Teen with a Dream™ is a 501 (c) (3) charity founded specifically to enrich the lives of pediatric cancer patients and the lives of their families by combating the effects of social isolation and loneliness during chemotherapy through specialized social, educational, and financial programs.
Follow our blogs for daily tips, advice, tricks, stories, and information that will help you on your cancer journey!
As we mentioned in a previous Tips + Tricks to Chemo post, cornstarch is a great natural remedy for dry skin. Here are a couple great recipes for DIY face masks to try out!
For Dry Skin: (Cornstarch Lemon Mask)
Juice of half a lemon
1 beaten egg white
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Mix ingredients thoroughly to form a smooth paste. The lemon cleanses and exfoliates, the egg white nourishes and firms, while the cornstarch softens the skin.
For oil Skin: (Strawberry Honey Cornstarch Mask)
½ cup(s) strawberries
1 tbsp. honey
¼ cup(s) milk low fat
1 tablespoon rice flour or cornstarch
Puree strawberries with honey in a blender, pour into a bowl. Add cornstarch and milk together to strawberries mixture. Apply to your face, avoiding the delicate area around your eyes. Leave on for 20-30 minutes, and then rinse off with cool water.
Additionally, we posted before that chemotherapy can cause patients to crave chilly treats-this Frozen Fruit recipe by The Nerd’s Wife is also a perfect companion for those yucky treatment days!
Ingredients
Fresh Fruit of your choice
Coconut Water
Popsicle Containers
Directions
Place Fruit into container
Pour Coconut Water into container
Freeze!
Simple as that! Check out The Nerd’s Wife + their recipe here!
Happy SPLURGE! Friday Dreamers! Today’s SPLURGE! is inspired by a quote from Winston Churchill…
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston S. Churchill
Sometimes the best moments in our lives are the moments spent helping others, giving back + connecting to our communities. That is why today we encourage you to SPLURGE! on giving back!
Seek out opportunities to give back and to make someone smile. Teen with a Dream has a perfect opportunity for you to give back, by joint us at our annual Evening of Dreams fundraiser! This years event will be held at SpringHill Suites Hotel in Denver, CO.
Teen with a Dream will take you around the globe on this whirlworld night. From our unique selection of auction items to the engaging activity rooms-we hope to provide you with an experience to remember all while giving back + joining the fight against pediatric cancer-until there is a cure!
The students of Mrs. Faulkner’s + Mrs. Bond’s classroom compiled over 45 Compassion Bags! One aspect of their Compassion Project that was especially heart warming was that instead of the student’s ordering a Scholastic Book for themselves, they hand picked a book for their assigned patient’s Compassion Bag!
As the students were putting their bags together, the room was filled with excitement as they showed one another what they had come up with. It is an incredible transformation of closeness + bonding, not only between the foundation and the classroom but, amongst the students themselves as well.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such compassionate + caring students.
Here are a list of questions to ask yourself to potentially gain a more rounded perspective of your new reality:
How can I use this situation to learn something about myself?
This may show you how strong emotionally you truly are.
How does this relate to my life “purpose”?
How can this positively affect my life?
As Spencer Harrison, founder of Teen with a Dream, found that his diagnosis with cancer ultimately turned into his life journey and purpose. It was these questions….these silver linings, that fueled Teen with a Dream.
What can I learn from this situation?
You may find that your experience or knowledge of coping with cancer may help someone in the future.
Where is the “gift” in this?
As we discussed during our chemotherapy silver linings post, you may perceive the gift in your situation as the profound sense of love and support that came from a diagnosis.
Mouth sores + dental problems are a likely side effect that can have a significant impact on your daily comfort. Getting kids to brush their teeth can already be a difficult task, but adding in mouth sores may make it that much harder!
A soft tooth brush is key! After some research we found that Nimbus Microfine Extra Soft Toothbrush is one of the top choices when choosing a soft + sensitive toothbrush.
What makes it so great?
NIMBUS Microfine is built with the “do not harm” motto in every toothbrush. It is designed to be effective, gentle, trauma-free + is perfect for kids!
They are effective with getting rid of plaque with and ultra gentle feel.
As spring is right around the corner, so is fresh fruits and veggies! Although fruit and veggies are an essential part of everyone’s diet-they also have the potential to be covered in pesticides or chemicals.
That is why today’s nutrition tip is how to effectively + safely clean your family’s fresh produce!
[Directions]
Fill a clean + chemical free bowl with water
Add 4 Tablespoons of White Vinegar per 1 gallon of water
Submerge produce in mixture
Let soak for ten to fifteen minutes [water will appear dirty-that is okay!]
Extract produce and rinse with water
Let dry
Do you have any other tips for washing your produce?
Happy Saturday Dream Team! Over the course of our blog we have shared various yoga poses that promote certain purposes. As this month’s blog posts are centered around self embrace, fulfilling your potential, + seeking out the silver linings-we want to share a pose that promotes self-realization.
