Bershan Shaw, 'Love In The City' Star And Breast Cancer Survivor, Shares What Helped Her Beat Remarkable Odds (VIDEO)

#boisementalhealth Boise Bipolar Center, Charles K. Bunch, Ph.D, Boise Idaho Therapist Mental health photo 2168_zps680c452f.jpg


Health and Fitness - The Huffington Post




Bershan Shaw, 'Love In The City' Star And Breast Cancer Survivor, Shares What Helped Her Beat Remarkable Odds (VIDEO)



In the mid-2000s, Bershan Shaw was a thriving young woman living in New York City, pursuing her dream of being an actress. In between her acting gigs and full-time job as a bartender, the ambitious 30-something even found time to open her own restaurant and bar in midtown Manhattan. Life was busy and full. Then, everything came to a halt.







At age 33, Bershan was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though devastated, she was determined to fight.







"I didn't want to be 'the sick girl' at 33," she says. "I didn't want to be the girl who needed sympathy and empathy."







Bershan opted for radiation and seemed to respond well to the treatment. But two years after that initial diagnosis -- just weeks before her wedding -- Bershan learned that her cancer had returned.







It was stage four, the doctors said. She was given three months to live.







"I was literally praying every day, 'Please don't take my life, God. Please. This is not my time,'" Bershan says.







That was five years ago. Today, Bershan is cancer-free with no evidence of the disease. Since her diagnosis, the "Love in the City" star has been on a mission to change lives, creating an online community of "warriors" who support each other through tough times. During an art event for this URAWarrior organization, Bershan opens up about her breast cancer battle and how art helped heal her.







"During that time, I was going to museums every day, looking at artists, looking at their struggle," she says. "I connected with the artists."







Eager to give back to the art community, Bershan announces that this URAWarrior project will happen every three months and invites the various artists to stand up and share their own remarkable stories of survival. In the video, the artists open up about what they have overcome. Like Bershan, they each found comfort and strength in art.







"Art really does heal us," Bershan says. "I want this to be a movement. Don't be afraid, stand up... You are a warrior."







"Love in the City" airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.







How To Save Your Skin One Snack At A Time (VIDEO)



Could a snack a day keep the dermatologist away? Board certified dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe says that by eating certain foods, you can reduce the skin inflammation that may be causing us to look older.







"Inflammation is a major player when it comes to aging," Bowe says on the "OWN Show" web series. "Oxidative stress and free radicals can actually damage the molecules in the skin. They can damage things like protein or collagen, they can damage DNA and they can damage lipids over time as well."







While short bursts of inflammation help the body fight infection, chronic, low-levels of inflammation can wreak havoc on the skin.







To reduce inflammation, Bowe says there are a couple options. "You can actually add antioxidants topically, in the form of say a serum or a cream," she says. "Or you can add antioxidants to your diet by including multiple colored fruits and vegetables."







Also shown to reduce inflammation in the skin are probiotics, Bowe says.







"So simply eating a cup of yogurt that has the words 'live active cultures' on the label once a day can actually help to reduce inflammation in the skin over time," she says.







Find more from the "OWN Show" on Oprah.com.







These Ingenious 'Pop-Art Condoms' May Help Save Lives



Condom packaging isn’t discussed enough in design circles, in our opinion. Consider these wrappers by the Kenyan artist Michael Soi:







2014-04-17-ScreenShot20140417at1.17.51PM.png







What makes them interesting? Not only are the packages visually striking, they’re discrete. You might think they're postcards, instead of prophylactics.







Which is precisely the point. Commissioned by the Center for African Family Studies, Soi’s “pop-art condoms” are meant to attract young buyers who might otherwise face social stigma. The project is in its infancy, with an ask for funding on Indiegogo.







Discretion of design is critical in parts of the world where HIV rates are highest. As a 2009 study of Nairobi youth showed, a prime reason people don't use condoms is because of the stigma associated with simply buying them.







"Most people are actually very afraid of going to vendors in supermarkets and chemists," a CAFS communications officer told CNN.







According to CNN, the CAFS team struggled to find an artist for the project, for the same reason teens don’t want to buy condoms -- artists didn’t want to be “associated with sex.”







Soi, meanwhile, seems unfazed. His subjects are modern, often interracial couples or young women drinking Tusker, a popular Kenyan beer brand.







In a video about the project, a CAFS representative says the funds will also go to producing high quality condoms. For more on the project, check out the video below.







Pop art condoms from Jon Spangler on Vimeo.












#idahomentalhealth Subliminal hypnosis: sports hypnosis, weight loss hypnosis, mental health hypnosis, and 40 different topics hypnosis at Amazon.com, full catalog http://amzn.to/VGoe0Y photo 2163_zps044fb03b.jpg



from Anxiety Agoraphobia Bipolar Disorder Evaluations and Treatment in Boise, Treasure Valley, Idaho http://ift.tt/1ldDtNy