Lunden honors the 75th anniversary of father's graduation from Loma Linda School of Medicine as commencement speaker for graduating class

Joan Lunden

Loma Linda, California.  May 27 2012.  On Sunday morning, the graduating class of Loma Linda University, School of Medicine will hear from well known TV journalist, Joan Lunden, who has a unique connection with the institution.  Lunden, well known to Americans as longest running host of ABC’s Good Morning America, will be addressing the graduates on the 75th anniversary of her father, Dr. Erle Blunden, receiving his medical degree from the same institution. 

Lunden’s commencement address will focus on the importance of creating a legacy of service.  After Lunden’s father graduated in 1937, he became a family doctor in Sacramento, California and later went on to become an oncologist.  Dr. Blunden worked closely with the American Cancer Society representing the United States at the 9th International Cancer Congress in Russia in 1961.

Dr. Earl Blunden

Lunden imagined she would follow in her father’s footsteps and grow up to be a doctor, however as a journalist, she has had an amazing opportunity to inform vast audiences on how to keep themselves healthy and safe, thus keeping her father’s legacy alive. 

In 1964 Dr. Erle Blunden was killed in a plane crash in Malibu canyon while returning home from speaking at a Cancer convention.  This commencement address will be a poignant moment for Lunden to be able to honor her father and inspire this graduating class about creating their own legacy in this world.  

At Foxwoods Resort with DiversityBusiness.com

In today's digital world it is critical for each and everyone of us to create and manage our personal brand. This was my take-away message to those attending the annual conference of DiversityBusiness.com today at Foxwoods Resort.


Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and personal blogs make it possible to be our own PR Guru these days and to create our personal brand image exactly as we want to be perceived by potential customers or employers.

Whether you are just out of college looking to enter the work world or growing a multi- million dollar business it's important to control what anyone will find about you if they search you on the internet.

Heres a tip I shared with the audience today If you create a personal web site and/or blog, create it under your full name as the domain name (www.joanlunden.com), then you will own the first result for your name in Google and other search engines.

Interestingly when the time came that I wanted to create my web site someone had already laid claim to my name (most likely so that I'd have to buy it back). It took lawyers to help me reclaim it, but it was well worth it!

The Power of Letting Go...how it is changing one woman’s life.

Years ago I interviewed a woman on Good Morning America who had written a book about the horrendous loss she had experienced when a stranger abducted, raped and brutally murdered her only daughter.  She was consumed with grief and then later gut-wrenching anger, which ripped away at her ability to live her life each day and have a loving relationship with her husband.  They ended up getting a divorce and for years she said she literally retreated from life and was filled with despair.

She said she finally realized that there was only one way to free herself from the paralyzing heartache, and that was to let go of her anger.  She said she had to dig deep into her soul, but she finally let go of the anger and grief that lived in her heart and owned her thoughts.  She said it was like an awakening; finally realizing that she was in actually in control of her own happiness.  I think it is difficult for any of us to imagine how hard it must be to let go of that kind of anger, but it was the only way she could regain hope for a bright future.  I learned so much that morning and I will never forget the honesty in her voice when she said to me “You cannot pay lip service to letting go of negative emotions, a heart filled with anger has no room for joy.”

“Letting go” is such a powerful concept.  Yesterday I had another chance to hear about the amazing results of a person “letting go of anger and thus being able to fill her heart with joy”.  A friend and business associate of mine is very ill and desperately in need of a kidney transplant.  Her perfect match happens to be her brother – however they have been estranged since they were young adults.  As her health began to fail further, she reached out to him.  Thankfully for both of them, a conversation ensued.  Her brother had his own health issues and in order to be a kidney donor he would have to lose weight and make some serious lifestyle changes.  The two of them managed to put their “emotional baggage” aside and work toward the goal of the life-saving kidney transplant.