[Warrior II Pose]
DOYOUYOGA shares how to effectively engage in this pose:
“Standing poses demand involvement from every single part of the body. As in life, without a steady foundation, you will never be able to extend to reach your maximum. They teach you about firm grounding, and only from there can you really begin to grow, to show your true colors and start to reach your full potential!
Warrior 2 celebrates our unique strengths and positive qualities. It connects us to the absolute power that resides within our bodies, starting with our legs but reaching every muscle and joint to keep us strong like a warrior. This is an excellent pose to restore a feeling of power and confidence. Dig deep into your heart, into your hips and sink down low to the ground and scream out loud “I can and I will!”
We have an exciting two days ahead of us! Today we are going to be working with a local girl scout troop to create Links of Love. These paper chains will be taken to local cancer centers to brighten up the atmosphere.
Tomorrow we are meeting up with our friends at Charles Hay World School. As you may have read before, the students at Charles Hay have gathered together and rallied up excitement + high levels of compassion for our foundation!
It is days like these that remind us the truly inspirational students that walk among us. We have kids joint the fight against pediatric cancer-Until there is a cure!
Today’s inspirational story comes from Make-a-Wish Foundation’s “I wish to be” section! It is filled with numerous stories of strength, charisma and hope. Today we would like to share with you, Allan’s story.
Allan has spent his years dreaming up designs of cars. It is his dream to make a living in the business and share his passion. It was through UAW-GM and Make-A-Wish® Philadelphia and Susquehanna Valley that he was able to make this come true!
Allan was invited to a prominent design meeting with GM at their headquarters and share his incredible creativity. GM ultimately unveiled their own sketches of Allan’s ideas, and his reaction was profoundly grateful stating: ““All I have to say is thank God that I’m here to tell you where I came from – a lot of agony and pain. But this is everything I have dreamed of, that got me through-I thank the Lord for giving me another day to live my dreams. And I thank each of you for your generosity.” [Make-a-Wish]
Going through chemotherapy is certainly an overwhelming anddaunting experience-it requires precise attention. From being cautious of dietchoices to managing medications-it can take away from moments of happiness.
Today, we want to spend a little time-sharing things that give us the opportunity to seek out the “silver lining” in the little things.
Seek out friendships on treatment days. By having someone to confide in or even just have around on treatment days, provides you something to look forward to.
The Silver Lining:Prepare yourself on treatment days as going to “hang out” or see your friends at the center.
It is not secret that a cancer diagnosis brings a handful of questions about the future. Chemo almost forces you to live in the moment, don’t let this be a bad thing.
The Silver Lining: Appreciate this new perspective as “living in the moment” and embracing the present.
Allow yourself to embrace support and love of those around you. You ay feel as though you want control back in your life, therefore you want to take care of everything yourself-it is okay to let others help you.
The Silver Lining: Although the reason surrounding this newfound support may be stressful, embrace this support. Allow this love into your heart.
Controlling the many side effects of chemo can be stressful such as hair loss, skin changes and so on.
The Silver Lining: Splurge on certain things that boost your confidence whether that is buying that hat you had always wanted or trying new skin care products-invest in yourself!
Happy SPLURGE! Friday! As St. Patty’s day is right around the corner, we thought today would be perfect to share with you a D.I.Y. St. Patrick’s themed Play Dough that will be sure to put a jig in your step!
Through out the course of our blog, we have had several posts pertaining to scholarships. Teen with a Dream presents the foundation scholarship recipient every year at the annual Evening of Dreams Fundraiser.
The deadline is approaching quickly, so take a moment to look back at our scholarship posts to help you gear up for applying!
Dreams, they help us survive. Especially when your going through cancer treatment. So on this Humpday Wednesday we have an inspirational story for you.
Most of the world knows about BATKID the 6 year old Make a Wish child Miles Scott. He was the lead cast in what would be the largest wish make a wish as ever produced. The City of San Francisco transformed into Gotham and 20,000 plus people helped BatKid save the day. It is amazing to know that this child’s Dream came true, but also for all the other children with cancer it is amazing to see how much people care.
The good news doesn’t end at the story, get your tissues ready because someone has made a documentary that can only be described as inspiring. Just in case your not a documentary fan Julie Roberts is also staring and producing big screen version of Batkid.
The story of Batkid can be found by a simple google if you need a shot of inspiration before the movie comes out.
All you have to do is Dream it and it can come true.
Being diagnosed with cancer is a scary thing for anyone. Trying to help children with cancer understand their diagnosis is a hard thing. There is a vastness in ages and how to explain it to them. Because childhood cancer helps 0 to 21 there isn’t just one way to help them understand.
On this Tuesday here is a book to help smaller children with cancer, or the young at heart kids. H is for Hair Fairy by Kim Martin is a picture book with a mission. Two fairies visit a child in the hospital during their cancer treatment and helps other children understand what cancer is and it’s treatment. The book is also for adults who are young at heart. The proceeds of the book goes towards helping the Hair Fairy Project started in memory of the authors son and daughter who both had different forms of cancer.
