which we become aware of that choice and then choose something else. But in order to achieve that, you have to practice,” Pujari said.
She led the audience through a series of breathing exercises and a short meditation. Pujari showed scientific data supporting how doing these practices can make a difference in physical health and cancer prevention, not just mental well-being. She presented preliminary research linking telomeres – DNA at the end of chromosomes – and aging. She said new studies suggest meditation and other lifestyle changes can prevent the shortening of telomeres and, in turn, many diseases.
“So that’s actually pretty profound – that we might be able to do something psychologically to affect our physical DNA is a big deal,” Pujari said.
Alaskans, she said, may be ahead of the curve when it comes to mindfulness.
“People in Juneau, people in Alaska, because they’re in a place that’s so naturally beautiful, they’re going to care more about lifestyle in a way that perhaps isn’t accessible to someone who doesn’t live in nature in the same way. Because of that, they have the potential to become more aware of what their thoughts and their feeling and how those things are affecting their inner state, but also their physical health,” Pujari said.
Cancer Connection has been holding health forums in Juneau for about 17 years. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide support to Southeast residents dealing with cancer and connect them to resources. It offers support groups, counseling and travel assistance.
President Ruth Johnson said the forum allows people to access information on cancer prevention, treatment and intervention resources. And she hopes it fulfills the organization’s mission set by founder Mike Miller, who was diagnosed with a terminal form of prostate cancer at age 42.
“He flew out of town. This highly energetic man in the prime of his life was terrified. He was very lonely, he was very afraid and he thought, ‘If I survive this thing, no one in my community is going to deal with this alone again,'” Johnson said.
So far this year, Cancer Connection has provided travel assistance to 37 individuals and fields about a hundred calls a month on inquiries for support and service.