But then something monumental happened.  I happened to be interviewing people around the country at that time for my recent book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregivers.” Most everyone I was interviewing was caring for an elderly parent or loved one.  I wondered what it must be like to be on the receiving end of that care – always needing help from others to accomplish even the smallest tasks of daily living.  I had often wondered how my mom must feel always needing me to make every decision for her, when she was the one who had raised me.  So I asked my friend if she would share her story for the book, from the point of view of a person receiving the care.  What transpired was a “life changing conversation”.   Confronted with this daunting task, my friend says she had to peel away many layers and dig down deep in order to be honest – not only with me, but with herself about facing death, having to accept care from others to make it through each day and of course coming to terms with rekindling a relationship with her brother and accepting that he was going to save her life.  As she opened up to me about these raw emotions, I knew that it was going to be more than just a great story in the book.

My friend is scheduled to have her kidney transplant tomorrow morning.  She called me this past weekend to tell me that writing her story for the book changed her life and her attitude completely.  She was finally able to accept the compassionate care being given by friends, neighbors and yes even strangers without feeling ashamed and embarrassed.  However most importantly it allowed her to let go of the hurt and anger she had harbored for years and embrace her brother.  With this new found joy in their relationship, she told me that her brother told her “I love you” for the first time.  It was the best medicine anyone could have given her.  

Cooking Safer with Non-Toxic Cookware - a blog from SpaFinder Wellness Week

My friends at SpaFinder asked me to be a part of this year's Wellness Week Expert Panel & I am excited about this week dedicated to wellness & health!  Here is my first blog on the dangers of traditional non-sick cookware and how healthy eating is more than just what you put in your pan!

  

Some of us might remember in the 1960s when non-stick pots and pans were introduced in America! Hallelujah! Life was changed in an instant – eggs slid right off the pan onto the plate, and no longer did we have to slave over crusted yucky cookware! However, I also remember in the mid 1980s when, as journalists, we first began reporting on the possible health hazards of the non-stick cookware. Over the past few decades there have been many studies that have linked the traditional non-stick cookware to cancer and Alzheimer’s, and in 2006, the EPA finally ruled that companies must stop using the toxic chemicals by 2015. However, only recently has there been a safe non-stick alternative for Americans to use. I am very excited to be partnering with The Cookware Company of Belgium bringing Twiztt, a ceramic-coated line of non-stick cookware, to the U.S.  

There has been such a movement in this country to cook healthier recipes in order to safeguard our family’s health. But while we may be cooking healthier recipes, it is equally important that we are cooking those meals in pots and pans that don’t pose a health hazard. The new mineral ceramic-coated cookware is safer because it is made without PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), a potentially toxic chemical used in the manufacture of the coatings on the old traditional nonstick pans such as Teflon.

When the traditional non-sticks pans are heated to high temperatures (over 500 degrees − which is something that many people do on a regular basis) the surface is compromised, becomes soft and scratches off into our food and emits fumes toxic enough to poison birds. (Birds are more sensitive to these fumes than humans and other mammals, and often birds are kept in cages near kitchens and have sometimes died when Teflon-coated pans have been overheated.). The manufacturer has long acknowledged that heating Teflon cookware to temperatures as low as 464◦ is harmful to birds but were steadfast in their opinion that the fumes were not a danger to humans.

Our new Twiztt ceramic-coated cookware remains stable even when exposed to high heat, and it is resistant to flaking. So you still get the convenience of non-stick cooking but without the health hazard.

I’m just like you, I like the convenience, and now I can let my pan get nice and hot so that I can sear in flavor without a worry in the world. I’ve retired my old Teflon-coated cookware in favor of the new ceramic-coated products, and I hope that others will too.

The first of the new cookware was available in an exclusive QVC Launch on March 14th on Cooking with David at 9 p.m. (www.qvc.com) and continues to be available on QVC.com.  Joan will feature another piece from the line on QVC on March 22nd on Kitchen Unlimited with Carolyn at 2 p.m.  The entire line will be available at retail later this year.

