Letters from Dr. Geffen's former Patients

July 30, 2002

Dear Dr. Geffen,

It is with a great sense of relief and joy that I pen these words to you. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March, 2002 at the age of 34. The weeks after my diagnosis were filled with a deep, hollow sense of foreboding about what I believed to be my impending death. Needless to say, I immediately began reading everything I could find about breast cancer; all of which gave me factual information about this disease, which I found helpful, but not overly comforting to my strong feelings of extreme loss and uncertainty.

When my husband gave me your book I thought I was receiving yet another book about cancer. What a sweet surprise to find that that was not the case at all. While The Journey Through Cancer is filled with the latest medical information and research surrounding cancer it is so beautifully interwoven throughout The Seven Levels of Healing that as I finished it (with a lovely sigh) I couldn't believe I had just read a book about cancer. And, truly, it is not just a book about cancer. For me, it is a book about the exquisite, delicate "journey through life" -- from our physical health and relationships with our loved ones, to the intense examination into the endless depth of our soul.

My initial cancer diagnosis took some very precious gifts from me and I found at the turn of each page in The Journey Through Cancer, those gifts being returned -- The gift of optimism about my medical treatments. The gift of a concentrated focus in the fight for my life. The gift of exploration into complementary approaches to be used in conjunction with western science. The gift of an inner quietness that I hadn't had before which helped immensely during the low points of treatment, and finally and most importantly, the glorious gift of hope.

Dr. Geffen, you are a healer and caring steward for all humankind -- thank you for sharing your fundamental principles, philosophy, and beliefs so eloquently in the form of your book, not just for people with cancer, but for all the world.

With great love and respect for all you do,

Susan Okeson
Anchorage, Alaska