Healing Starts with Light: Our Spring Reflections

As spring brings longer days and renewed energy, we reflect on the return of light - both in nature and within ourselves. After periods of darkness, whether from illness or emotional weight, even a soft shift toward warmth and light can feel like a quiet beginning.

In this post, we bring together science, art, and a personal story - three different expressions of healing: 🔆A scientific perspective on the importance of vitamin D and how sunlight can support both physical and emotional health during and after cancer. 🔆 An artistic reflection on light and renewal, capturing how beauty and creativity often emerge from life’s more fragile moment 🔆 A real story from someone who knows the darkness of the cancer journey and the quiet, powerful return of hope.

This post also marks a new chapter for us. After a year of sharing our newsletter by email, we’re moving our reflections, stories, and updates to this blog - right here on the Cancer Care UAE website. We’re new to blogging, still finding our rhythm, but excited to grow this space with you. Whether you’re seeking knowledge, comfort, inspiration, or simply connection - you’re warmly welcome here.

When you think about sunlight, what comes to mind? Warmth on your skin, the glow of a new morning, or maybe long walks on a beach. But sunlight is more than just a pleasant part of life - it’s a powerful, natural tool that can support healing, resilience, and long-term health.

Stepping into the sun can be one of the simplest yet most beneficial practices. 🔆 Sunlight promotes vitamin D production - vital for bone health, immune function and mood regulation. Cancer treatment, long hospital stays and limited mobility lead to a drop in this essential vitamin. 🔆 Sunlights boosts mental and emotional wellbeing - by enhancing serotonin production, helping to regulate circadian rhythms to promote better sleep and by encouraging gentle therapeutic movement. 🔆 Sunlight aids immune recovery and builds energy levels - potentially reducing inflammation and promoting mitochondrial health, supporting energy production at the cellular level. Simply put, sunlight wakes up the body’s internal systems, helping them to reset and repair.

Sunlight promotes a return to normal life for survivors - it is both a symbolic and practical step to go outside and let yourself be - breathe, notice and reconnect with life as it is right now. And if you’re supporting someone through cancer? Invite them for a short walk in the morning sun. Sit together on a bench. These small moments create space for healing conversations, laughter, and peace.

How much Vitamin D you need per day:
(Recommended Dietary Allowances - general for healthy people) Blood test shows if you need more!

🔆Adults (up to 70 years old): 600 IU (International Units) per day

🔆 Adults (over 70 years): 800 IU per day

🔆 Pregnant or breastfeeding women: 600 IU per day

🍽 Eat fatty fish, eggs, and fortified foods.

🔆 Get 10–30 min of midday sun, 2–4 times a week.

If unsure or you have health conditions, it's good to check your Vitamin D level with a simple blood test.

The sun and the lotus flowera new beginning and renewed hope، I loved this painting, as it embodies the profound meaning of the renewal of nature with the sun's rays that touch the soul، It is not just brushstrokes, but a translation of the feelings that spring carries within it، This is the meaning  of healing and recovery through art
الشمس وزهرةاللوتس بداية جديدة وأمل متجدد هذه اللوحة أعجبتني فرسمتها تجسد المعنى العميق لتجدد الطبيعه مع إشراقة الشمس التي تلامس الروح فهي ليست مجرد ضربات فرشاه بل ترجمة للمشاعر التي يحملها الربيع في طياته هذا هو جوهر العلاج والتشافي بالفن
In this spring, let your soul blossom quietly like a lotus flower living on the surface of the water, not drowning or resisting, but trusting in the light, steadfast and cohesive, for every ray of sunshine is a touch of healing, and that everything that has passed has passed, and now you are blossoming again because you do not know how to give up
في هذا الربيع دع روحك تزهر بهدوء كزهرة اللوتس تعيش على سطح الماء لا تغرق ولا تقاوم بل تثق بالضوء وثابتة ومتماسكه فكل شعاع شمس هو لمسة شفاء وإن كل ما مر قد مضى وأنت الآن تزهر من جديد لإنك لا تعرف الاستسلام

My journey after cancer changed when I found the cancer drop-in center. Meeting other women who were fighting the same battle gave me the strength to move forward. Though recovery wasn’t easy, I trusted that the hardship was temporary. Nature became my source of peace, and every walk along the beach renewed my soul. In the darkness, I found a powerful light within by embracing small changes, trusting God’s plan, meditating, and practicing self-love every day.

Let light in ! Sunlight is not a cure, but it is a companion. So today, if you can, open a window. Step outside. Let the light find your skin and your heart. Healing happens not just in treatments, but in moments. And sometimes, the smallest ray of sunshine is exactly what your body and soul have been waiting for.

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