Joan Lunden is one of America’s most recognized and trusted television personalities. As host of Good Morning America for almost two decades, she helped millions of American families start each day. The longest-running host ever on early morning television, during her tenure she reported from 26 countries, covered four presidents, five Olympics, and two royal weddings. An award-winning television journalist, best-selling author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and mother of seven, Lunden defines “today’s working mother.” She is the host of Lifetime Television’s Health Corner, and her latest venture has been the creation of Reveille, a wellness getaway for women to energize spirits, renew sense of self, jump start fitness regimens, learn the tools needed to achieve a healthier balance in their lives and more

Good Morning America this morning - watch as I discuss my new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving

Joan Lunden Discusses Caregiving, New Book | Video - ABC News

It's always so great visiting my friends at GMA, it's like seeing family!  This morning I was on talking about my new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving, check it out!!

Clear your head and warm your heart - clean out your closet and donate to others

So I have this huge closet in my basement that my family calls “The Dressing Room” and it houses my entire wardrobe from years of my career.  It has always been busting at the seams with gorgeous designer suits and other clothing left over from years of being on Good Morning America as well as doing many other video and photo shoots throughout the years.   Many of the items don’t fit me any longer, are not still in style, or just simply haven’t been worn in years.  So I asked myself why I was keeping them around?  Sometimes I think it’s difficult to “throw away” items that you know were purchased for a lot of money, you can’t help but feel that you should find a way to utilize them!  

  

My husband is just the opposite of me.  When he goes to the store and buys four new shirts, he comes right home and cleans out his closet and gets rid of anything he hasn’t been wearing.  Consequently his closet is so organized and perfect that it makes me crazy…  Crazy jealous that is!!  So after a couple years, OK maybe many years, of begging me to cull through all those clothes and get rid of them – I finally took a deep breath and stepped inside the room to begin the process.   I went through everything and tried on each item.  Shoulders too big? Yikes – no wonder I wore my hair so big, they had to match those gigantic shoulder pads! …I began making cuts and weeding out.

I made several big donations to the Salvation Army however I still had a lot of high-end suits, expensive designer jackets and outfits that I had accumulated that I wanted to give to an organization that catered to women trying to make their way in the business world.  It is so difficult for women to compete for jobs these days, and I know how expensive it can be to dress well.  I wanted to pass all these great designs on to other women who might need them and get great use out of them.  But I was stuck as to where to take them.  Where would all my beloved belongings have the biggest impact and do the most good?

Besides the standard Goodwill and Salvation Army, my options seemed to include several local upscale used clothing and consignment stores in my area, or an organization called Dress for Success.  I had done a number of stories about Dress for Success over the years and decided they would be my choice.

Many women my age – 50-plus shall we say – might remember a book from the 1980s called "Dress for Success." It was about the changing women’s fashions and in particular it was about the “power suit.” The book was all about how women needed to dress in clothing similar to men to gain credibility in business place. Who can forget those suits over blouses with a ribbon neck tie?   OMG, I owned a few of those and I wore them in front of millions of people! 

We have since stopped trying to dress like men in order to compete with them, but a good looking suit or dress can still make you feel like a million bucks and therefore can help you present well.  I know how much more confident I feel when I feel that I look good.  So I knew that it was the right thing to do to contribute to helping other women find their inner confidence.

The nonprofit Dress for Success program was established in New York in 1997 by Nancy Lublin who wanted to help lower-income women find jobs and remain employed.  Their mission is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire and by giving them a network of support and career development tools to help them thrive in work and in life.

Dress for Success takes clothing donations, particularly suits and jackets such as the ones I’m giving away.  Personal shoppers at the organization assist clients in selecting five clothing items from the Dress for Success shop.  When they get a job, they get to choose another five pieces of clothing and join a professional women’s support group.  I am really happy to be passing all of my great suits, jackets, pants outfits and coats on to the Dress for Success program for the simple reason that I’m a woman helping other women.  To contact Dress for Success, go to www.dressforsuccess.org

JUST CALL 9-1-1... this could easily happen to you!

