Dear Grandma Viola, We never met. I am the oldest daughter of your youngest daughter. You passed away only a few years before I was born. My mother watched you be diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 51, go through a barbaric mastectomy, which was the best they could do at the time… Continue reading Thank you Grandma, I love you and I’m sorry
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.
“How are you?” and other absurdities
Ten days and counting... Surgery is imminent. While a part of my logical mind knows that this is the first concrete and necessary step towards ridding my body of cancer, there is still a huge dam of denial that is about to break as the reservoir of reality breaches the safety zone. I am managing in mirco-seconds... taking… Continue reading “How are you?” and other absurdities
Along the yellow brick road
We are truly not in Kansas anymore. Days are filled with appointments and calls coordinating between doctors and insurance. Try and relax. Don't get stressed out. Stay on top of things. Be organized. Ask all the right questions. If you don't stay on top of these people, nothing will get done. Who is connecting the… Continue reading Along the yellow brick road
Creative, Resourceful and Whole
Many of you know that shortly before diagnosis, I embarked on a new career path. Wait, more than a career path...A life changing and empowering transformation was taking hold. I had finally understood on a core level what people mean when they refer to "a calling". I had found IT and was actively pursuing IT.… Continue reading Creative, Resourceful and Whole
The roller coaster continues
After a wonderful and inspiring weekend at the Omega Institute, taking a workshop called Foraging and Feasting, I came back Monday and reality set in deep like a weight on my chest. Being new to the cancer scene, I am shocked at how much disconnect there is between various facilities and Dr. offices and how… Continue reading The roller coaster continues
After the shock sets in…
I've opted for this method to tell my greater circle of friends and family the news that I have breast cancer. It has been so overwhelming coming to terms with this, and having to tell people over and over. Watching faces register shock, concern, worry... answering questions, getting stories and advice. News spreads fast however,… Continue reading After the shock sets in…
Melissa's Healing Hope 