Posted in cancer, chemo, courage, emotions, family, Fear, friendship, health, hopes, life, love, mental and physical health, music, religion, support, well-being, tagged arm wrestling, battle, body, cancer, courage, devil, drugs, Faith, family, Fear, friendship, giant, health, inspiration, internet, life, love, mind, patients, positive thinking, prayer partners, radiation, role models, sling shot, specialists, spirit, stone, support, surgery, technology, tools, treatment, warriors on August 2, 2008|
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For those who have had the unfortunate experience of hearing that they have cancer, facing the decisions of how best to fight the disease is a bit like arm wrestling the devil. You can’t see cancer from the outside…but, it has the power to destroy you. For the most part, you are in a battle against something the size of golliath, when most of us are only armed with a sling shot and a stone. The patient has a lot to learn about what type of cancer it is, what drugs work best on it, and whether to have surgery, radiation or not.
Thank goodness for the streams of information on the internet…it saves alot of time asking useless questions in the doctor’s office when you can eliminate some of the obvious questions and answers right off…saving the precious little time and attention that the specialist have to devote to their patients. The really important things can be concentrated on while you are face- to- face.
Finding the right kind of support that you need to stay strong, stay focussed and stay informed about the latest and the greatest tools that you have; not to mention taking the time to nurture your mind and spirit; these are essential. The mind, the body, and the spirit are all connected and when under attack…each of those areas need special treatment. Fear is a mighty enemy and is not to be underestimated. Surrounding yourself with love and support is critical. Faith in God is what shores up the spirit for many patients and is to be considered as one of the greatest tools you can have. Prayer partners are your warriors…people who will go to the mat for you whenever you need it…when circumstances appear to hit you hardest. Inspirational role models can’t be underestimated; those who have fought and or are still battling will freely share their experience. (more…)
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Posted in cancer, Celebration, celebrity, charitable organizations, chemo, children, coaching, emotions, encouragement, Faith, Fame, family, Fear, Good Morning America, grief, health, Heart, hospital, Impact, life, loneliness, loss, medical, mental and physical health, news, of connections, pain and misery, parenting, Patriotism, politics, prayer, relationships, Robin Roberts, sadness, spiritual, support, television, trauma, well-being, tagged anxiety, body, bonding, breast cancer, cancer patient, Celebration, chemo treatments, colon cancer, compassion, connections, diagnosis, emotion, encouragement, experiences, family, Fear, gift, God, Good Morning America, health, hospital, intensity, kindness, loneliness, loss, mind, parents, politics, press secretary, relationships, Robin Roberts, role model, sadness, sharing, side effects, soul, spirituality, support, teacher, testing, Tony Snow, trauma, warriors, White House on July 14, 2008|
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There is something special and unique about the bonding that takes place when people bond through their shared experiences. Something that i noticed when my parents each went through their cancer diagnosis and treatment sessions…intense bonding with fellow cancer patients and their families. That bond in those relationships was a lifeline at times. The fear of the unknown, the medical traumas, the difficult side effects, the kindness of strangers it all blended to remind us that we were not in the situation alone.
During hospital stays, during chemo treatments, and doctor appointments; my parents and other patients would share things about their families, about their experiences, their struggles, medical information, tips on how to overcome nausea, or how to cope with some of the side effects of the treatments. Some patients were alone…they had no family or else their family members lived in distant places. We would adopt them and visiting and trying to support when we could. It was all very intense.
In what amounts to a, down in the trenches, fight for their lives; cancer patients bond in very intense ways. When fellow patients would struggle…my parents would ask for prayer for them, from us. We are blessed with a strong family unit. We would honor the request …knowing that if we needed the favor returned…it would be given automatically by those same cancer patient friends and their families. We were all in a fraternity; that none of us wanted to be in….but still, we were in it together.
The losses hit hard. The emotions were so deep for my parents and for our family. Each loss, it was understood, could have been ours as well; but for the grace of God. Each milestone was celebrated. Waiting for the results of testing was, and is, filled with anxiety and fear. It is no less worrisome to hear of others around the world who struggle with the same issues. http://www.tnbcfoundation.org/tnbcinthenews.htm (more…)
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