February is American Heart Month! 


Have you ever wondered how you would react if faced with a life or death situation?  None of us really knows for sure whether we would be calm and level-headed in face of an emergency, or if we would panic and be paralyzed with fear.  So what about you?  Would you be cool, calm and collected?  Whatever the answer, if the day comes when you think you or someone around you is having a heart attack or a stroke, you can’t second guess it, you must always call 911.  You can’t be in denial because you don’t want to deal with it and you can’t debate that there may be a better doctor somewhere else, you just dial 911.  No debate, no excuses, simply get help as quickly as possible.  You never want to look back at that moment in time and say, “If only I had... or “I wish I had..."

 

In my last blog, I introduced you to a woman named Gloria Cohen, who is the mom of my friend and colleague Elise Silvestri.  Gloria shared with us a story about a woman in her theater group who was having a heart attack one evening in the middle of a show rehearsal and how the woman was so emphatic that there was really nothing for concern, so everyone went about rehearsing. As so often happens with women, the symptoms were really more flulike than shooting heart pains, so she simply sat the evening out, however when she returned home later, it worsened and she finally went to a hospital.  She thankfully survived, but with the delay it could have been a far more grim ending.  When the theater group heard the news, they just couldn’t believe that they didn’t whisk her off right away to the hospital themselves. 

Gloria was especially upset since she had already been through a similar experience with her husband Harold.  Gloria and Harold have been married for 57 years so she knows her husband pretty darn well.  One day when Gloria came home early from a meeting, Hal wasn’t himself and she knew something was wrong. But she wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen next.  And Gloria’s story could happen to any of us, so I thought it was important to share with you.

Gloria and Harold

Gloria’s Story:

I'm on the board of the Meadowbrook Women's Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for worthwhile local causes. The group usually goes for lunch after each board meeting but one day I opted not to go and went straight home. Not sure quite why, but I’m sure glad I did.  When I got home my husband, Harold, said he didn't feel well - he had a weird feeling across his chest and he was sweating. Since I wasn't sure what to do, I advised him to take a digestion medication and I called my son-in-law Doug who is a doctor in New Jersey. Without skipping a beat, Doug said to call 9-1-1 immediately.  When I resisted because I felt that an ambulance would take him to the nearest hospital and his doctor doesn’t work there,  Doug, who has never raised his voice to me shouted, “CALL 9-1-1 NOW!"  I did and it was the best and only thing I should have done! 

The ambulance got there in five minutes and the EMT was fantastic. He looked at Hal, spoke a few words and handed him an aspirin. He told us that Hal was having a heart attack and he began preparing him to go the hospital.  

Gloria and Harold traveling the world! 

Yes, the paramedic did take Hal to the nearest hospital and no, his personal doctor wasn’t there.  But it didn’t matter at that point.  All that mattered was that he was properly diagnosed and stabilized.  After that, he went to the hospital where his doctor was on staff so that Hal could have the corrective procedure that he needed. 

I learned a valuable lesson that day and I will never forget it.  I couldn’t let all my other worries get in the way of Hal getting the immediate help that would save his life.  That was 3 and ½ years ago and I’m happy to say that Hal lived through it and is still a healthy man.

P.S. Call me superstitious but I haven't gone to lunch after a board meeting since that day!

Gloria

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I really appreciate Gloria sharing her story.  Heart attacks and strokes don’t have to be fatal.  However time is crucial when they strike!. If you think someone is experiencing any of the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke and you’re unsure if you should call for help, here are some tips to help you decide when it's time to call 911.

1.  Don’t wait- The first few minutes are the most important when someone is having a heart attack or stroke.

2.  Don’t call a friend or relative.  9-1-1 operators are trained to ask you the right questions.

3.  Don’t feel embarrassed to call- heart attacks are the leading cause of death in men and women so you might be right.

4.  Medical personnel can begin treatment even before you get to the hospital.

5.  Make a plan with your loved one ahead of time.  It may sound morbid but it could be a lifesaver!