I was given an assignment by Dr. Vicario to start a Support Group for the San Diego Cancer Center and Research Institute (SDCRI). The group was composed of individuals with various types of cancer. It was small for the first month or so, and then blossomed to fifteen, twenty-five or thirty participants. Although individuals were free to join or leave
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, March 17, 2014) To whom it may concern, I have not blogged in quite awhile. I am just trying to live this blog. “Love Thy Self as Thy Would Love Thy Best Friend” I have been on a 53-year journey through the healing art of medicine. I am presently a Psychosocial-Oncologist at
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, January 29, 2014) Recently, I was with my sister-in-law, Rita, and she related that as a child she “needed support” from her family but later found that “support” from her husband. When the three of us that were present asked her to give an example, she mentioned that, “He always gave me ‘freedom’ to
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, January 13, 2014) The brain is matter and the mind doesn’t matter……..any longer. Neuroscientists become quite upset when human brain is compared to a computer. Personally, I feel that the brain is no more than a biological computer. The brain is a composite of electrochemical connections that work similar to a binary computer processor
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, November 23, 2013) Fact: Our newspapers often report the high incidence of PTSD (1 in 5 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan), as well as the high incidence of suicide (22 per day) in our military. The vast majority of military suicides are the enlisted ranks between the ages of 17-30. Interestingly, suicide
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, November 18, 2013) Click on the image below to enlarge.
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, November 5, 2013) Last Thursday at the Cancer Center, became a seminar for me on suffering. Three patients with cancer were distressed, not by their cancer or their therapy, but by their children’s poor health. There was essentially nothing I could offer. Suffering is not medically treatable. It is pain that
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, October 6, 2013) One of the statements of the sixties and seventies that I use practically everyday is, the name of Gerald Jampolski’s book, “Love is Letting Go of Fear”. The other day on seeing a patient I used that phrase for the umpteenth time and thought to myself, “What is fear.
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, September 20, 2013) Self-observation demands a split in consciousness between one’s bodily sensations and what the senses are focused on outside of the body, be it a person, thing or one’s surroundings. This state is the evolving present moment. Our senses connect the observer to what is being observed as one and
(Original Post from Dr. Brenner’s personal Blog, September 3, 2013) I work at a Cancer Center as a psychosocial oncologist. My reason for being at the Center is to empower patients to participate, along with their oncologist, in the healing process. The key to self-empowerment is to let go of the mind’s fear and live in the present. This understanding