Author: Melissa Eppard

I am a professionally trained and certified Life Coach with personal experience overcoming cancer as a mom in my mid-30's. After a diagnosis in 2014 I began blogging as a way to communicate with my family and friends, but it soon became much more than that. Writing was my lifeboat and connection with the outside world while immune compromised and healing from surgery. Now I’m using my personal and professional experiences and living my dream of supporting others as a Healing Hope Cancer Coach. I help my clients understand their options, develop the best care team and a supportive network. Together we unpack the experience of having a cancer diagnosis, processing the emotional impact of a cancer. I offer stress reduction techniques to help manage fear and uncertainty, and coaching to support healing on all dimensions. After treatment ends, I help people find their personal roadmap through the pain and uncertainty, to a life fueled by clarity, personal strength and a connection to their unique life purpose. From diagnosis, through treatment and recovery, no one should go it alone! I draw upon 10+ years of work immersed in holistic health and wellness. I was born and raised in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York and live there still with my husband and son. My survivorship blog Melissashealinghope.com chronicles my healing journey. You can learn more about my work as a coach at MelissaEppardCoaching.com.

My Cancer Support Home

Melissa Eppard

I know there are stages of grief, but there doesn't seem to be the luxury of time around the denial. After the shock of the news that my local oncology support program was closing, I landed largely on anger. How could this be happening if the Herbert H. and Sofia P. Reuner Cancer Support House was, as… Continue reading My Cancer Support Home

Pleasure IS Healing: Why Sexual pleasure matters

Melissa Eppard

*In this piece I am writing to the cancer survivor, but insert whatever life change has interrupted your connection to your body and pleasure—menopause, depression, really anything. There will be some value for you here too. x In 2023 I helped host a retreat for breast cancer survivors who opted to go flat after mastectomy,… Continue reading Pleasure IS Healing: Why Sexual pleasure matters

They kept telling me to get a biopsy, but that was entirely wrong.

Melissa Eppard

The mismanagement of crucial records and lack of conscientious administrative practices can cause unnecessary trauma for patients, or worse, result in mismanagement of care with deleterious results.  I presented the front desk of my primary doctor’s office with my mother’s genetic results showing her recent RET+ Medullary Thyroid Cancer diagnosis on January 3, 2024, as… Continue reading They kept telling me to get a biopsy, but that was entirely wrong.

Navigating the Rocky Seas of Cancer Survivorship: The Things No One Prepares You For

Melissa Eppard

Navigating the Rocky Seas of Cancer Survivorship: The Things No One Prepares You For During cancer treatment, your doctors, nurses and support staff have been there with you, but what about after treatment is over? How do you deal with an understandable sense of isolation as you resume your life? How do you deal with the trauma and emotional toll of your diagnosis? What about the effect that your experience has had on your sexuality and relationships? How do you regain a sense of well-being and improve your health? Join us for this 3 part cancer survivorship series for women post-treatment that begins on Thursday, February 23rd at 5:30 P.M. ET

Growing Resilience

Melissa Eppard

My friends and family know that I'm an avid gardener. This time of year, I am closely following the weather trends, waiting for the barometer to rise enough to safely begin the "hardening off" process for my seedlings. Hardening off describes the process by which you gradually expose your plants to the elements of sun and… Continue reading Growing Resilience