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TESTIMONIALS FOR THE CANCER DEFENSE PROGRAM
Over these many years, Marisa has continued to inspire me with her passionate commitment to her own healing and her selfless dedication to helping other cancer patients and their families.
— Mitchell Gaynor, M.D., Founder and Director of Gaynor Integrative Oncology
Author of The Healing Power of Sound, Dr. Gaynor’s Cancer Prevention Program and Healing Essence
I have known Marisa Harris for more than ten years. I met her when she was first diagnosed with cancer and have followed her healing journey ever since. I never cease to admire her courage, intelligence, passion, and persistence. She brings these same qualities to her coaching and teaching, allowing her to help others hone in on exactly what they need in order to heal and thrive.
— Elizabeth Lesser, Cofounder, Omega Institute
Author of The New York Times bestseller, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and The Seeker’s Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure
Marisa gave me tools such as meditation and visualization to alleviate my fears and my physical pain. She gave me space to role-play difficult conversations that I needed to have with health care providers who had their own vision of how I should be handling my illness. She repeatedly helped me articulate how I wanted to handle my life and how to express it in the strongest possible way. She gave me permission to play solitaire online and to watch escapist TV shows as the best medicine to handle the stress of my health and my demanding career. Marisa always supported my desire to live my life the way I wanted to, both personally and professionally.
— Desiree Pardi, M.D. Ph.D., Medical Director of the Palliative Care Consult Service at New York/Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center
Died September 6, 2009
When I met Marisa Harris at Omega Institute and heard her story of how she survived from and thrived with Pancreatic Cancer, I knew that I had to work with her as I confronted Stage IV Lung Cancer. After just 4 sessions, our work together has made a huge difference in my life. Marisa's warmth, positivity and dedication are extraordinary. She has inspired my commitment to get completely well again, and to motivate other lung cancer patients by speaking out as an advocate. Working with her has also strengthened my confidence that my novel, The Realist, which will be published on December 5, will climb the bestseller list and be the first of many books I write.
– Sarah Coleman
If someone would have told me that with a diagnosis of metastasized breast cancer will come the happiest and most authentically lived days of my life, I would have said that they are out of their minds. Meeting Marisa and deciding to participate in both her group and individual coaching resulted in my living a life that I hadn't imagined possible. She asked me a question that I had long since forgotten to consider. "Julianna, what would you love?'' She asked me not once, not twice, but many times. Finally, I admitted, "I'd love to dance again with my husband." Sounds trivial, but it wasn't to me. "I'd love to spend more time focusing on me, instead of my sons and my husband. I love them dearly, but that seems to be my life. "I'd love to create the most beautiful garden. And advise other women who would love to do the same." And I did. My husband and I danced to our favorite songs from years and years ago. I got out of the kitchen and out of the laundry room--making space for them to make their snacks, lunches and do their wash. And, I invited friends and family, and my dear coach, Marisa, to come the next year to enjoy one of the most beautiful gardens in Connecticut. I also had tools and practices from Marisa that minimized the side effects of the chemotherapy. She helped me make decisions about doctors and practitioners that came from my truth and not authorities. She helped me from the very beginning step into a sense of well-being and confidence that my life would be wonderful regardless of the statistics and evidence. Marisa is a healer.
— Julianna Iorio (breast cancer)
Last fall, I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. I knew that healing would require more than chemotherapy or surgery. I also knew that I wanted to play a key role in healing myself. By serendipity, I got Marisa's number and I called her right away. After my first conversation with her, I knew she was the right person to help me. Her wisdom, her insight, her knowledge, and her heart have made my journey a transformative experience. Each session with her has helped me along the way. My work with her has helped my body tolerate chemotherapy in an incredible way and my scans and blood work results are excellent. But most of all, the tools she has given me have helped me become a much better and happier person. I am so blessed to have Marisa in my life. A lot of people experience a cancer diagnosis as one of the darkest times of their life. Marisa has helped me turn this diagnose into an amazing opportunity for personally growth.
– Juliette Gimon
If a person told me that I could have found joy in my life while dealing with my wife’s diagnosis with cancer, I would have labeled them insane. It was Marisa who taught me to focus on the moment, to understand that only through self-examination can we release baggage and blocks which constrict us during times of great stress. We can then strengthen ourselves so that when the people we love need help, we can support them.
– Robert Pardi, President, Evolvence Capital North America (Spouse of cancer client)
Marisa Harris asks questions that open doors that put us on the path of finding one’s essence. She gives us the tools for a life of joy and healing. Through her coaching, adversity becomes a meaningful growth experience. Her insights are profound.
– Regina Axelrod, Ph.D., Chairperson, Department of Political Science, Adelphi University (Breast Cancer)
I was referred to Marisa shortly after I learned my Stage 3 breast cancer had become Stage 4. And what a fortunate moment for me! Marisa is a profoundly gifted counselor and spiritual guide who has been my mentor for the past three years. Her authenticity, guidance and example have been key factors in my own healing, both physical and spiritual. She has been with me all the way, through my experiences with metastases to brain, liver, bones and lungs, through issues of pain and fatigue, depression and moments of hopelessness. Marisa has never "given up" on me, instead remaining unfaltering in her belief that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment, and that every moment in our lives presents an opportunity for growth.
Through the use of instructive tapes, study programs, books, meditations, journaling and weekly discussions, Marisa has guided me on my journey to personal healing. She has shown me how to craft a future that reflects my unique personal vision and live into it now. Her message has always been one of faith, belief, authenticity and love, both self-love and gratitude for every moment of life.
Her methods are gentle and unequivocal. She has never pushed me into any action, rather offered me many opportunities to experience life in new ways. I am now and will continue to be forever indebted to Marisa Harris for her guidance, insight, and unfailing faith and love.
– Valerie Reeve
Marisa Harris shares with her clients her unique understanding of how best to cope with the shock of diagnosis, the rigors of treatment, and the existential challenge of living with cancer. A remarkable long-term survivor of pancreatic cancer, Marisa has honed her skills as a compassionate listener, counselor, and educator of cutting-edge cancer therapies. She gives cancer patients and their families a bounty of knowledge and empowerment. By her example, Marisa Harris is nothing less than a model of resilience and a harbinger of hope.
— Henry Dreher, Director of Cancer Consultation Services
Author of Your Defense Against Cancer, The Immune Power Personality and Mind-Body Unity: A New Vision for Mind-Body Science & Medicine
Marisa’s wisdom, experience, compassion and warmth have played an enormous role in my ability deal with my health challenges and the accompanying fear. She has also helped me identify some long-submerged themes that had kept me from fully experiencing the life I should be having. Because of her counsel, I have made significant changes, dealing more positively with medical issues, ridding myself of toxic relationships and moving on in my creative life, as well.
– Phyllis Mulhado, Writer (Diagnosis squamous cell carcinoma and paraproteinanemia, a blood plasma disorder and pre-cursor to multiple myeloma)
Marisa’s wisdom, experience, compassion and warmth have played an enormous role in my ability deal with my health challenges and the accompanying fear. She has also helped me identify some long-submerged themes that had kept me from fully experiencing the life I should be having. Because of her counsel, I have made significant changes, dealing more positively with medical issues, ridding myself of toxic relationships and moving on in my creative life, as well.
– Paulette Crowther, 53 years old, former Associate Director of Communication & Public Affairs at Cardoza Law School, currently full time student Graduate School of Landscape Design, Columbia University (anal cancer)
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