After reading about Melinda Marchiano on Dance Advantage, I felt compelled to share this article by Nichelle Strzepek with the Enforced Arch community. Cancer has effected my own family twice now, which is why I am pleased to read her story of recovery. The article highlights Melinda's use of dance as a means for emotional support:
Dance Advantage: You’ve said that dance “saved your life” throughout this process. How so?
Melinda Marchiano: Well, originally, it helped us to get a diagnosis. Every time I danced, I had a high pitched cough I called “The Dolphin Cough.” It led us to find the mass in my chest. Dance also “saved” me emotionally by being my outlet during treatment – my goal and passion.
Melinda Marchiano was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. She’s transformed her confrontation with cancer into something beautiful, documenting her path through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery in a memoir, Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery, which she published in October, 2010. (SOURCE)
To read the rest of her interview, visit: Dance Advantage: Melinda Marchiano