Happy experiences remind me of the beauty of living

This week I've been singing "There's a place for us, a time and place for us." The reasons have nothing to do with "West Side Story" but have everything to do with the sometimes unexpected impact of "other" things on the treatment of cancer.

It began with an appointment with the head of integrative medicine at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. I always love seeing Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple. She's an internist and is certified by Dr. Andrew Weil, founder of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

She manages all my vitamins and supplements so they don't knock heads with one another or with the magical meds I must take to keep my breast cancer from progressing beyond its "contained" status.

She wears street clothes, opts for soft music and lighting and soothing candles in her office, and tends to the "spiritual" side of her patients with her gentle demeanor.

Her mentor was my oncologist, who is as enthusiastic about her as I am. I avoid doctors who don't see a place for what used to be called "alternative" medicine.

A couple of days later, I was at a synagogue concert featuring a singer who is a favorite with young families. Though I didn't have any little ones by my side, I got a big kick out of a 19-month-old who was quite comfortable keeping perfect time with his feet and hands just below the stage, while the entire audience joined in the singing.

The next day, I was covering a story on the writing of a Torah scroll at Temple Chai in Long Grove. I watched as a family was guided by the skilled scribe in adding words and letters to the new Torah.

Suddenly, I decided to ask him if I could add one, too, and explained that I have metastatic breast cancer. Coincidentally, the next Hebrew letter to be written was a "resh."

"Ahh!" he exclaimed. "It can stand for 'refuah shlema,' a complete healing. It's also the first letter of your name." I happily added my letter to the scroll -- buoyed by the experience.

The seven days ended with an address by one of my favorite writers. Naomi Ragen drew a crowd of close to 700 people when she spoke about her home in Israel. It, too, is trying hard to survive.

There was definitely a place for all those experiences. Momentarily, they helped me forget that I was living with cancer -- and simply reminded me of the beauty of living.