Connie Cifelli
My name is Connie Cifelli. I am 51 years old, married to Lou, the mother of two children, Nick and Danielle, and a two-time breast cancer survivor. My journey over the last five years has taken me down many roads. After my first diagnosis in 2008 I was determined to live a healthier lifestyle and transform my body. I did that by losing 70 pounds and I’ve never felt better! I accomplished this by taking advantage of the programs offered through the Healing Consciousness Foundation. I participated in the Healthy Cooking for Life class and also joined the VMS Thriver Exercise program.
I was on top of the world when breast cancer struck me again in 2010. My journey started all over; this time it hit me hard on an emotional level. I could not let go of the fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis. It consumed me from head to toe. It was all I thought about every waking moment. I got through my journey this time around with different types of healing modalities offered by the Healing Consciousness Foundation. I had the help of an amazing spiritual healer Mary Lou Gilmour. Mary Lou is one of my Earthly Angels. With her loving, spiritual, and energy work, I found peace and a sense of calm. I now had the courage to fight my battle a second time. Mary Lou was there for me every step of my journey and I will be forever grateful.
The HCF offered biannual thrivers’ retreats where survivors can spend a weekend together healing. The retreat allowed me to come to terms with my fear. I wanted to “LIVE” not just exist. This weekend was spent with two loving and understanding psychologists/yogis from Australia, Sue Baughman and Mudita Maclurcan. I learned techniques that weekend that have helped me to cope with the fear of a cancer diagnosis; it was just what I needed.
After that weekend, Sue and Mudita offered us a continuing program called “Create Your Life”. Create Your Life was a one-year program that really helped me to move on. We had meetings with our group by Skype and worked on different techniques to help us move on and create a new life beyond cancer. It was during the Create Your Life program that I discovered healing through nutrition and lifestyle. I am on a different journey now; one to help others to heal and find wellness through healthy lifestyles. My second cancer journey has brought me to a place of wellness not just for my body, but my mind and soul as well. I have refocused my life; it is not about having cancer it is about being a WELLNESS WARRIOR!
I live life now with much gratitude for my faith that carried me, my disease that awakened me, my doctors who cared for me, and my practitioners who healed me. You will be forever in my heart.
