Talia Miller works predominantly on the phone, but she is not a bill collector or telemarketer.

Miller is a breast cancer coach who helps patients and their loved ones deal with the disease, of which she is a survivor. Miller has also just landed a grant from the Susan B. Komen Foundation to make a free compact disc for cancer support groups and centers to use.

The CD will be much like the work she does, calming and supporting those with breast cancer to get them relaxed and stress-free to eliminate pain and frustration.

"A lot of it has to do with emotional release," said Miller, 59, of western Nevada County. "I work with their whole lifestyle, nutrition and exercise."

Miller works with a technique called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT. The technique uses a procedure based on accupressure points while repeating specific phrases.

It releases emotions like, "being overwhelmed, fear and guilt," and helps people deal with negative energies. "We identify energy drains that take away from the immune system's ability to fight cancer," Miller said.

The cancer coach works mostly over the phone but does private visits occasionally. She talks to 15 to 18 clients a week in 45-minute sessions. Her clients come from the United States, Canada, and as far away as Sweden.

"She's passionate and understanding and allows you to have the feelings you have," said Patricia Haller of Grass Valley, who needed help dealing with a loved one's cancer. "If you're angry, she helps you through the anger."

Haller said Miller has also helped her with physical, mental and relationship challenges. "She's just there for you," Haller said.

Miller got started almost 15 years ago when she developed breast cancer.

"It was the turning point of my life and the best thing that ever happened to me," Miller said. "Before I was type A, very intense and a high achiever, very unbalanced with no connection to a God or spirit."

During her cancer treatment, she was exposed to holistic healing and felt it allowed a strong "body-mind-spirit connection." After one month in a holistic setting, she started referring other people to it.

Miller also uses hypnosis and dream interpretation in her work.

According to her brochure, "Through guided imagery and hypnotherapy you program your mind to develop specific positive outcomes for optimum health and well-being."

With dream analysis, "You become proficient at interpreting your dreams to heal unresolved issues, reveal hidden beliefs and deepen intuition, clarity and wisdom," the brochure said.

Although Miller calls herself a breast cancer coach, she also helps people with other maladies and life problems. Jennifer Holman of Grass Valley turned to Miller when her hectic life started spinning too fast.

"She gave me a lot of good tools to manage my life," Holman said. "It's real stressful; I'm a teacher.

"It helps me get a broader perspective; it's calming and focusing. We worked over six to seven months last year, mostly over the phone."

Miller said these phone calls vary. While clients work on a health plan, "it can also be every day issues that arrive," she said.

"How do you want to be? I provide tools to get them there."

Those tools include what she calls "pulling strands."

For example, if someone turned to her to quit smoking, she would have them gradually cut back instead of making them go cold turkey.

First it would be smoking after dinner. Then would be smoking while drinking alcohol, until the habit is largely broken.

"We remove the overwhelming so they can make wise choices," Miller said. "I'm like their external immune system."

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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.



To learn about what Talia Miller does, you can contact her or look up her Web site.

• Phone: (530) 271-0747

• E-mail: T@Breast CancerCoach.com

• Web site: www.breastcancercoach.com/