Here at Teen with a Dream we believe books are a gateway not only to help us understand but to escape the world for a bit and of course it makes your mind stronger.
Our tip for today is all about your skin! Chemotherapy can cause your skin to be dry, irritated, and even darken depending on your type of treatment. One of the most annoying side effects of dry skin and irritated skin is the itching. itching can be a very painful side effect since as a chemotherapy patient you have to send 8 to 10 hour basically motionless. Even after a day of treatment at home when all you want to do is sleep but you can’t because your skin is irritated.
Here is a quick, easy, and organic tip to help with itching and irritated skin. CORNSTARCH! We almost always have this in our pantry and when used just like baby powder would it helps give some relief to the skin.
Give it a dry and see if it helps next time you have an itch, of course it the problem becomes worse or unmanageable let your doctor and nurses know.
Spinach is the super food of all leafy greens! That is why this recipe is not only healthy + nutritious-but it’s perfectly disguised to the kids as a sweet treat that they will love!
Ingredients
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fresh spinach, packed
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and puree.3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and combine.4. Pour the spinach puree in a large mixing bowl.5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.6. Scoop batter into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way.7. Bake for 12 minutes.8. Serve.
Today our Feature Post will be is an easy fitness routine that may helps your child focus as well. This idea may be helpful in a home school environment during treatment as well. What I personally love about this is, it allows for some easy pain free exercise so I would have been able to do it during my own treatment. All you need is a balance ball. Originally developed in 1960’s for physical therapy that balance ball has found many different uses. Just sitting on our instead of a chair helps strengthen back muscles and strengthen core muscles all while just sitting! Elementary schools have started to use them instead of chairs to even help kids focus! This is were the balance ball chair could be helpful for home schooling during treatment. Schools have found that sitting on one helps children with Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder focus. Well Chemotherapy may not cause DHD but it certainly can feel like it! During school even at home, you can still fill sick, ache, have problems connecting thoughts, and for lack of a better term I personally felt mushy. Like my brain and body had turned into mushed bananas. So If sitting on a balance ball would help that I’m all for that!
Balance Balls can be found at most sporting goods stores or were ever sporting kids are sold, just be sure to find one that allows your child to sit comfortable on it, and even if its for one hour a day it may help! I know I would have tried it myself. One of the biggest pains about Chemotherapy that I’ve found is that there is no set things that can help, so its all about trail and error, try it and see and if you have an ideas of suggestions about it email us back at Dream@teenwithadream.org
Here is the link to the article that sparked my interest in this, but you can also find some more information by just a simple google or youtube search there should plenty of news stories about schools doing this.
Rubber Duck has been a longtime supporter and Dream Team Member here at Teen with a Dream. Not only are their boots perfect for spring time travels on treatment but their dedication to happiness and sticking with a positive perception is perfect for this month’s blog post topic.
“Rubber Duck makes colorful and functional footwear that urges you to be happy, stay active, and most importantly to –Play!. At Rubber Duck, we wish to follow the positive path of life and we want to make people smile and -Play! We want to have fun with what we do, so we try to smile and –Play! a bit more every day!”
Check them out and SPLURGE! on these awesome boots- here!
Today, a portion of Trinity Lutheran’s #2015CompassionBags were dropped off at one of our centers. It is our hope that these bags will serve as a reason to smile for the patients currently under going treatment.
Thank you Trinity Lutheran for your support and jointing the fight against childhood cancer-until there is a cure!
Although springtime seasons in an era of sunshine and growth, it also can cause depression. This can be especially true with pediatric cancer patients. Why? Patients do not have the same opportunity as their friends to embrace the year’s first warmth, sun or good rain.
Here are a few things to remember:
Discuss with your doctor about ways to take a few moments in the sun. Whether it is taking an assisted short walk at the hospital, or placing your chair so the sun hits you.
Try indoor gardening-check out some tips on this here
Make sure to communicate with someone you trust if you are feeling depressed-be honest and express your emotional hardships
Dedicate your time inside to doing something that makes you happy and helps you cope with this new routine
Recognize seasonal triggers. Is there a certain time in the year that you find yourself overwhelmed? Depressed? Try to seek out the root of this trigger and begin to cope with it
As spring is around the corner, we wanted to discuss a tipwe find would be helpful for the upcoming rainy months.
Prepare for treatment days by putting together your grab and “go-bag”. This bag will hold all of your necessities and extra items that you may unexpectedly need. Additionally by having them in a bag will also protect these important items when getting to and from the hospital.
Some general items that would be important to include would be:
Medical Binder [a place to hold lab results, important patient info etc]
Change of Clothes
Water + Snacks
Later this month we will discuss more specific and unique items to put in your bag-check back!
